The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Commitment: The Sequential Mediating Effect of Meaningfulness of Work and Perceived Organizational Support

Abstract

Although many scholars have investigated the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in an organization, there has been relatively minimal research regarding the CSR’s impacts on employees as well as the underlying mechanisms of it. Considering the research gaps, in the present research, we examine how CSR practices influence attitudes of employees. In particular, we hypothesize that perceived CSR would enhance organizational commitment (OC) of employees through the sequential mediation of meaningfulness of work (MOW) and perceived organizational support (POS). In order to empirically test this, we utilized two-wave time-lagged survey data from 378 employees who work for companies in South Korea. The results show that MOW and POS sequentially mediate the relationship between perceived CSR and OC. The findings suggest that CSR practices could be an active investment which enhances important attitudes of employees, instead of merely being a cost or obligation for firms.

1. Introduction

Both scholars and practitioners in business fields have paid great attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) during the past centuries [1,2]. CSR is a fulfilling obligation of a company to a variety of stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees, local communities, and the environment with regard to all procedures of business activities [3,4]. The responsibility includes the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic aspects which society expect firms to conduct [3,5]. As moral and environmental issues have emerged as major interests in modern society, the importance of CSR has been emphasized constantly. As a result, many studies on CSR have been accumulated, deepening the knowledge about what the essence of CSR is, how the CSR influences various stakeholders (i.e., shareholders, customers, employees, and society), and how CSR works in an organization.

Although many previous works have demonstrated the significance of CSR in an organization [6,7,8,9,10,11], relatively little attention has been paid to individual-level research and underlying mechanisms of CSR [12]. The research gaps are as followed. First, CSR scholars have mainly taken a macro-approach which investigates the influence of CSR at the organizational or institutional level. As a result, micro research which delves into the effects of CSR on employees’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors has been comparatively ignored [12,13,14]. When considering that employees are not only the ones who actually strategize and implement the CSR [12], but also that their attitudes and behaviors determine the success and failure of the organization [15,16], micro-level research is highly requested. In their review paper, Aguinis and Glavas [12] reported that only eight articles (4%) in the 17 top-tier journals dealt with CSR at this level [12].

Second, underlying mechanisms between CSR and organizational outcomes are still vastly underexplored [12,13,14]. Only 13 of 181 articles (7%) in the 17 journals focused on mediation effects [12]. Extant studies have much more examined predictors and outcomes of CSR, rather than investigating processes and mechanisms between the two variables.

To complement the aforementioned research gaps, in this paper, we investigate the underlying mechanisms of CSR at the individual level, based on micro theories and concepts in industry/organization (I/O) psychology and organizational behavior (OB) areas. More specifically, we focus on organizational commitment (OC), which is known as an individual employee’s psychological attachment to and willingness to make efforts for their organization [17]. This concept of organizational commitment has occupied a central position because of its significant relation to various workplace outcomes including turnover, absenteeism, job satisfaction, citizenship behavior, and performance [18,19,20]. Unfortunately, extant studies on the relationship between CSR and OC are somewhat limited in that they have mainly considered a simple bivariate linear relationship without explaining the elaborate underlying mechanism [21,22,23,24]. In this paper, to deal with the issue, we attempt to identify the intermediating processes of this relationship. By considering meaningfulness of work (MOW) and perceived organizational support (POS) as our sequential mediators, grounded on micro-perspectives such as MOW theory [25,26] and social exchange theory [27,28,29], we attempt to delve into the mechanisms in an elaborate way.

Specifically, we expect that CSR positively influences MOW. Organizational scholars have emphasized that MOW is a fundamental concept since it determines not only member’s experience in an organization, but also their interpretation on it [25,26,30,31]. Among various ways to facilitate MOW, contributing to society is known to be effective [26,31,32]. Considering that CSR practices may enhance member’s perception of contributing to society, CSR would increase their MOW.

