The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Employee Commitment and Compassion at Work: The Mediating Effect of Meaningful Work and Positive Affect

Abstract

This paper aims to theoretically explain the relationships between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), employee commitment and compassion at work using both Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Social Exchange Theory (SET) by developing a conceptual model into which incorporates mediation effects of meaningful work and positive affect. Further, this paper highlights the importance of examining employees’ perception of CSR activities in the licensed commercial banking sector. A structured questionnaire that was developed based on a comprehensive review of literature and refined using both expert opinions and a pilot survey was used for data collection. Sample comprised of 410 respondents with a response rate of 91%, and a convenience sampling strategy was used to secure responses from 13 local licensed commercial banks in Sri Lanka. Structural equation modelling using Smart Partial Least Square (PLS) was utilized to test the proposed relationships. As per the findings, there are significant (p<0.05) positive relationships between CSR and employee commitment and compassion at work. Also, meaningful work partially mediates the relationships between CSR and employee commitment and CSR and compassion at work. However, positive affect partially mediates the relationship between CSR and employee commitment only. It does not mediate the relationship between CSR and compassion at work. Theoretically, this study fills a gap by utilizing both SIT and SET in explaining relationships between CSR, employee commitment and compassion at work. Findings enhance existing literature on CSR, commitment and compassion at work. Moreover, this adds new insights on mediating capability of psychologically related variables.