Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Internal Versus External Corporate Social Responsibility Effects on Employees of a Multinational Subsidiary in Russia: The Roles of Morality and Attributions

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Corporate Reputation Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is interpreted and enacted differently in developed and transition countries. These differences can present a challenge for Western multinational companies (MNCs) that operate in emerging markets, as they are faced with inconsistent norms on CSR between home and host country. Drawing on Social Identity Theory and Attribution Theory, the current research addresses how employees of MNC subsidiaries situated in emerging markets evaluate internal (which directly benefits employees) and external (which benefits other stakeholder groups) CSR practices. A survey was conducted among professionals (N = 481) working at a subsidiary of a Western MNC in Russia. Our findings revealed that internal CSR positively affected organizational identification through perceived organizational morality. Interestingly, employees’ responses to external CSR appeared to be ambivalent. Whereas external CSR had a negative direct effect on perceived organizational morality, a positive mediation effect on perceived organizational morality was found through attributed extrinsic corporate motives. This research provides much-needed contextualized insights on the psychological mechanisms underlying employees’ judgments of CSR strategies in emerging markets.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aggarwal, P., and R.K. Singh. 2022. Synthesizing the affinity between employees’ internal-external CSR perceptions and work outcomes: A meta-analytic investigation. Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility 31 (4): 1053–1101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashforth, B.E., and F. Mael. 1989. Social identity theory and the organization. Academy of Management Review 14 (1): 20–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, C.W., and L.J. Sitka. 2012. Corporate social responsibility as a source of employee satisfaction. Research in Organizational Behavior 32: 63–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharya, C.B., and S. Sen. 2004. Doing better at doing good: When, why, and how consumers respond to corporate social initiatives. California Management Review 47 (1): 9–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blader, S.L., and T.R. Tyler. 2009. Testing and extending the group engagement model: Linkages between social identity, procedural justice, economic outcomes, and extrarole behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology 94: 445–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boğan, E., and M. Sarıışık. 2020. Organization-related determinants of employees’ CSR motive attributions and affective commitment in hospitality companies. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 45: 58–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhary, R., and A. Akhouri. 2018. Linking corporate social responsibility attributions and creativity: Modeling work engagement as a mediator. Journal of Cleaner Production 190: 809–821.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crotty, J. 2016. Corporate social responsibility in the Russian federation: A contextualized approach. Business & Society 55 (6): 825–853.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlsrud, A. 2006. How corporate social responsibility is defined: An analysis of 37 definitions. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 15: 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Roeck, K., and N. Delobbe. 2012. Do environmental CSR initiatives serve organizations’ legitimacy in the oil industry? Exploring employees’ reactions through organizational identification theory. Journal of Business Ethics 110 (4): 397–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donia, M.B.L., and C.A. Tetrault Sirsly. 2016. Determinants and consequences of employee attributions of corporate social responsibility as substantive or symbolic. European Management Journal 34: 232–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Du, S., C.B. Bhattacharya, and S. Sen. 2010. Maximizing business returns to corporate social responsibility (CSR): The role of CSR communication. International Journal of Management Reviews 12: 8–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellemers, N., L. Kingma, J. Van de Burgt, and M. Barreto. 2011. Corporate Social Responsibility as a source of organizational morality, employee commitment and satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Moral Psychology 1 (2): 97–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellemers, N., S. Pagliaro, and M. Barreto. 2013. Morality and behavioural regulation in groups: A social identity approach. European Review of Social Psychology 24: 160–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellemers, N., and K. Van den Bos. 2012. Morality in groups: On the social-regulatory functions of right and wrong. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 6: 878–889.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellen, P.S., D.J. Webb, and L.A. Mohr. 2006. Building corporate associations: Consumer attributions for corporate socially responsible programs. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 34 (2): 147–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farooq, O., D.E. Rupp, and M. Farooq. 2017. The multiple pathways through which internal and external corporate social responsibility influence organizational identification and multifoci outcomes: The moderating role of cultural and social orientations. Academy of Management Journal 60 (3): 954–985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fifka, M.S., and M. Pobizhan. 2014. An institutional approach to corporate social responsibility in Russia. Journal of Cleaner Production 82: 192–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fornell, C., and D.F. Larcker. 1981. Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: Algebra and statistics. Journal of Marketing Research 18 (3): 382–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, D.T., and P.S. Malone. 1995. The correspondence bias. Psychological Bulletin 117 (1): 21–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hameed, I., Z. Riaz, G.A. Arain, and O. Farooq. 2016. How do internal and external CSR affect employees’ organizational identification? A perspective from the group engagement model. Frontiers in Psychology 7: 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hetze, K. 2016. Effects on the (CSR) reputation: CSR reporting discussed in the light of signalling and stakeholder perception theories. Corporate Reputation Review 19 (3): 281–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamali, D., and A. Carroll. 2017. Capturing advances in CSR: Developed versus developing country perspectives. Business Ethics: A European Review 26: 321–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamali, D., and R. Mirshak. 2007. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Theory and practice in a developing country context. Journal of Business Ethics 72: 243–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M.D., F.P. Morgeson, D.R. Ilgen, C.J. Meyer, and J.W. Lloyd. 2006. Multiple professional identities: Examining differences in identification across work-related targets. Journal of Applied Psychology 91 (2): 498–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, H.H. 1967. Attribution theory in social psychology. In Nebraska symposium on motivation, ed. D. Levine, 192–240. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, H.H., and J.L. Michela. 1980. Attribution theory and research. Annual Review of Psychology 31: 457–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostova, R., and K. Roth. 2002. Adoption of an organizational practice by subsidiaries of multinational corporations: Institutional and relational effects. Academy of Management Journal 45: 215–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuznetsov, A., and O. Kuznetsova. 