THE IMPACTS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON EMPLOYEE QUITTING INTENTION: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
Back to Page
Authors: Mohammed Laid Ouakouak, Bindu Arya, Michel Zaitouni
Keywords: corporate social responsibility, organizational citizenship behavior, social exchange theory, employee quitting intention
Abstract: Purpose: While some work on how employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) affect behavioral outcomes has been examined, less work simultaneously investigates whether employee perceptions of internal and external CSR influence the behavioral outcomes of incumbent employees working in organizations. This study draws on social exchange theory arguments to investigate the direct and indirect effects of internal and external CSR practices on employee organizational citizenship behavior and intention to quit. Design/methodology/approach: An empirical study was conducted among 664 employees working in the banking sector in Kuwait. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to test the suggested hypotheses. Findings: The results reveal that both internal and external CSR activities are positively related to Organizational Citizenship behavior (OCB) and OCB is negatively associated with intention to quit. Results show also that distributive justice moderates the relationship between OCB and intention to quit. Originality/value: This research demonstrates the importance of CSR activities in tax-free countries, in particular in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Since people in the GCC countries are concerned about the CSR behaviors of organizations, the CSR activities can allow organizations to signal that they are good corporate citizens. Hence, CSR could be considered as a particularly critical source of competitive advantage for businesses in the region. Practical implications: These findings extend the literature on corporate social responsibility and demonstrate that organizations must be engaged in CSR activities (internal and external) as way to enhance citizenship behaviors among employees and thereby increase retention rates.