Micro-Foundations: The Effects of CSR on Employees, Beneficiaries, and Society

Micro-level research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) is slowly, but surely, infiltrating organizational behavior (OB) and human resources (HR) research. However, there is still much to uncover about the micro-foundations of CSR. In this symposium, we seek to advance this line of research by addressing a few neglected perspectives on CSR. The first two papers in this session address antecedents to CSR perceptions and CSR engagement. Illuminating such antecedents is arguably the first step to advancing the micro-foundations of CSR to understand how, and why, employees perceive and engage in CSR initiatives. Next, a humanitarian perspective to CSR (i.e., one that considers the beneficiaries of CSR initiatives), is adopted to investigate whether the intended beneficiaries are truly benefiting from such practices. Without knowing the effectiveness of their CSR initiatives, organizations may be wasting valuable resources while beneficiaries feel cheated. The last two papers in this session examine the “dark side” of CSR. Although CSR is traditionally thought to benefit organizations and employees, increasing cynicism and skepticism about such practices may cause even the most well-intentioned organization to experience backfire effects. Taken altogether, each of the presentations in this symposium adds a unique perspective to extend our understanding of the micro-foundations of CSR. Who’s Socially Responsible? The Double Bind of Materiality Presenter: Sheen S. Levine; U. of Texas at Dallas Presenter: Razvan Lungeanu; Northeastern U. Global Citizenship: Exploring the Micro-Foundation for Multinational Firms’ Exercise of CSR Presenter: Alfred Presbitero; Deakin U. Evaluating the Authenticity of CSR Initiatives: A Beneficiary Perspective Presenter: Kelsey N. Murphy; U. of Saskatchewan Presenter: Chelsea Willness; U. of Saskatchewan Presenter: John Boakye-Danquah; U. of Saskatchewan Effect of Employees’ Sustainability-Related Moral Conflict on Sustainability Actions Presenter: S.M. Ramya; Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Presenter: Rupashree Baral; IIT Madras Presenter: Fong T. Keng; Nanyang Technological U. Good Behaviors, Bad Motives: CSR Attributions and Employee Vicarious Moral Licensing Presenter: Julia Stevenson-Street; Purdue U., West Lafayette Presenter: Brian R. Dineen; Purdue U. Presenter: David A. Jones; U. of Vermont