Employee engagement in corporate social responsibility: disentangling the effects of values vs prestige

Purpose Drawing on social identity theory, this study aims to disentangle the values and prestige-related mechanisms through which an organization's external corporate social responsibility (CSR) leads to increased employee participation in, and communication of, CSR. The moderating effect of internally-directed CSR initiatives on employees' external CSR (ECSR) behaviors is also examined. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal survey of 196 employees was conducted and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to assess the relationship between ECSR and employee CSR engagement. Findings The relationship between employee perceptions of ECSR and the employee perceptions' engagement in CSR was fully mediated by value congruence, but not by the organization's perceived external prestige. The effects of ECSR on both value congruence and prestige were stronger when employees also experienced high levels of internal CSR (ICSR). Practical implications When employees perceive consistency in the respective organizations' external and ICSR efforts, this strengthens the employees' initial beliefs about the firm's values and reputation and enhances employees' willingness to promote the employees' company's CSR initiatives to organizational outsiders. Originality/value This study advances the authors' theoretical understanding of why, and when, organizational CSR initiatives generate greater CSR engagement among employees.