Then, the enhanced MOW may facilitate employees’ POS. This concept indicates an employee’s perception on the degree to which the organization provides various supports for his or her well-being, as well as adequate appreciation for his or her efforts and values in an organization [29,33,34,35]. From this perspective, experiencing MOW is likely to be considered a psychological reward [35]. Since employees may perceive that their organization provides the fundamental source of the reward beyond the official contract between their organization and them, their POS would be increased. Eventually, the POS which is enhanced by MOW may boost OC. According to social exchange theory [27,28,29], POS would increase OC since employees tend to repay the psychological benefits originated in the perception of meaningfulness by positively changing their attitudes toward their organization [36,37].

In summary, the purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of CSR in an organization at the individual-level, focusing on the underlying mechanisms between the linking of CSR and OC. We hypothesize that CSR would increase OC through the sequential mediation of MOW and POS. To validate our arguments, we conducted a two-wave time-lagged study with data from 378 employees in South Korea. This research may positively contribute to CSR literature by investigating elaborate underlying mechanisms between CSR and employees’ perceptions/attitudes (i.e., OC) based on micro-theories, which has not been dealt with enough in the existing studies [12].

Lastly, in this research, to evaluate the degree of implementing CSR practices we utilized employees’ perception on CSR rather than objective CSR measure. Scholars in the organizational behavior (OB) research field have suggested that employees’ perception on CSR may be more critical than the objective measure of CSR practices to examine CSR’s influence on them, since their perception is what constitutes the reality on which employees base their decisions and attitudes [38]. Therefore, in this study, we consider employees’ perception on social responsibility activities as indicator of CSR.

2. Theories and Hypotheses

2.1. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Its Organizational Outcomes

Since CSR has been regarded as a very important concept from theoretical and practical perspectives, many scholars have tried to define the concept. Although they have provided various arguments, there are common factors on which scholars can agree. CSR can be understood as organizational practices or activities that satisfy various obligations of firms for a variety of stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees, local communities, and the environment with regard to all procedures of business activities [3,4]. This responsibility includes the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic aspects which society expect the firms to fulfil [3,5]. Through conducting the responsibility as a core member of society, companies can not only have good relationships with the various stakeholders, but also increase its sustainability by strengthening its competitiveness [7,9,10].

Specifically, many previous studies have reported that CSR positively contributes to various organizational outcomes by enhancing a company’s competitive advantage [3,39,40,41]. In the present study, we define CSR as a fulfilling obligation of a company to a variety of stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees, local communities, and the environment with regard to all procedures of business activities [3,4]. Considering that the existing works on CSR have not only paid relatively less attention on CSR’s effects on employees, but also that employees play a critical role in an organization, we delve into the impact of CSR on employees’ perceptions and attitudes at the individual level.

Among various employee’s perceptions or attitudes, we focus on OC because scholars in the OB field have posited the OC in a central part of OB research due to its critical association with various organizational outcomes such as turnover, absenteeism, job satisfaction, citizenship behavior, and performance [18,19,20].

2.2. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Organizational Commitment (OC)

Due to its theoretical and practical importance, many scholars have provided various definitions of the OC concept. OC is known as an individual employee’s psychological attachment to and willingness to make efforts for their organization [17,19]. For example, Meyer and Herscovitch ([42], p. 301), defined OC as “a force that binds an individual to a course of action of relevance to one or more targets”. According to the organizational commitment model of Allen and Meyer [43], employees tend to go through the force by experiencing three different kinds of mindsets: affective; normative; and continuance commitment [43,44]. Affective commitment indicates an employees’ emotional reaction which is grounded on affective ties with his or her organization. Normative commitment is grounded on employees’ felt obligation towards their organization. Lastly, continuance commitment is originated in employees’ social and economic costs when they are leaving their organization. Many studies have reported that the OC model is closely related to various important organizational outcomes including turnover, absenteeism, job satisfaction, citizenship behavior, and performance [18,19,20,44].

