birkbeck university

The relationship between employee perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility and organisational commitment

Previous research has high-lighted the positive impact that perceived CSR activity can have upon employee organisational commitment (Brammer, Millington and Rayton, 2007). Other research suggests that it is congruence between individual and organisational values that will enhance commitment (e.g. Finegan, 2000). Social identity theory and person-organisation fit theory have been used to explain these findings respectively. To date the concept of CSR in this body of research has been uni-dimensional; however, the broader literature would indicate that this is a multi-faceted construct (e.g. Boven, 1998). This research will expand on that by Brammer et al. (2007) by examining different dimensions of CSR. It is hypothesised that the relationship between perceptions of CSR and commitment will be mediated by the congruence between perceived importance of CSR dimensions and the perceived prevalence of these behaviours in the organisation (person-organisation fit). A cross-sectional questionnaire design will be employed in which participants will rate the importance of different CSR behaviours and perceptions of CSR within their organisation, in addition to organisational commitment. Both Pearson�s correlation and a regression analysis will be used to firstly identify the relationship between CSR behaviour and commitment and secondly, the ability of CSR congruence to predict organisational commitment.