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Employees Perceptions about Corporate Social Responsibility—Understanding CSR and Job Engagement through Meaningfulness, Bottom-Up Approach and Calling Orientation

Author

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  • Sara Cunha

    (Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, 4050-290 Porto, Portugal)

  • Teresa Proença

    (Faculty of Economics and Management, CEF.UP, University of Porto, 4050-290 Porto, Portugal)

  • Marisa R. Ferreira

    (School of Management and Technology, CIICESI, Porto Polytechnic Institute, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal)

Abstract

This article analyses the effect of employees’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on job engagement, and we measure meaningfulness experienced and the role of cross-level sensemaking factors, such as the bottom-up approach and calling orientation. Drawing on qualitative data, collected among workers that had CSR implemented in their companies, our findings suggest that both calling orientation and meaningfulness influence the positive impact of the CSR perceptions on job engagement through sequential mediation. The calling orientation has an important role in this relationship because meaningfulness alone does not influence the relationship between CSR and job engagement. Additionally, employees’ perceptions of CSR positively influence job engagement. Furthermore, our research indicates that the meaningfulness experienced by workers increases in the presence of a bottom-up approach in what concerns the definition and implementation of CSR actions of the company. Overall, this research expands our understanding of how people find meaningfulness through individual experiences of CSR.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Cunha & Teresa Proença & Marisa R. Ferreira, 2022. "Employees Perceptions about Corporate Social Responsibility—Understanding CSR and Job Engagement through Meaningfulness, Bottom-Up Approach and Calling Orientation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-24, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:21:p:14606-:d:965213
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    Cited by:

    1. Ahmad Nasser Abuzaid & Elham Hmoud Al-Faouri & Manal Mohammad Alateeq & Saif-aldeen Marwan Madadha & Mohammed Yasin Ghadi & Aymn Sulieman Al-Qatawenh & Dmaithan Abdelkarim Almajali & Haya Abdul Kareem, 2024. "The Relationship between Perceptions of High-Performance Work Systems and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Considering the Moderating Effect of a Positive Diversity Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-20, May.
    2. Ana Moreira & Ana Cláudia Rodrigues & Marisa R. Ferreira, 2025. "Where Is Human Resource Management in Sustainability Reporting? ESG and GRI Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-25, March.
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    4. Martin, Ursula M. & Thapa, Urusha & Aguinis, Herman, 2024. "Punishing the good? How to minimize an unfair CSR-washing label," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 199-207.
    5. Katarzyna Andruszkiewicz & Tomasz Wierzejski & Marek Siemiński, 2024. "The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Practices on Employer Branding—A Case Study of an International Corporation Operating in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-16, March.
    6. Susana Rodrigues & Teresa Proença & Marisa R. Ferreira, 2024. "Insights into employee perspectives on corporate social responsibility policies and practices: Embeddedness, participation, and meaningfulness through work," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3502-3516, July.
    7. Paraskevi (Evi) Dekoulou & Anna Anastasopoulou & Panagiotis Trivellas, 2023. "Employee Performance Implications of CSR for Organizational Resilience in the Banking Industry: The Mediation Role of Psychological Empowerment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-20, August.

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