According to previous works on OC, various organizational contexts (e.g., leadership, organizational cultures, human resource management systems, and various kinds of organizational practices) substantially elevate employees’ OC [17,19,20]. Considering that CSR practices can function as an important organizational context, CSR would influence OC of employees. Many previous studies reported that CSR is an important antecedent of OC [22,23,24,39,45]. The existing studies on the CSR–OC link have mainly explained the influence of CSR on OC through applying social identity theory [39,45,46]. Social identity theory suggests that CSR is likely to increase OC through enhancing member’s social self as well as self-concept [46,47]. By participating in CSR activities, employees would perceive that not only are they doing good things, but also that they belong to a good organization which is regarded as a desirable entity by their society [10,39,40]. The perceptions would build a positive social self which directly enhances their self-concept. Subsequently, members are likely to feel strong attachment to their organization, identifying themselves with their organization [47,48].

However, to theoretically extend the extant literature on the relationship between CSR and OC which has mainly grounded on social identity theory, we propose new theoretical mechanisms which explain the CSR–OC link. We suggest that MOW and POS may function as important mediators which shed light on this association by employing meaningfulness of work theory and social exchange theory. In addition, although there has been a number of theoretical and empirical works on the CSR–OC link [15,22,24,45], previous studies mostly have explained the direct link between CSR and OC without considering complex mediating mechanisms. We believe that this approach is not sufficient to reveal underlying processes in an elaborate way. To complement the gap, in the present research, we consider MOW and POS as sequential mediators in the relationship between CSR and OC.

2.3. Sequential Mediating Effect of MOW and POS in the Relationship between CSR and OC

We posit that MOW and POS sequentially mediate the association between CSR and OC. Specifically, CSR would increase employees’ meaningfulness of work, in turn, the enhanced MOW will increase employees’ POS. Lastly, the boosted POS will facilitate the level of OC. We will describe the specific arguments as follows.

2.3.1. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the Meaningfulness of Work (MOW)

Human beings naturally pursue meanings [49]. They tend to pursue the meaning of existence of both themselves and others, choosing their way of life correspondingly. Considering that among the many different domains of life, the ‘work life’ occupies a central position, MOW is a major subject which must be addressed by human beings. Work not only allows people to make their living, but also critically influences an individual’s self-actualization. Organizational scholars defined the MOW as what members specifically experience in their work and organization, and they emphasized that the MOW is a fundamental concept that determines how they interpret such experiences [25,26,30]. The attempt to find its antecedents and outcomes is very important [26] in that the MOW is known to predict crucial organizational variables, such as organizational identification and job satisfaction [50,51].

Among various ways to find and facilitate MOW, some employees effectively achieve this goal by contributing to society [26,31,32]. When individuals recognize that they can make others happy and change society for the better through their work, they can discover the MOW [32,52,53,54]. Thus, from the perspective of employees, participating in CSR practices can be an adequate way to contribute to society through their work.

Employees may perceive MOW when they contribute to society while working, because this feeling makes them realize that they live in harmony with other people within their society [26,31,32]. Certainly, all work has meaning. For example, doctors and fire fighters will perceive the MOW better because it is easy for them to recognize that they are contributing to society through their work. This is due to the fact that they are physically close with the subjects who receive help through their work, and the impacts caused by their help are immediate and obvious [31,32]. On the contrary, workers who manufacture automobile parts in a factory are not likely to be aware that they are directly contributing to society through their work. Since their work takes up only a small part of the entire process of automobile manufacturing, it is difficult to instantly check the degree of their contribution to the entire process.

However, participating in CSR practices can still enhance the workers’ awareness that they are making contributions to society, even in such a case. If the workers know that the process of manufacturing automobile parts is environmentally friendly and that a percentage of the operating profit is donated to the disadvantaged classes of society, they will believe that they are contributing to society through their work. Furthermore, arranging a community service program by devoting a certain amount of work hours into it, for their direct social contribution, will enable the workers to have a bigger awareness of social contribution, which will in turn make them experience a better MOW [32]. In other words, members who work in fields that are not directly related to social involvement can have enough awareness of their contribution to society through participating in CSR practices. Thus, social responsibility activities of firms enable their employees to learn that their organizations accomplish socially valuable acts. This will ultimately enhance the member’s MOW [30,55,56]. Although existing theoretical research [12,46] have emphasized the importance of investigating the link between CSR and MOW, so far, very little empirical research has been done. Therefore, we suggest following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 1.

