Abstract
Based on the social identity theory, this study investigates the mediation and moderation mechanism of CSR on job applicant attraction. A total of 395 job seekers are recruited to join in the experiment survey. The results indicate that job seekers’ perceptions of CSR positively relate to job applicant attraction, employer reputation and expected pride mediate this relationship, respectively, and the serial mediating role of employer reputation and then expected pride in the relationship between CSR and job applicant attraction. Additionally, the findings show that job applicants’ materialism orientation plays a moderating role in the indirect effect of CSR on job applicant attraction via expected pride, but the moderating effect of job seekers’ materialism orientation in the indirect effect of CSR on job applicant attraction via employer reputation is not statistically significant. These findings enrich the new culture-driven evidence on the impacting mechanism of CSR on job applicant’s attitude and provide valuable insight into how CSR motivates job applicant attraction.
Highlights
Corporate social responsibility(CSR) refers to the organization’s policies and actions to advance or promote some social good and stakeholders’ expectations beyond the organization’ and shareholders’ immediate interests and the mandatory law [1,2]
The existing literature advocates that the relationship between CSR and employee attitude is culture-driven [11], so we propose that Chinese job seekers respond positively to CSR practices due to high levels of humaneness in the Chinese Confucian culture
The results revealed that participants in the high-CSR group had a significantly higher level of job applicant attraction than those in the low-CSR group (3.548 ± 0.908 vs 3.042 ± 0.878, F = 12.171, p < 0.01, d = 0.566)
Summary
Corporate social responsibility(CSR) refers to the organization’s policies and actions to advance or promote some social good and stakeholders’ expectations beyond the organization’ and shareholders’ immediate interests and the mandatory law [1,2]. CSR has become a part of the core business approach that aims for sustainable development by providing economic, social, and environmental benefits to all stakeholders [3]. Research shows that better CSR activities help organizations acquire more resources, and earn optimal profits [4], and enhance job applicant attractiveness [5–8]. Extant studies mainly explore the direct influence of CSR on job applicant attraction from multi-dimensional perspectives of CSR, the underlying mechanisms by which a multitude of organizational implications related to CSR would lead to improvements in job applicant attraction is still not profoundly understood [6]. Signaling theory suggests that a firm’s CSR sends signals to prospective job applicants about what it would be like to work for a firm [9].
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