Revisiting Corporate Volunteering: The Impact of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation to Volunteer

Abstract

The number of companies that encourage their employees to take part in corporate social responsibility (CSR) via corporate volunteering (CV) is ever-growing. However, understanding employee motivation to participate in CV, and furthermore, the role such motivation plays in developing positive workplace attitudes among employees remains relatively unexplored. Borrowing from the existing literature and self-determination theory, we examine how intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for CV affect positive workplace attitudes among employees. Drawing from a survey of 1076 Australian employees who participated in CV, we show that intrinsic motivation behind CV has a positive relationship with affective commitment. Examining the indirect effects; however, reveals that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation moderate the relationship between CSR attitudes and the aforementioned outcomes differently. These findings contribute to the understanding of SDT, work motivation, CSR, CV, and motivation to participate in CV--providing implications for increasing participation in CSR and CV among employees.