The perceived CSR of employees is positively associated with MOW.

2.3.2. Meaningfulness of Work (MOW) and Perceived Organizational Support (POS)

MOW is a fundamental factor that determines how members interpret their work and organization, how they perform their duties, and what they experience within the organization [25,26,30]. Scholars in the MOW field are mostly interested in revealing what creates the members’ MOW and how the MOW influences their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors within the organization [26]. Such MOW is known to be closely related to job satisfaction, absenteeism [51], work motivation [56,57], empowerment [58], and organizational identification [50], which are the essential outcomes of an organization. Among the various theoretical perspectives, including psychology, sociology, and economics, our study focused on psychological and sociological approaches that are closely related to the areas of I/O psychology and OB.

The more the members feel a MOW, the higher the possibility that their POS will increase. POS means an employee’s perception pertinent to the degree of which the organization admits and appreciate his or her efforts and values, as well as cares for his or her well-being in an organization [29,33,34,35]. From the members’ viewpoint, experiencing MOW can function as a psychological reward [29,34,35], and they may believe that their organization provides the fundamental source of the reward beyond the official contract between their organization and them. For example, Amway, a multinational firm, helps their employees to solve questions about MOW as well as life itself by giving a kind of religious value. The company heals and raises their mental world by presenting a comprehensive outlook on the world, which can be integrated into the employees’ family, society, and work, as well as their spiritual domain [47]. When they feel the MOW, their psychological conditions positively change, which then boosts their job satisfaction [51], work motivation [56,57], and empowerment [58]. Employees in Amway are likely to perceive that those kinds of positive experiences are given by their company because they would not go through the positive psychological states without the job that Amway has offered. If their organization did not hire and train them, assign them related work, and provide them with feedback on handling work, they would never have been able to attain the benefits from MOW. Moreover, considering that not only the primary reason that employees work in a company is for financial reward, but also that they already get paid for their labor in the form of a wage, positive experiences that are gained through the MOW may be considered as a kind of ‘additional reward’ beyond the official contract and obligation. Thus, members who perceive MOW are more likely to perceive that their organization is providing them with enough support, maybe even more. In other words, workers experience much bigger POS through MOW.

Hypothesis 2.

The perceived MOW is positively related to POS.

2.3.3. Perceived Organizational Support (POS) and Organizational Commitment (OC)

According to organizational support theory [29,33,34], employees are likely to experience a general perception on the degree to which their organization not only appreciates their values but also provides supports for their well-being. This theory has attracted great attention from both scholars and practitioners in business fields, since the concept has been known to be strongly related to various critical perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors such as affective organizational commitment, organizational identification, job involvement, job satisfaction, trust, turnover, organizational citizenship behavior, in-role performance [29,33,34,59,60]. Among various organizational outcomes, we focus on OC in this research.

The relationship between POS and OC can be explained by relying on social exchange theory. Based on the theory, we expect that the increased level of POS can strengthen the level of employees’ OC. In this research, we consider OC as a level of employee’s psychological attachment toward his or her organization [17,19]. OC has been posited as a fundamental concept because it is positively and closely related with various organizational outcomes including turnover, job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and in-role/extra-role performance [18,19,20].

Specifically, social exchange theory suggests that if members perceive that they are receiving a large amount of support from their organization, they would feel a sense of obligation to repay their organization [27,28,29]. In an organization, one of the most fundamental ways that members can repay their organization is to positively change their attitudes toward the organization such as OC. In other words, positively changed attitudes cause members to yield a strong sense of attachment to their organization [33,34,35,36].

In addition, the positive relationship between POS and OC can be explained by perspective of psychological need satisfaction. The enhanced POS is likely to fulfill employees’ psychological and social needs, which in turn facilitates their sense of belongingness to the organization. This enhanced belongingness encourages them to embrace the organization as a significant objective of their attachment in the form of OC [35,61].

