Corporate social responsibility and intention to quit

Purpose - While some work on how employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) affect behavioral outcomes has been examined, less work simultaneously investigates whether employee perceptions of internal and external CSR influence the behavioral outcomes of incumbent employees working in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to draw on social exchange theory arguments to investigate the direct and indirect effects of internal and external CSR practices on employee organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and intention to quit. Design/methodology/approach - An empirical study was conducted among 664 employees working in the banking sector in Kuwait. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to test the suggested hypotheses. Findings - The results reveal that both internal and external CSR activities are positively related to OCB and OCB is negatively associated with intention to quit. Results also show that distributive justice moderates the relationship between OCB and intention to quit. Practical implications - These findings extend the literature on CSR and demonstrate that organizations engaged in CSR activities (internal and external) can enhance citizenship behaviors among employees and thereby increase retention rates. Originality/value - This research demonstrates the importance of CSR activities in tax-free countries, particularly, in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Since employees in GCC countries are increasingly concerned about the CSR behaviors of organizations, CSR activities can allow local organizations to signal that they are good corporate citizens. Hence, CSR could be considered as a particularly critical source of competitive advantage for businesses in the region.