Configurational paths of employee reactions to corporate social responsibility: An organizational justice perspective

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is critical for organizations who want to pursue sustainable development and competitive advantage by influencing employee attitudes. Drawing on the deontic justice theory, we argue that internal and external CSR initiatives promote self‐focused and other‐focused justice, respectively, which contribute to employee‐perceived organizational justice and shape positive employee behaviors. This study applied a fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis method to determine the interactive effects of employee perceptions of CSR practices and organizational justice on employee outcomes. An examination of data from 1,231 employees in Taiwan revealed that high CSR perceptions lead to high perceived justice among employees who attach high importance to justice. In addition, while high perceived justice by itself is insufficient to determine positive employee outcomes, the combination of high perception of internal CSR, external CSR, and organizational justice is sufficient to predict positive employee outcomes. The findings provide implications for both research and practice.