Corporate social responsibility organizational identification and motivation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement on employee motivation, job satisfaction and organizational identification as well as employee citizenship in voluntary community activities. Design/methodology/approach – Employees (n=224) of a major airline carrier participated in the study based on a 54‐item questionnaire, containing four different sets of items related to volunteering, motivation, job satisfaction and organizational identification. The employee sample consisted of two sub‐samples drawn randomly from the company pool of employees, differentiating between active participants in the company's CSR programs (APs) and non participants (NAPs). Findings – Significant differences were found between APs and NAPs on organizational identification and motivation, but not for job satisfaction. In addition, positive significant correlations between organizational identification, volunteering, job satisfaction, and motivation were obtained. These results are interpreted within the broader context that ties social identity theory (SIT) and organizational identification increase. Practical implications – The paper contributes to the understanding of the interrelations between CSR and other organizational behavior constructs. Practitioners can learn from this study how to increase job satisfaction and organizational identification. Both are extremely important for an organization's sustainability. Originality/value – This is a first attempt to investigate the relationship between CSR, organizational identification and motivation, comparing two groups from the same organization. The paper discusses the questions: “Are there potential gains at the intra‐organizational level in terms of enhanced motivation and organizational attitudes on the part of employees?” and “Does volunteering or active participation in CSR yield greater benefits for involved employees in terms of their motivation, job satisfaction and identification?”.