Corporate social responsibility, employee engagement, well-being and the task performance of frontline employees

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minseong Kim ◽  
Jihye Kim

PurposeThis research examines the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the workplace and its impact on frontline employees’ work-related outcomes. Based on the CSR and human resource management literature, this research formulates and tests a model of perceived management support for CSR, perceived customer support for CSR, work engagement, organization engagement, well-being and task performance, with an emphasis on the moderating role of the importance of CSR to employees.Design/methodology/approachThe survey data were collected from 409 frontline employees of service enterprises, such as hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, airlines, in May and June 2015. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS and AMOS for frequency, reliability, correlation, confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling.FindingsThe empirical results indicate that perceived management support for CSR significantly influences work engagement and organization engagement. Perceived customer support for CSR significantly affects work engagement, which increases organization engagement and enhances task performance. Organization engagement has a significant impact on perceived well-being, which, in turn, enhances task performance. Finally, the importance of CSR to employees significantly moderates the path from perceived management support for CSR to organization engagement.Originality/valueThis study formulates a conceptual model focusing on CSR to investigate drivers of well-being and the two aspects of employee engagement in a workplace. This study also considers employees’ perceptions of the importance of CSR as a moderator in the model.

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 542-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Henry ◽  
Donatienne Desmette

Purpose In the context of workforce aging, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of occupational future time perspective (OFTP) in the relationship between work–family enrichment (WF-E) and two well-being outcomes (i.e. work engagement and emotional exhaustion). In addition, the moderating role of age on the relationship between WF-E and OFTP, and consequently, on the indirect effects of WF-E on work engagement and emotional exhaustion through OFTP, will be examined. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional survey research (n=263) was conducted in a public sector company in Belgium. Structural equation modeling and bootstrap analyses were performed to investigate the hypothesized relationships. Findings The dimension “remaining opportunities” of OFTP mediated the positive relationship between WFE and work engagement, and the negative relationship between WFE and emotional exhaustion. Chronological age moderated the positive relationship between WFE and the dimension “remaining time” of OFTP, with stronger effects among older workers. Research limitations/implications This research has confirmed that OFTP is influenced by WFE and that WFE matters, especially for older workers. Future research should continue to study the effects of the work–family interface on older workers. Practical implications Age management practices should take WFE into consideration when managing an aging workforce. In particular, older workers may benefit from WFE to increase their perception of remaining opportunities at work, which, in turn, increase well-being. Originality/value This study contributes evidence for the role of personal resources (i.e. remaining opportunities) in the relationship between WF-E and well-being at work.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 1295-1322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Roberto Beraldin ◽  
Pamela Danese ◽  
Pietro Romano

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how just-in-time (JIT)-related job demands, problem-solving job demands and soft lean practices (SLPs) jointly influence employee well-being in terms of work engagement and exhaustion. Design/methodology/approach Based on the job demands-resources model, lean-related job characteristics were classified as resources or demands, and a set of hypotheses was developed to test their effect on work engagement and exhaustion, including the potential interaction between job resources and demands. The hypotheses were tested using moderated hierarchical regression and structural equation modelling, based on data from 138 workers. Findings SLPs act as job resources in a lean company, increasing work engagement and reducing exhaustion. Conversely, JIT-related job demands act as a hindrance, reducing work engagement and increasing exhaustion. However, SLPs can reduce the effect of JIT-related job demands on exhaustion, and JIT-related job demands may enhance the positive effects of SLPs on work engagement. Research limitations/implications The study provides no conclusive evidence on the hypothesized role of problem-solving as a challenge job demand. Practical implications The results can guide practitioners’ understanding of how to implement lean without harm to employee well-being. Originality/value By employing a well-grounded psychological model to test the link between lean and well-being, the study finds quantitative support for: the buffering effect of SLPs on exhaustion caused by JIT-related job demands, and for the role of JIT as a hindrance. These novel findings have no precedent in previous survey-based research. In addition, it reveals the importance of studying SLPs at an individual level, as what matters is the extent to which workers perceive SLPs as useful and supportive.


