Job Satisfaction: Are Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives Beneficial And Do Different Governance Structures Matter?

Abstract

The non-financial benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives remain an understudied controversy in the literature. We draw on elements of stakeholder theory to investigate the effect of multiple CSR initiatives on job satisfaction for a widespread set of medium-sized Canadian companies. We explore this relationship further by focusing on the moderating effects of governance control structures. Data on these variables is captured through the lens of CFO/controller perceptions because of their intimate governance gatekeeping over firms’ control structure/systems. In this respect, we assume that CFOs are among the instrumental drivers in advancing an organization’s unfolding social consciousness. Research findings in this study reveal the criticality of examining this linkage within the context of the performance-based versus conformance-based dimensions of an organization’s corporate governance control structure – two governance dimensions championed by the International Federation of Accountants (2009). Results for low/high levels of performance-based control structures manifest different interaction configurations of statistically significant CSR variables that heighten job satisfaction. However, significant interaction effects under low/high levels featuring compliance-based control structures are not forthcoming, despite the presence of significant main effects in the CSR/job satisfaction relationship. These findings offer firms a more comprehensive practical understanding of benefits associated with investments in particular CSR strategies while grooming specific control structures, as well as offering researchers new control variables to model in the CSR domain.