Hypothesis 3.

Employees’ POS is positively associated with their OC.

2.3.4. Integrating Hypotheses Based on Context-Attitude-Behavior Framework

By combining the above hypotheses which describe direct relationships among CSR, MOW, POS, and OC, we suggest that MOW and POS sequentially mediate the link between perceived CSR and OC. The sequential mediation model is theoretically grounded on a context–attitude–behavior framework [62,63]. Previous studies have suggested that organizational practices (e.g., systems, norms, and various activities) can function as an important social context which substantially builds members’ attitudes, then influencing their behaviors [62,63,64]. According to the framework, as a critical social context, CSR practices may sequentially influence members’ attitudes such as MOW, POS, and OC. Thus, we propose the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 4.

The MOW and POS sequentially mediate the relationship between perceived CSR and OC.

In summary, we suggest that perceived CSR improves MOW of members, which will increase POS and eventually enhance OC. The research model is shown in Figure 1.

3. Method

3.1. Data Collection

378 employees in South Korea participated in this survey. We gathered data via an online survey. The participants work in large, medium and small-size firms. In order to mitigate the problems of cross-sectional research design, this study gathered the data through two different time points. Time 2 was separated from Time 1 by a lag of 4 weeks.

The sample consists of 186 (49.2%) men and 192 (50.8%) women. Respondents indicated their age as follows: 20 s (23.8%), 30 s (26.5%), 40 s (24.6%), and 50 s (25.1%). The occupational types of the participants were office workers (63%), administrative positions (19%), sales & marketing (6.6%), manufacturing workers (5.6%), education (1.6%), finance/accounting (0.3%), public relations (0.3%), and the others (3.6%). With regard to their positions, staff (33.3%), assistant manager (22.5%), manager (18.5%), deputy general manager (18.8%), department/general manager and above director (6.9%) were included. Participants indicated their industry as follows: manufacturing (25.4%), service (14.3%), construction and real estate (13.5%), information service and telecommunications (11.1%), education (8.7%), health and welfare (8.5%), public administration (6.1%), financial and insurance activities (4%), law (1.1%), and the others (7.3%). In addition, with regard to firm size the respondents work for, companies having below 50 employees (47.1%), 50 to 99 employees (13%), 100 to 299 employees (15.3%), 300 to 499 employees (6.6%), and above 500 employees (18%) were included. Finally, with regard to tenure, below 50 months (47.1%), 50 to 100 months (21.9%), 100 to 150 months (13.4%), 150 to 200 months (5.1%), 200 to 250 months (5.1%), and above 250 (7.4%) were included.

3.2. Measures

We utilized multi-item scales with a five-point Likert scale to measure our study variables (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). We computed internal consistency of the variables by utilizing Cronbach alpha coefficients. Full items of each measure are described in appendix section (see Appendix A).

3.2.1. Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

We utilized 12 items (Cronbach alpha = 0.92) of CSR scale which was developed by Turker [65]. The items were collected at time point 1. The scale was grounded on the stakeholder approach, consisting of various domains of questionnaires which measure the degree of social responsibility towards various stakeholders such as environment, community, employee, and customer.

To identify whether the CSR scale consists of four sub-domains as we expected, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using an AMOS (Analysis of Moment Structures) program was conducted. To find the best-fitted model, by conducting chi-square difference tests, we sequentially compared several fit indices of the four-factor model with a three-factor model, two-factor model, then with a single-factor model. As Hu and Bentler [66] suggested, models with a comparative fit index (CFI) and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) of 0.90 or greater and a root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) of less than or equal to 0.06 would be good. The four-factor model (χ² (df = 43) = 82.98; CFI = 0.985; TLI = 0.977; RMSEA = 0.050) was better than the three-factor, two-factor and single-factor model. It means that the four sub-dimensions are distinctive, supporting that our CSR measure is empirically valid.

3.2.2. MOW

At Time point 2, to assess MOW, we selected and combined 4 items from measures which were used in extant studies [51,67] for the purpose of this research. Typical items included in our study are: (a) “The work that I do is meaningful”; (b) “The work that I do makes the world a better place”; (c) “My work is one of the most important things in my life,” and more. The value of Cronbach alpha in the research was = 0.82.

