中国科学院心理研究所机构知识库

This study aims to examine the internal mechanism under which corporate social responsibility (CSR) impacts the employees’ turnover intentions. Based on the self-worth orientation theory and the social exchange theory, a two-pathway model considering the unemployment risk perceptions, CSR intrinsic attributions, work engagement, and organizational commitment of employees, was proposed and tested using an experimental manipulation method. The data of this study were obtained from 187 employees in China. The results revealed that (1) CSR had a significantly negative effect on the employees’ turnover intentions. The high (versus low) CSR led to lower turnover intentions. (2) CSR influenced the employees’ turnover intentions through two pathways. The first pathway, from CSR to turnover intention, was sequentially mediated by CSR intrinsic attribution and organizational commitment. The second pathway involved the sequential mediation of unemployment risk perception and work engagement. In conclusion, this paper combined previous psychological theories to propose a two-pathway model to demonstrate that corporate social responsibility (a macro-level factor) impacts the employees’ behaviors at the micro-level, including the pathway of motivation–evaluation and the pathway of profit–loss exchange. Therefore, the current study expanded the application of the self-worth orientation theory to include the effects of social situations on people’s behaviors and addressed the gaps in the research on the effects of CSR at the individual level. This two-pathway model provided some ideas on how CSR management practice could lead to positive outcomes for the employees of organizations.