Individual Submission Summary
Share...

Direct link:

Socially Responsible Identity and Behaviour in Not-For-Profits and For-Profits

Thu, June 30, 1:30 to 3:00pm, Ersta Skondal Conference Center, Clara Eckerstromstromsalen

Abstract

Despite the scholarly interest in companies’ responsibility and sustainability (known as corporate social responsibility or CSR), studies paid little attention to not-for-profit organisations’ (NPOs) responsibility and sustainability initiatives. Similar to corporations, some NPOs initiate community projects on top of the core mission; involve employees in volunteering and donating to other causes; and support other NPOs and the community (Lin-Hi, Hörisch, & Blumberg, 2015). Developing such initiatives could potentially yield benefits for NPOs similar to known benefits of CSR to companies: better performance, positive reputation, talent attraction, and employee engagement (see Aguinis and Glavas, 2012; Liu et al., 2013; McWilliams and Siegel, 2001).

However, the outcomes and benefits of these initiatives differ by sector (Goulet & Frank, 2002; Van den Bosch, De Jong, & Elving, 2006). Furthermore, as employees in for-profits and NPOs differ in their motivation, attitudes and workplace related outcomes (Brown & Yoshioka, 2003; Goulet & Frank, 2002; Handy & Katz, 1998), it would be expected that the relationship between employer’s social responsibility and employee engagement in NPOs to be different compared to for-profits. Therefore, a comparative study between NPOs and for-profits on how socially responsible initiatives and behaviour can affect employee perception and engagement is needed.

This study will be conducted using the CSR Congruence Model (see Haski-Leventhal, Roza and Meijs, 2015), according to which social responsibility (SR) of both employees and organisations can be examined through identity (including values, self concept etc.) and behaviour (actions and activities). Combining identity and behaviour leads to four patterns: Low SR, Identity-based SR, Behavior-based SR and Entwined SR.

Such an analysis could lead to the identification of SR patterns for employers and employees in both sectors. As this model allows comparing employers’ and employees’ patterns of SR, we can identify the congruence between the two and compare it by sector. Ultimately, this congruence or proximity can lead to positive outcomes such as organisational commitment and job satisfaction (Haski-Leventhal et al., 2015) and it would be important to compare such antecedents and results in for-profits and NPs.
Study and method
The research design has a deductive quantitative approach by applying an online survey to test the CSR Congruence Model in for-profits and NPOs. Data will be collected between February-April 2016 in at least five (international) companies and five NPOs. Based on previous experiences in conducting surveys with these organisations, we expect at least 4000 responses (expected response rate of 20-25%).

Results
Our main findings will focus on comparing the social responsibility behaviour and identity of employees in for-profits and NPOs. Secondly we will compare employee perceptions of their employer’s SR by sector, expecting that within mission the NPO will perform better than for-profits, but less so in the non-mission related areas (based on Lin-Hi et al., 2015). SR congruence between employees and employers and the outcomes of (dis)congruence will be compared according to sector.

Authors