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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Management and Information Systems
First Advisor
Matthew Piszczek
Abstract
This dissertation built a framework that bridged the literature on CSR, motive attributions, and psychological contract theory to address key shortcomings in these areas and further integrate these literatures. In the first step, I conducted the first cross-disciplined systematic review of the employee attribution of CSR literature. The review consolidated 41 studies, which utilized multiple attribution frameworks and spanned several research disciplines. A key finding of this review highlights the inconsistent impact of negative attributions, which I theorize is due to the contents of the measurement scales. Additionally, I draw attention to the inconsistency in the terminology used across studies, which will stunt the development of research in this area. In total, I offer five recommendations for future research. Next, I utilized a JD-R theory framework to introduce a psychological contract perspective on how an organization’s internal CSR initiatives impact its employees. As internal CSR initiatives (i.e., organizational actions targeting employee well-being) have experienced widespread adoption, employees now view their organizations as obligated to offer these initiatives and the resources they provide, making them an element of the psychological contract. As resource delivery mechanisms, internal CSR initiatives offer the socioemotional and ideological resources obligated of the organization in the psychological contract. By offering these resources, organizations fulfill the psychological contract of employees, with a fulfilled psychological contract itself acting as a resource that partially transmits the effects of internal CSR initiatives, increasing work engagement and decreasing burnout Testing this framework in a large sample of employees from across the USA, I found robust support for this chain of relationships. Additionally, it was proposed, but ultimately not supported, that motive attributions would act as boundary conditions for these relationships. Employees are burnt out and increasingly care about how they are treated by their employer, with displeasure in treatment leading to mass withdrawals in their engagement, causing current phenomena such as “quiet quitting” and the “great resignation”. Internal CSR initiatives (e.g., employee wellness, work-life balance, DEI) directly address these issues and have become a key part of the employee-employer relationship.
Recommended Citation
Yestrepsky, Joseph Michael, "How Employee Motive Attributions Shape The Relationship Between Internal Corporate Social Responsibility And The Psychological Contract: The Impact On Employee Burnout And Work Engagement" (2024). Wayne State University Dissertations. 4088.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/4088