The relationship between corporate social responsibility, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment: Case of Pakistani higher education

Abstract

Despite significant economic and social importance, corporate social responsibility in Pakistan has not been examined extensively yet. Many universities in the globe have also incorporated this corporate concept into their processes, systems, curricula, development programs, and even mission and visions. However, information on how universities in Pakistan perceive and practice corporate social responsibility is significantly limited. Thus, the purpose of this study is to highlight how corporate social responsibility is perceived in Pakistani universities, and how it can add to achieving long term objectives. Organizational commitment and job satisfaction are considered precedents of employee performance, and the relationship between employee performance and organizational performance is also well established. Therefore, perceptions of corporate social responsibility impact employee organizational commitment and job satisfaction are investigated in this study. Using the survey method, 245 responses from 14 campuses of eight universities were collected. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. The results show that perceived corporate social responsibility has a significant relationship with job satisfaction (b = 0.43) and organizational commitment (b = 0.63). However, the relationship between some components of corporate social responsibility at dimension level of job satisfaction were found insignificant. Thus, universities should be encouraged to engage society, corporations and government to accomplish higher aims and sustainability by focusing on corporate social responsibility initiatives. To the best of authors' knowledge, this study is the first to examine these variables in Pakistani higher education and will encourage scholars and practitioners to work in this area.