3.2.3. POS

For perceived organizational support, we modified seven items used in a past study [29]. The items were collected at time point 2, and sample items were: “(a) My organization really cares about my well-being”; “(b) Help is available from my organization when I have a problem”. These questions were collected at the same time with the MOW measurements. The value of Cronbach alpha in the research was = 92.

3.2.4. OC

At Time point 2, to measure organizational commitment, we utilized four items from the Meyer and Allen’s scale [19]. Sample items were (a) “I really feel as if my organization’s problems are my own”; (b) “I feel a strong sense of belonging to my organization”; (c) “I feel emotionally attached to my organization”. The value of Cronbach alpha was = 0.91.

3.2.5. Control Variables

Gender, position, tenure, age, and education level were utilized to appropriately control for factors that could affect the dependent variable, OC. These were measured at time point 2.

3.3. Data Analysis

The data was analyzed using the statistics SPSS 21.0 software. Frequency analysis was conducted to figure out the demographic features of the survey participants, and we performed a correlation analysis. Also, the mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis of the data were calculated to check for a normal distribution. Next, structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted using AMOS 21.0. The advantage of this model is that unlike the former multiple regression analysis method, it can simultaneously analyze the direct or indirect path among variables in one model [68]. As recommended by a previous study [69], we applied a two-step approach, measurement and structural model. Only after a measurement model is acceptable, a structural model can be tested. Relative goodness of fit index, including comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were used to evaluate the goodness of fit, which is the degree of how much a hypothesis model corresponds to the actual data. Generally, CFI and TLI are considered to have a goodness of fit if the calculated values are 0.9 or higher, while RMSEA, is regarded as a good model if the index is below 0.06 [66,70]. Lastly, bootstrapping was performed to verify the significance of the indirect effect of our research model [71].

After the measurement and structural model tests, we investigated the sequential mediation effect of MOW and POS between perceived CSR and OC. To test the effect, we used three-step bootstrapping procedures suggested by Shrout and Bolger [71]. In first stage of the bootstrap process, 5000 samples were yielded from the original data (n = 378) by random sampling with replacement. Then, we conducted a SEM analysis using the bootstrap samples, yielding 5000 estimates for each path coefficient. Lastly, the output from those 5000 estimates was utilized to calculate the mean indirect mediating effect in the sequential mediating mechanism from perceived CSR to OC. The estimates of standard errors (SE) for the distribution of the means were also considered.

4. Results

4.1. Descriptive Statistics

In order to test the normality of distribution of the data, the mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis of each variable were calculated. Before applying the maximum likelihood method to measure the parameters, the skewness and kurtosis of each variable were checked because the multi-variate normal distribution assumption of the measurements had to be satisfied. All scales satisfied the assumption in that the skewness of all variables did not exceed ±2 and their kurtosis was not higher than ±8 [21].

Correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the correlations among our study variables. The results were described in

Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlations of Measures.

	Mean	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1. Gender	1.51	0.50	-
2. Position	2.46	1.38	−0.33 **	-
3. Tenure (Months)	76.29	78.60	−0.09	0.35 **	-
4. Age	39.81	10.47	−0.05	0.54 **	0.46 **	-
5. Education	2.56	0.84	−0.06	0.18 **	−0.00	0.00	-
6. Perceived CSR	3.14	0.70	−0.09	0.12 **	0.19 **	0.17 **	0.05	-
7. MOW	3.06	0.74	−0.03	0.20 **	0.12 **	0.17 **	0.16 **	0.50 **	-
8. POS	2.82	0.87	0.03	0.04	0.06	0.09	−0.05	0.50 **-	0.57 **	-
9. OC	2.89	0.90	−0.03	0.21 **	0.16 **	0.27 **	0.03	0.51 **	0.66 **	0.70

* p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01. As for gender, males are coded as 1 and females as 2. As for position, general manager or higher are coded as 5, deputy general manager and department manager 4, assistant manager 3, clerk 2, and others below clerk as 1. As for education, “below high school diploma” level is coded as 1, “community college” level as 2, “bachelor” level as 3, and “master’s degree or more” level is coded as 5.

. The table demonstrates that perceived CSR had significant correlations with the variables, such as MOW, POS, and OC.

4.2. Measurement Model

To investigate the validity of a measurement model, we conducted a confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to check whether the measurement model had an adequate fit index. To test discriminant validity of our four variables (i.e., CSR, MOW, POS, and OC), CFA of all 24 items that compose all variables was performed. Based on the result of aforementioned CFA for CSR scale, the CSR has four sub-domains. Therefore, we utilized the four sub-dimensions of CSR in this measurement model. The four-factor model showed a very adequate fit to the observed data (χ² (df = 94) = 167.44; CFI = 0.982; TLI = 0.977; RMSEA = 0.046). We sequentially compared the four-factor model with other possible models, including three-factor, two-factor, and single-factor models, by sequentially performing chi-square difference tests. The results of the chi-square comparison tests demonstrated that the four-factor model fits the data better than any of the other alternative models, suggesting the distinctiveness of our four variables.

4.3. Structural Model

We made a structural equation model which can explain the association among the research variables. The model has a sequential mediating structure which consists of perceived CSR → MOW → POS → OC paths.

The fit indices of our hypothesized model were strong enough to accept (χ² = 319.88 (df = 163); CFI = 0.965; TLI = 0.955; RMSEA = 0.051). The path coefficient and the significance level of the final model are shown in Figure 2. The result indicated that perceived CSR is positively associated with MOW (β = 0.68, p < 0.001), supporting Hypothesis 1. Hypothesis 2 was also bolstered since MOW is positively related to POS (β = 0.74, p < 0.001). The POS, in turn, functioned as a significant antecedent of OC (β = 0.70, p < 0.001), therefore supporting Hypothesis 3.

4.4. Bootstrapping

To test Hypothesis 4 which suggested that the MOW and POS sequentially mediate the relationship between CSR and OC, we performed a bootstrapping analysis with a sample of 5000 (n = 378). The method has been recommended by scholars because it can avoid problems pertinent to asymmetric and non-normal sampling distributions which are often embedded in mediating effects [71]. We utilized the 95% bias-corrected confidence interval (CI) for the indirect effect. When the CI does not include zero, it indicates that the indirect effect is significant [71]. The CI for the indirect effect of CSR on OC via both the MOW and POS does not include zero (95% CI = [0.27, 0.43]). The result means that the sequential mediation effect of MOW and POS between CSR and OC was statistically significant, therefore supporting Hypothesis 4.

5. Discussions and Conclusions

Even though the research on CSR has accumulated constantly, relatively there has been few studies on underlying mechanisms of CSR [12]. Previous studies examining the influence of CSR have mainly considered macro-level perspectives, focusing on a simple bivariate linear relationship between the variables. To complement the knowledge gaps, in our research, we paid attention to CSR’s internal mechanisms in the perspective of members in an organization. As a result of an empirical analysis with two-wave time-lagged data, we found that MOW and POS sequentially mediate the association between CSR and OC. In the discussion part, we refer to the theoretical and practical implications of our research.

5.1. Theoretical Implications

The theoretical implications of this research are as follows. First, we investigated the effect of CSR from the perspective of micro-foundations, based on I/O psychology and OB theories. The existing CSR research was limited in that it mainly has focused on a macro approach (i.e., organizational- or institutional-level analysis). To complement it, this research examined how organizational members’ perceived CSR influences the important perceptions and attitudes regarding an organization. By investigating the impact of CSR in an organization from the perspective of organizational members, the current study may turn CSR’s attention to the ‘inside’ of an organization. Moreover, to examine the underlying mechanisms of CSR, in the current research, we delved into sequential mediating mechanisms between CSR and its outcomes, OC. Beyond existing research that generally has focused on a bivariate linear relationship between the two variables [22,23,24,45], we consider MOW and POS as sequential mediators in the relationship between the perceived CSR and OC.

