Connecting issues, CSR, and OPRs: Unpacking identity mediators of the effect of CSR on relationship and the moderating role of intergroup dynamics

Abstract

Dyadic assumptions permeate organization-public relationship (OPR) research. However, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives need to be understood not only in the dyadic organization-public context (i.e., examining effects of an organization’s CSR on one particular public), but also in the multifaceted organization-publics context where the interconnectedness among publics themselves needs to be considered. The purpose of this study is to examine how CSR brings relational outcomes when intergroup dynamics are considered. Through an experimental design where a public’s identity threat was manipulated, the study suggests that CSR leads to relational outcomes through establishing identity congruity and a public’s self-expansion (validating and affirming one’s identity through the organization). Moderated mediation analysis also showed that the indirect effect of CSR on the relational outcome through congruity became greater when participants were exposed to potential identity threat. The study provides important implications for how we approach and understand the connections between a public and an organization.