How stakeholders’ CSR attribution is formed: The role of leader humility

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) research at the micro-level is receiving increased interest and attention in academic and managerial circles. However, much of the existing literature ignores an important factor in micro-CSR research—CSR attribution. In addition, compared with analyzing the influence of CSR attribution on stakeholders’ attitudes and behavior, understanding how stakeholders form different attributional explanations is not yet well understood. Against this backdrop, this study aims to investigate the formation of stakeholders’ CSR attributions. Drawing upon social information processing theory and the literature on leader humility, this article aims to analyze how leader humility and stakeholders’ received CSR cues interactively influence the formation of stakeholders’ CSR attribution. Specifically, we propose that leader humility and stakeholders’ received CSR cues interactively influence their CSR attribution through underlying mechanism of perception of selflessness. This article extends existing research on literatures of CSR, CSR attribution and leader humility, and can help companies to manage stakeholdes’ scepticism more effectively.