Second, our study may contribute to CSR literature by not only connecting CSR with MOW research, but also empirically validating it. The relationship between CSR and MOW was not addressed sufficiently in the previous literature [26,32]. Although previous theoretical research has suggested CSR’ close association with MOW [12,32], there has been little research that empirically supports it. Using time-lagged data, we empirically verified the relationship.

Lastly, by interpreting the influence of CSR from the perspective of MOW, we contributed to both CSR and positive organizational scholarship literature [72,73]. Positive organizational scholarship is described as the organizational version of positive psychology. Positive psychology investigates positive experiences, characteristics, and changes including happiness, growth, and meaning of life that reflect the virtues of human beings [74]. Applying the wisdom of positive psychology into an organization would be helpful to deal with the hardships of work adequately [73].

5.2. Practical Implications

TThe results of this research would provide practical implications to managers or top management teams of firms who seek to positively influence their members by practicing CSR. First, our findings can provide the managers with insight that CSR can be an active ‘investment’ instead of merely an ‘obligation’ that firms should perform. If members perceive the meaning and value of their work, which originate in their organization’s fulfillment of CSR, they are more likely to feel psychological attachment to their organization. Since the members’ perceptions and work attitudes have a huge influence on the organizational performance, the attempt to improve the perceptions and attitudes of members through CSR practices is a valuable option that is worth investing in.

Second, the result which demonstrated that the MOW and POS sequentially mediate the CSR-OC link provides the following suggestion to the leaders or managers of organizations. To identify whether the positive effect of CSR practices on members exists, the managers should carefully observe the level of perceived MOW and POS. In other words, the extent to which members perceive both the MOW and POS, functions as the indicators or criterion that judge whether the positive influence of CSR practices appears effectively in an organization.

5.3. Study Limitations and Directions for Future Research

Despite the above implications, this research has several limitations that need to be considered in future studies. First, although the spirit of CSR would be a universal value regardless of Western or Eastern society [75], there can be cultural differences in the perception toward the CSR. We only collected data from a Korean firm, and thus cannot exclude the possibility of such cultural impacts. Thus, we should cautiously interpret and apply the results into different cultures [75,76]. It is possible that the impacts of CSR on member’s attitudes would be stronger in Western cultures, which emphasize the importance of morality or CSR [75,77]. Considering that economic growth of Korea has been extremely rapid, employees in Korea are less likely to react sensitively to the moral needs of society.

Moreover, CSR’s positive impacts on MOW may be originated in the collectivistic features of Korea. Koreans are more likely to be influenced by their contexts. On the contrary, because members in Western organizations may be embedded in an atmosphere that emphasizes the importance of individuality, they tend to be relatively free from the cultural impacts [75,77]. Therefore, it is likely that they are less affected by the organization’s emphasis on CSR practices. Further studies that consider the cultural issues are requested.

Second, because of practical restrictions in the process of collecting data, we could not include whole items of each scales. Although the items utilized in this research not only reflect essential dimensions of each construct, but also represent sufficient reliability, the abbreviation may decrease the construct validity. However, fortunately, the result of our chi-square comparison test on the research variables demonstrated enough discriminant validity.

Lastly, the survey used in this research was based on self-report by organizational members. Since self-reporting can be different from their actual behaviors, it is recommended to collect additional data such as a third party’s observation or reports by other colleagues. In addition, because our research variables were all collected from the same respondents, they cannot be free from common method bias. In order to solve these problems, a multifaceted survey on colleagues, superiors, and customers should be conducted.

Despite these limitations, we believe that our research contributes to CSR literature by suggesting theoretical and empirical implications pertinent to the individual level dynamics of CSR. It deepens the understanding of the micro-foundations of CSR by theorizing and empirically testing the underlying mechanisms through which perceived CSR affect OC. Our findings suggested that CSR can function as an active investment in that it enhances the quality of members’ attitudes, beyond the commonsense that CSR is merely a cost or obligation for firms.