Title: Perception of corporate social responsibility actions - the case of retail store managers

Authors: Chitra S. Dabas; Lizhu Y. Davis; Lynn M. Forsythe

Addresses: Department of Apparel Merchandising and Management, California State Polytechnic University, 252 Building 45, Pomona, CA 91768, USA ' Department of Marketing and Logistics, Craig School of Business, California State University, Fresno, 5245 N. Backer Avenue, M/S PB7, Fresno, 93740, California, USA ' Department of Finance and Business Law, Craig School of Business, California State University, Fresno, 5245 N. Backer Avenue, M/S PB7, Fresno, 93740, California, USA

Abstract: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions can be critical for retailers to be competitive in global and local markets. Because store managers are often the key for the successful implementation of the CSR strategies, this study was structured to understand the impact of how store managers perceive retail companies' CSR actions and any inconsistency between managers' values and their employers' CSR actions on their job satisfaction and commitment. The authors hypothesised that a retailer's CSR actions influence its managers' perception of the firm, in relation to organisational prestige and organisational benevolence, and consequently their satisfaction and commitment to the organisation. Results supported previous research findings that CSR actions can strengthen employee's job satisfaction and commitment by strengthening employee's overall organisational perception (prestige and benevolence). However, perceived CSR inconsistency can have a negative effect on the relationship of the managers to the retailer.

Keywords: cognitive consistency; corporate social responsibility; CSR; managers; organisational prestige; organisational benevolence; job satisfaction; retail stores; USA.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCSSR.2018.099461

International Journal of Corporate Strategy and Social Responsibility, 2018 Vol.1 No.4, pp.353 - 376

Received: 17 Aug 2018
Accepted: 02 Oct 2018
Published online: 06 May 2019 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article