TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The involvement of employees in a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR program) is one of the key factors for its success. Hence, it is important to understand employees’ reactions to participatory CSR activities. The purpose of this paper is to examine what kinds of benefits employees perceive from participating in CSR, to identify varying levels of participation and to discuss the reciprocal relationship between the perception of benefits and participation.Design/methodology/approach Based on semi-structured interviews with employees, the structuring content analysis resulted in a differentiated examination of perceived benefit clusters (classified as functional, emotional and meaning and morality) and in a clustered exploration of varying levels of participation (cognitive and behavioral).Findings The findings reveal that employees perceived all three clusters of benefits in relation to no/low, passive, active and enthusiastic levels of participation. The data provide insights into the relationship between perceived benefits and varying levels of participation, with a balanced and differentiated perception of benefits seeming to relate to higher levels of participation. However, employees may also benefit without a behavioral form of participation, for instance, from an improved team spirit.Originality/value Due to its methodological approach, this empirical study provides a rich picture of employees’ benefits according to varying levels of participation. The paper contributes to current CSR literature by examining self-oriented benefits, through identifying differing levels of participation, and by discussing their reciprocal relation. These findings contribute to research and practice through the implications for promoting sustainability approaches within companies.
VL  - 24
IS  - 2
SN  - 1356-3289
DO  - 10.1108/CCIJ-12-2017-0123
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-12-2017-0123
AU  - Koch Carina
AU  - Bekmeier-Feuerhahn Sigrid
AU  - Bögel Paula Maria
AU  - Adam Ulrike
PY  - 2019
Y1  - 2019/01/01
TI  - Employees’ perceived benefits from participating in CSR activities and implications for increasing employees engagement in CSR
T2  - Corporate Communications: An International Journal
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 303
EP  - 317
Y2  - 2024/04/19
ER  -