The impacts of corporate social responsibility on organization citizenship behavior and task performance in hospitality

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the impacts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employee organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and task performance in hospitality. The existing research emphasizes the effects of CSR on organizational performance at a macro level. There is a need to explore social responsibility at a micro level, more precisely, the effects on employee OCB and task performance. Significant evidence shows that CSR positively affects employee OCB. However, there is scant research explaining how CSR impacts OCB and consequently task performance. The main purpose of this investigation was to bridge this gap by analyzing how CSR influences employee OCB and task performance in hospitality based on social identity theory.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model was proposed and tested through sequential mediation regressions based on a survey of 296 employees in the hospitality sector in China.FindingsThe results showed that CSR has a positive effect on social identity, which in turn influences employee OCB and consequently task performance. Social identity and OCB play sequential mediation roles between CSR and task performance. Additionally, there is an inverted U-shape relationship between OCB and task performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis research illustrates how and why CSR impacts employee OCB and task performance based on social identity theory. More specifically, a sequential mediation chain exists between CSR and task performance. The study suggests that hospitality businesses adopting CSR promote employee identification with their companies that leads to enhanced OCB and task performance. This may be an effective way to motivate employees through hospitality businesses accepting greater social responsibility. Additionally, it was found that OCB has a positive effect on task performance, and there is an inverted U-shape relationship between OCB and task performance.Originality/valueCSR can be applied as the employee management practice in the hospitality sector. CSR has a positive impact on organizational identification that contributes to individual outcomes such as OCB and task performance at work.