2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian O Ugwu ◽  
Ike E. Onyishi ◽  
Alma Maria Rodríguez-Sánchez

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the relationship between organizational trust, psychological empowerment, and employee engagement. In addition, the study seeks to test the moderating role of psychological empowerment on the relationship between trust and engagement. Design/methodology/approach – Hierarchical regression analyses were carried out on a sample of 715 employees from seven commercial banks and four pharmaceutical companies in south-eastern Nigeria who participated in the survey. Findings – The results showed that organizational trust and psychological empowerment were predictors of work engagement. There was a moderating effect of empowerment on the relationship between trust and engagement. Research limitations/implications – The findings show that organizational trust and psychological empowerment that predict positive job behaviour in Western cultures are also critical in understanding Nigerian workers ' positive organizational behaviour such as work engagement. Practical implications – For practical purposes, the results suggest that organizational trust may be a significant component of organizational interventions. Given that psychological empowerment is strongly related to work engagement, empowerment intervention programs is therefore important in building employees that would be engaged in their work. Originality/value – This study was one of the first attempts to empirically investigate the direct relationship among organizational trust, psychological empowerment and employee work engagement. Additionally, most previous studies on engagement have been conducted in developed economies of North America and Europe. This study was carried out in a Nigerian business environment where organizational behaviours have been scarcely investigated and comparing these findings with earlier studies may help further clarify the emerging work engagement concept.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-461
Author(s):  
Sonja Lahtinen ◽  
Elina Närvänen

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore how consumers co-create sustainable corporate brands (SCBs) by framing brands with a newly adopted sustainability orientation.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative data were generated from four focus groups consisting of altogether 25 Finnish millennial consumers. The data were analysed using thematic analysis, and the resulting themes were classified as different framings.FindingsThe findings indicate three ways of framing SCBs: as signs of corporate hypocrite, as threats that increase societal fragmentation and as signs of corporate enlightenment. These framings are based on two components: the perceived attributes and activities of the corporate brand.Practical implicationsThe role of corporate brands is expanding from the business sphere towards actively influencing society. Yet, sustainability activities can be risky if consumers, as primary stakeholders, deem them unacceptable, unethical or untrustworthy. This research supports brand managers to succeed in co-creating SCBs as contributors to societal and environmental well-being, at a time when multiple stakeholders consider this a worthwhile endeavour.Originality/valueThe theoretical contribution is twofold: firstly, the paper extends the sustainable corporate branding literature by demonstrating how SCBs are co-created through an interactive framing process between the corporation and primary stakeholders, and, secondly, it contributes to the constitutive approach to corporate social responsibility communication (CSRC) research by showing how millennial consumers frame corporate brands that communicate corporations' newly adopted sustainability orientation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-168
Author(s):  
Adil Zahoor

PurposeThis study explores the driver influence of employee proactive personality on service recovery performance with work engagement as mediator. The moderating role of job resources (social support, supervisory coaching and performance feedback) is also examined in the proactivity-performance linkage to analyze the interaction effect of employee proactivity and job resources on recovery performance.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data pertaining to the constructs under investigation were collected using a structured questionnaire from 432 dyads of employees from four companies operating in the Indian retail banking sector. Each dyad comprised of one frontline employee and her peer (colleague). Responses to work engagement and job resources were self-reported by frontline staff, as peer ratings were solicited for frontline employees' proactivity and recovery performance.FindingsEmpirical findings suggest that frontline employees' proactive personality significantly ameliorates their work engagement which in turn exerts a positive driver effect on their service recovery performance. In the case of less proactive employees (those with a proactivity score of less than mean value), service recovery performance is boosted when they receive constant feedback on their recovery performance. The results, however, did not provide significant evidence with regard to the moderating role of social support and supervisory coaching.Originality/valueThis study is one of the maiden attempts to relate employee proactive personality with service recovery performance. Since the research relating personality with recovery performance is largely underexplored yet fundamentally important, this study expands the available literature by examining as to what type of employee is more likely to deliver superior service recovery performance with little organizational support.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1019-1033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Karanika-Murray ◽  
Nikita Duncan ◽  
Halley M. Pontes ◽  
Mark D. Griffiths

Purpose – Organizational identification refers to a person’s sense of belonging within the organization in which they work. Despite the importance of organizational identification for work-related attitudes and organizational behavior, little research has directly examined the mechanisms that may link these. The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of how organizational identification relates to job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a social identity perspective, the authors present and test two models that describe work engagement and its constituent dimensions (vigor, dedication, absorption) as mediating the relationship between organizational identification and job satisfaction. Findings – Bootstrapped mediation analyses provided support for full mediation whereby there is an indirect (via work engagement) and positive effect of organizational identification on job satisfaction. Analyses also provided support for the mediating effects of the three dimensions of work engagement, vigor, dedication, and absorption, in this relationship. Practical implications – Although cross-sectional, this study provides a needed first step toward an understanding of the important role of organizational identification for job satisfaction and the mediating role of work engagement in this relationship. Originality/value – The results provide valuable insights into the effects of organizational identification and address some of the gaps in understanding social identity as the context for work behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications for strengthening employee engagement and enhancing organizational identification are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyu Guan ◽  
Stephen Frenkel

