Do employee responses to CSR enhance career adaptability? A study on the service sector in Vietnam

Abstract

Purpose

This empirical study aims to investigate how employee responses to corporate social responsibility (CSR) (i.e. perception of and participation in CSR initiatives) can affect career adaptability in the Vietnamese service industry. Furthermore, the mediating mechanism of psychological capital (PsyCap) and the moderating role of moral identity are explored in this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The target population for this study includes employees working for service enterprises in which CSR practices are conducted, such as tourism, hospitality, retail, education and others in Vietnam. The data from 685 responses were analyzed for measurement model analysis and structural model analysis using SPSS, AMOS and SmartPLS.

Findings

The findings of this study reveal that CSR perception and CSR participation have significant positive effects on career adaptability through PsyCap. This study also confirms that the positive association between CSR perception and PsyCap is more pronounced among employees with a higher level of internalized moral identity and symbolic moral identity.

Research limitations/implications

The collection of data involving multiple dimensions at once did not allow the study to accurately assess the effect of variables over time. Further studies that want to look closely at the impact of perception of and participation in CSR should collect data longitudinally and follow up the target sample over a period of time. Besides, moral identity is a context-dependent construct associated with various social and cultural institutions. Meanwhile, Western moral identity emphasizes individual-oriented morality; Eastern cultures consider a socially oriented person to be highly moral; therefore, this study’s findings might not be appropriate for Western culture. To enrich the existing CSR framework, future studies may attempt to unveil the intervening mechanism of other psychological factors, such as psychological safety, or explore the predictions for other career-related outcomes, such as career satisfaction in the CSR context. Finally, both CB-SEM and PLS-SEM methods can be combined to analyze complex models, especially high-order models.

Practical implications

By leveraging influence processes within the model, service managers can foster human resource development in the workplace by raising the active involvement of employees in CSR activities.

Originality/value

This research enriches the literature on CSR and employee-related outcomes by formulating a conceptual model focusing on employee responses to CSR as key antecedents. This study also contributes to the existing understanding of the CSR context by empirically investigating micro-level CSR in an emerging economy like Vietnam.

Citation

Nguyen, H.Q., Ha, P.T. and Doan, T.T.H. (2024), "Do employee responses to CSR enhance career adaptability? A study on the service sector in Vietnam", Social Responsibility Journal, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-01-2024-0019