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EVENT CANCELLED

Christiane Bode - Imperial College London

Title of talk: CSR AS AN EMPLOYEE RETENTION TOOL: A RELATIONAL APPROACH

Date: Friday January 26, 2024
Time:10:30 AM -12:00 PM

Abstract:

Many firms initiate corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs to address issues of social and environmental concern. Yet, employees are increasingly skeptical of the authenticity of the firms’ CSR claims, accusing employers of using CSR for public relations (PR) purposes (i.e., greenwashing). Hence, even well-intentioned firms who do engage in CSR face an authenticity problem. In this study we investigate how firms can increase employees’ perceptions of the authenticity of their CSR efforts. We develop a relational approach and propose that exposure to colleagues who have previously taken part in the firm’s CSR activities provides social proof which increases employees’ perceptions of the firm’s authenticity. Furthermore, we argue and show that authenticity perceptions significantly reduce employee turnover, for employees who have not directly engaged in the CSR program. A mixed-methods approach comprised of two studies - an experiment involving 454 employees hired to work for a hypothetical company and analysis of longitudinal data on 5,744 employees in a management consultancy - provides evidence that exposure to CSR colleagues increases perceptions of organizational authenticity and in turn reduces turnover of employees. Our study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationships between CSR, authenticity perceptions, and human capital benefits.