Effect of corporate ethics and social responsibility on OCB: the role of employee identification and perceived CSR significance

Abstract The objective of this study is to examine the nature of the association that corporate ethics and CSR have with the two dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), OCB toward other individuals in the company (OCBI) and OCB toward the organization’s strategies and objectives (OCBO). Based on a framework involving the resource-based view of the firm and the social identity theory, the CSR-OCB relationship is investigated with regard to employees’ perceived significance of CSR practices as well as their identification (association level) with the organization. The proposed model depicting the relationships is tested empirically based on data collected from a survey instrument distributed to alumni from one of the leading universities in Lebanon employed in various companies belonging to different sectors in Lebanon and the region. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyze the data and multi-group analysis is conducted to investigate the role of perceived CSR significance. Based on the data analysis results, the model is validated and the stated hypotheses are supported. Moreover, the moderating role of the perceived CSR significance in the relationship between CSR and OCB is highlighted. Theoretical and practical implications, study limitations, and further research recommendations are provided.