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of firm training on the job performance of mainly semi-skilled manufacturing employees in the context of changes required to ensure the competitiveness of contemporary Chinese manufacturing.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using a survey with time-lagged method and from multiple sources. The sample included 348 supervisor-subordinate dyads from two Chinese manufacturing firms. PROCESS macro tool (Hayes) was used to test the mediating role of work engagement and the moderating role of HRM strength in the training-performance relationship.FindingsWork engagement mediates the relationship between training and in-role task performance, while the relationships between work engagement and both task performance and organizational citizenship behavior are moderated by HRM strength.Research limitations/implicationsBased on a time-lagged survey, causal relationships cannot be drawn from this study. Results point to future research on the training-performance relationship that more closely considers antecedents and the organizations’ internal and external contexts.Practical implicationsManagers should pay close attention to the context and process of training and learning from the employees’ perspective. In addition, a strong HRM system will improve the benefits of training on employee performance.Originality/valueThis study provides theoretical explanations on the mechanisms linking training and employee performance based on the ability-motivation-opportunity framework.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subash Chandra Pattnaik ◽  
Rashmita Sahoo

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect of creativity in the relationship between employee engagement and task performance and the moderating role of perceived workplace autonomy in the relationship between employee engagement and creativity through a moderated mediation analysis.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a quantitative research method. The sample for the study consisted of 396 employees and their clients in an Indian software development organization. Statistical analysis of the data was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis, Sobel test and Hayes' PROCESS for Model 1.FindingsFindings of the study indicated that creativity of employees partially mediate the relationship between employee engagement and their task performance and perceived workplace autonomy moderates the relationship between employee engagement and creativity.Practical implicationsManagers may use findings of the study to harness creativity of their employees by providing an autonomous workplace environment to improve their task performance so as to contribute to the bottom line of the organization.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature by examining the mediating effect of creativity in the relationship between employee engagement and task performance, especially in a non-Western context and the moderating role played by perceived workplace autonomy using componential and broaden-and-build theories.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richa Chaudhary

PurposeThis study aims to examine whether, how, and when authentic leadership shapes followers' perceptions of meaningfulness at work. Using authentic leadership theory, we posit that authentic leadership leads to more favorable perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which, in turn, results in enhanced experiences of meaningfulness at work. In addition to studying authentic leadership as a driver of CSR perceptions, and hence meaningfulness, we also examine if followers' attributions of self-centered motives to organizational engagement in CSR moderates the above relationship.Design/methodology/approachIn all, 368 employees from Indian IT industry participated in the survey. Data were analyzed using Process (Hayes 2013) in SPSS.FindingsResults supported the hypothesized moderated mediation model by revealing that attribution of self-centered motives undermines the positive impact of authentic leadership on CSR perceptions, and, subsequently, meaningfulness.Practical implicationsBy presenting CSR as a source of meaningfulness at work, this study establishes CSR as an important tool for fostering employee well-being. The internal corporate communication should emphasize how CSR activities of the organization represent core organizational values and organization’s genuine concern for the society.Originality/valueThe study adds to the leadership literature and integrates it with a divergent discipline of CSR by signifying the role of authentic leadership in the CSR process. By presenting a refined analysis of CSR in a developing country, this research expands the understanding of the expression of CSR in markets outside the developed core.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 653-678
Author(s):  
Carla Mascarenhas ◽  
Luis Mendes ◽  
Carla Marques ◽  
Anderson Galvão

Purpose Despite the recognised importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in higher education institutions (HEIs), research concerning CSR’s influence on employees’ attitudes and behaviours is still understudied. Grounded in the theory of social identity, this study aims to explore CSR’s impact on employees’ work engagement, job satisfaction and organisational identification in an HEI context. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected in a northern Portugal public HEI through a self-administered questionnaire distributed to both teaching and supporting staff. A structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was applied to data collected from 171 employees, using the partial least squares-SEM approach. Findings Overall, the findings show that CSR is strongly associated with work engagement, job satisfaction, identification with the organisation and perceived organisational support, confirming the hypothesised influence of HEI’s CSR development efforts on study-related attitudes. Practical implications Findings reinforce the need for HEIs to integrate CSR and human resource strategies and to pay special attention to CSR communication strategies. Social implications Findings reinforce the need for HEI to develop adequate CSR strategies because these have a significant influence on employees’ satisfaction at work, and thus on employees’ well-being in general. Originality/value This study contributes to attenuate the lack of literature on CSR’s impacts on employee behaviours.


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