2005. Business culture in modern Russia: Deterrents and influences. Problems and Perspectives Management 2 (2): 25–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuznetsov, A., O. Kuznetsova, and R. Warren. 2009. CSR and the legitimacy of business in transition economies: The case of Russia. Scandinavian Journal of Management 25: 37–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leach, C.W., N. Ellemers, and M. Barreto. 2007. Group virtue: The importance of morality (vs. competence and sociability) in the positive evaluation of in-groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 93 (2): 234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leach, C.W., M. van Zomeren, S. Zebel, M. Vliek, S.F. Pennekamp, B. Doosje, J.W. Ouwerkerk, and R. Spears. 2008. Collective self-definition and self-investment: A two-dimensional framework of group identification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 95: 144–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • London, T., and S.L. Hart. 2004. Reinventing strategies for emerging markets: Beyond the transnational model. Journal of International Business Studies 35: 350–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mael, F., and B.E. Ashforth. 1992. Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification. Journal of Organizational Behavior 13: 103–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maignan, I., and O.C. Ferrell. 2004. Corporate social responsibility and marketing: An integrative framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 32: 3–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marano, V., and T. Kostova. 2016. Unpacking the institutional complexity in adoption of CSR practices in multinational enterprises. Journal of Management Studies 53 (1): 28–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNamara, T.K., R. Carapinha, M. Pitt-Catsouphes, M. Valcour, and S. Lobel. 2017. Corporate social responsibility and employee outcomes: The role of country context. Business Ethics: A European Review 26: 413–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minor, D., and J. Morgan. 2011. CSR as reputation insurance: Primum non nocere. California Management Review 53 (3): 40–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Mara-Shimek, M., M. Guillén, and A.J. Bañón Gomis. 2015. Approaching virtuousness through organizational ethical quality: Toward a moral corporate social responsibility. Business Ethics: A European Review 24 (S2): S144–S155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Öberseder, M., B.B. Schlegelmilch, P.E. Murphy, and V. Gruber. 2014. Consumers’ perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility: Scale development and validation. Journal of Business Ethics 124 (1): 101–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preuss, L., and R. Barkemeyer. 2011. CSR priorities of emerging economy firms: Is Russia a different shape of BRIC? Corporate Governance 11 (4): 371–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pučetaite, R., and A.M. Lämsä. 2008. Developing organizational trust through advancements of employees’ work ethic in a post-socialist context. Journal of Business Ethics 82: 325–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raykov, T., and G.A. Marcoulides. 2006. On multilevel model reliability estimation from the perspective of structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling 13 (1): 130–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romani, S., S. Grappi, and R.P. Bagozzi. 2016. Corporate socially responsible initiatives and their effects on consumption of green products. Journal of Business Ethics 135: 253–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S.H. 1992. Universals in the content and structure of values: Theory and empirical tests in 20 countries. In Advances in experimental social psychology, ed. M. Zanna, 1–65. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sjovall, A.M., and A.C. Talk. 2004. From actions to impressions: Cognitive attribution theory and the formation of corporate reputation. Corporate Reputation Review 7 (3): 269–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soboleva, I. 2006. Corporate social responsibility: Global context and Russian realities. Problems of Economic Transition 49 (8): 82–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Story, J., and P. Neves. 2015. When corporate social responsibility (CSR) increases performance: Exploring the role of intrinsic and extrinsic CSR attributions. Business Ethics: A European Review 24 (2): 111–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H. 1982. Social psychology of intergroup relations. Annual Review of Psychology 33: 1–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H., and J.C. Turner. 1979. An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, ed. W.G. Austin and S. Worchel, 33–47. Monterey: Brooks/Cole.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, J. 2009. Institutional structure and firm social performance in transitional economies: Evidence of multinational corporations in China. Journal of Business Ethics 86: 171–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Prooijen, A.M., and N. Ellemers. 2015. Does it pay to be moral? How indicators of morality and competence enhance organizational and work team attractiveness. British Journal of Management 26: 225–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vlachos, P.A., N.G. Panagopoulos, D.G. Bachrach, and F.P. Morgeson. 2017. The effects of managerial and employee attributions for corporate social responsibility initiatives. Journal of Organizational Behavior 38: 1111–1129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vlachos, P.A., A. Theotokis, and N.G. Panagopoulos. 2010. Sales force reactions to corporate social responsibility: Attributions, outcomes, and the mediating role of organizational trust. Industrial Marketing Management 39: 1207–1218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Q., J. Dou, and S. Jia. 2016. A meta-analytic review of corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance: The moderating effect of contextual factors. Business & Society 55: 1083–1121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, C., and D. Nyberg. 2017. An inconvenient truth: How organizations translate climate change into business as usual. Academy of Management Journal 60 (5): 1633–1661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaheer, S. 1995. Overcoming the liability of foreignness. Academy of Management Journal 38 (2): 341–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, M. 2012. CSR-based political legitimacy strategy: Managing the state by doing good in China and Russia. Journal of Business Ethics 111: 439–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

No specific funding was received for this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Media & Communication, Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC), Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), PO Box 1738, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

    Anne-Marie van Prooijen & Yijing Wang

Authors
  1. Anne-Marie van Prooijen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yijing Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne-Marie van Prooijen.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to report.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

van Prooijen, AM., Wang, Y. Internal Versus External Corporate Social Responsibility Effects on Employees of a Multinational Subsidiary in Russia: The Roles of Morality and Attributions. Corp Reputation Rev (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41299-024-00184-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41299-024-00184-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation