Is the Perception of 'Goodness' Good Enough? Exploring the Relationship Between Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Organizational Identification

• Published in: Journal of business ethics Vol. 114; no. 1; pp. 15 - 27
• Main Authors: Glavas, Ante, Godwin, Lindsey N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01.04.2013; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavior; Business and Management; Business Ethics; Business structures; Corporate responsibility; Corporate social responsibility; Education; Employee attitude; Employees; Ethics; Ethics and moral life; Greenwashing; Identification; Management; Organizational behavior; Organizational behaviour; Organizational identity; Perceptions; Perceptual organization; Perceptual reality; Philosophy; Quality of Life Research; Social identity; Social perception; Social psychology; Social responsibility; Sociology; Sociology of knowledge and ethics; Sociology of knowledge and sociology of culture; Sociology of organizations and enterprises. Bureaucracy and administration; Sociology of work and sociology of organizations; Studies; Sustainability; Employee behaviors and attitudes; Organizational behavior; Corporate social responsibility; Sustainability; Organizational identity; Enterprise; Identification; Social Identity; Social responsibility; Organizational Culture
• ISSN: 0167-4544; 1573-0697
• DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1323-5

Drawing on social identity theory and organizational identification theory, we develop a model of the impact of perceived corporate social responsibility on employees' organizational identification. We argue that employees' perceptions of their company's social responsibility behaviors are more important than organizational reality in determining organizational identification. After defining perceived corporate social responsibility (PCSR), we postulate how PCSR affects organizational identification when perception and reality are aligned or misaligned. Implications for organizational practice and further research are discussed.