Striving for legitimacy through CSR: an exploration of employees responses in controversial industry sector

Purpose - Based on the social identification theory, this study aims to understand employees’ reactions to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in oil companies. This study finds that employees’ perceived CSR is positively related to the employee organizational identification in controversial sector companies. Design/methodology/approach - The authors chose to analyze five oil companies in India. These companies are large in size and revenue and provide a valid context for the present study. A survey of 316 employees had been carried out in the year 2015 at the headquarters of these companies located in India. Findings - The finding shows that organization CSR activities enhance employees’ organizational identification, which in turn leads to employee commitment to their organization. Furthermore, the finding highlights the relationship between perceived CSR and organizational identification, which is mediated by perceived external prestige and perceived organizational support. Research limitations/implications - The limitation of this study is the cross-sectional research design. The variables under investigation were measured only at one specific point of time. Another restriction of the study is that the data had been collected from the self-reported questionnaire. The results were dependent on how employees perceive and interpret how outside world assesses or views their organization. Originality/value - This study provides a first step of empirical evidence suggesting that CSR engagement is important and can help in building the relation with stakeholders even in controversial industry.