“Sharing is caring”: Corporate social responsibility awareness explaining the relationship of information flow with affective commitment
Corporate Communications: An International Journal
ISSN: 1356-3289
Article publication date: 24 April 2013
Abstract
Purpose
The effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication on external stakeholders' perceptions and behaviours have been studied extensively; however, researchers have largely overlooked the effects of CSR communication on internal stakeholders. This study seeks to propose that, by enhancing employee awareness of the organisation's CSR activities (aimed at society, the government, customers, and employees), organisational communication can increase affective commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected at a Dutch healthcare insurance company, using a web‐based questionnaire (n=301). The proposed model was tested with structural equation modelling (SEM) using Amos.
Findings
The bootstrapping results showed a positive association between information flow and affective commitment, with a mediating effect for CSR aimed at employees and customers. CSR projects aimed at the government and society at large did not mediate the relationship between information flow and affective commitment.
Originality/value
The impact of CSR towards employees and customers can be explained by social exchange theory. When employees feel that their organisation values their well‐being and that of their customers, they reciprocate what they receive from the organisation by committing themselves to the organisation. As such, this study provides an important argument for the implementation of CSR activities: it increases the emotional attachment of employees towards their organisation.
Keywords
Citation
ter Hoeven, C.L. and Verhoeven, J.W.M. (2013), "“Sharing is caring”: Corporate social responsibility awareness explaining the relationship of information flow with affective commitment", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 264-279. https://doi.org/10.1108/13563281311319526
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited