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Archives of Business Research – Vol. 12, No. 3

Publication Date: March 25, 2024

DOI:10.14738/abr.123.16721.

Riaz, S. & Saleem, K. (2024). Dynamics and Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility Authenticity. Archives of Business Research,

12(3). 119-144.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Dynamics and Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility

Authenticity

Saba Riaz

Harbin Institute of Technology, China

Kashif Saleem

Lahore Leads University, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Authentic corporate social responsibility (CSR), defined as the belief that a

company's CSR initiatives are an honest reflection of its "real self," has received

little attention in the literature on micro-CSR and management. Establishing views

of genuine CSR among workers is undoubtedly crucial for firms to fully reap the

advantages of CSR, especially in a climate when charges of corporate greenwashing

abound and cynicism about social responsibility initiatives is rampant. Using

attribution theory as a framework, we investigate two possible reasons for

engaging in CSR—strategic-driven and values-driven—to see how workers view the

legitimacy of such efforts. Along these lines,weanalyze how genuine CSR impacts

workers' faith in the company and their perceptions of organizational support.

Finally, we use a social exchange theory framework to look at how CSR authenticity

mediates the connection between how people perceive the organization's motives

and two major outcomes, how people perceive the organization's support and trust,

and how these outcomes impact how employees feel about the organization and

how they act as citizens. According to my findings, workers' views of CSR

authenticity are influenced by values-driven reasons. Moreover, these authenticity

perceptions play a mediating role in the link between values-driven motives and

perceived corporate support and trust. Employees' views of CSR authenticity and

sentiments of perceived corporate support are two channels by which values- driven motivations favorably impact organizational citizenship activities,

according to further study.

INTRODUCTION

Actions that appear to further some social good beyond the interests of the firm and that which

is required by law" (McWilliams & Siegel, 2001, p. 117), is the definition of corporate social

responsibility (CSR), and it has recently attracted a lot of attention from academics and lawyers.

It is no longer a matter of whether or if corporations should participate in CSR; rather, the

authors of a recent article by Rangan, Chase, and Karim (2012) pointed out that CSR is a

phenomenon that will remain. Businesses often tout their CSR initiatives in an effort to educate

stakeholders about their policies and procedures and garner positive feedback from them.

Despite this, many remain skeptical of organizations' motives when it comes to CSR (Basu &

Palazzo, 2008; Mazutis & Slawinski, 2013; Porter & Kramer, 2011). As a result of failing to live

up to stakeholder expectations, CSR initiatives run the risk of being seen as empty gestures

designed to placate stakeholders (Laufer, 2003). Because of this widely held belief,

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Archives of Business Research (ABR) Vol. 12, Issue 3, March-2024

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

stakeholders may question the sincerity of a company's CSR initiatives (McShane &

Cunningham, 2012).

One branch of CSR studies, known as micro-CSR, looks at the effects of CSR on people from a

psychological perspective (Rupp & Mallory, 2015). Employee reactions and perspectives on

CSR programs have been the primary focus of recent micro-CSR studies (Rupp & Mallory,

2015). In the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR), employees are an essential party

to comprehend. Although prior studies have demonstrated that CSR is beneficial for

organizations in terms of their bottom line (e.g., Orlitzky, Schmidt, & Rynes, 2003), it would be

both unrealistic and a failure to recognize the humanitarian aspect of CSR to disregard the

mechanisms through which these financial benefits are attained (Vogel, 2005). Previous studies

have linked CSR attitudes to various good outcomes at the individual level; however, the exact

processes behind these associations are still under investigation. Researching and quantifying

the ways in which workers' views of the authenticity of CSR influence employee-level outcomes

may teach us a lot about the effects of CSR. Thus, we investigate how two factors—perceived

organizational support and organizational trust—mediate the link between CSR authenticity

and emotional commitment and organizational citizenship behavior, respectively. Both factors

are outcomes of genuine CSR.

The term "perceived organizational support" (POS) refers to workers' general impressions of

how much their employer appreciates their work and worries about them as individuals

(Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchinson, & Sowa, 1986). When it comes to how workers see their

own POS, CSR authenticity may have a disproportionately large impact. In order for workers to

believe that their organization's CSR is genuine, it must be clear that the company is fulfilling

its commitments to stakeholders and showing them that they are respected. Since workers have

a vested interest in the company's success, they should also feel appreciated. Since CSR

authenticity shows workers that the company remains committed to its CSR objective and

supports valued stakeholders both internally and outside, it stands to reason that CSR

authenticity will contribute to POS.

Workers' perceptions of genuine CSR are likely to have a significant impact on their affective

commitment, which is described as "emotional attachment to, identification with, and

involvement in the organization" (Allen & Meyer, 1990, p. 1). When workers believe the

company is genuine, they will have greater faith in developing an emotional connection and

taking pleasure in their work since they will regard the company as "real" and honest.

Employees may be hesitant to develop an attachment if they feel the business is insincere or

pretends to be something it isn't. Using a social exchange argument, we argue that when

workers have a good impression of the authenticity of CSR, it will make them feel more invested

in the company as a whole, which will increase their overall emotional commitment.16

Organizational trust is likely to be stronger among employees if they perceive the company to

be actively participating in genuine CSR. The CSR research has not investigated the link between

genuine CSR and confidence in the company, although there is evidence of a similar connection

in the literature on true leadership. It is believed that leaders who are able to convey their

genuine self to their people are more captivating (Ilies, Morgeson, Nahrgang, 2005). Leaders

who are able to project a "authentic self" are more likely to be seen as trustworthy by their

followers because of the increased transparency they exhibit. Following the same line of

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Riaz, S. & Saleem, K. (2024). Dynamics and Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility Authenticity. Archives of Business Research, 12(3). 119-144.

URL: http://doi.org/10.14738/abr.123.16721

reasoning, we anticipate that the organization's credibility will increase when its commitment

to CSR is seen as genuine. Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, & Bachrach (2000) define

organizational citizenship behavior as employees' voluntary actions that benefit the company

as a whole. The OCB is optional, thus workers usually do it as a way to "give back" to their

company for all the good it has done for them or as a social exchange in their good connection

with the company (Organ, 1988). Since genuine CSR is likely to boost confidence in the company

and foster a good rapport between workers and management, it stands to reason that workers

would want to show their appreciation by participating in organizational citizenship behavior

(OCB).

Figure 1: Dynamics and effects of CSR authenticity

LITERATURE REVIEW

All things considered, CSR is a complex, multi-level, and sometimes disjointed body of literature

that incorporates studies from a variety of disciplines (Rupp & Mallory, 2015). Scholars in the

field of corporate social responsibility have struggled (Aguinis & Glavas, 2012, 2013; Carroll,

1991; Rupp & Mallory, 2015) to elucidate the CSR discussion more precisely. The paradigm

proposed by Carroll (1979) is one of the first and most often used explanations of CSR. Carrol

and Buchholtz (2014) offered a revised definition of CSR, stating that it "encompasses the

economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary (philanthropic) expectations that society has of

organizations at a given time" (p. 32). Although this is the most often referenced academic

definition of corporate social responsibility (CSR), we use a different, more popular one from

McWilliams and Siegel (2001): "actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the

interests of the firm and that which is required by law" (p. 118). Not limiting my research to

CSR initiatives targeting a specific group of stakeholders (like society), my definition places

more emphasis on the discretionary and ethical components of Carrol's (1979) paradigm.

Furthermore, workers are likely to associate CSR with discretionary and ethical activities

rather than economic and legal ones, as they may see the former as a "given" in corporate

settings.