The Effects Of Corporate Social Responsibility On Corporate Reputation, Employee Job Satisfaction And Corporate Performance Of Small And Medium Enterprises In China
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Date
2016-09
Authors
Yang Lijie
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Abstract
Motivated by unresolved issue of the relationship between corporate social
responsibility (CSR) and corporate performance and a lack of relevant research, this
study aims to investigate the effects of CSR on corporate reputation, job satisfaction,
and corporate performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in China.
Literature suggested the measurement inadequacy, mismatch of stakeholders, and the
absence of essential third factor led to the inconclusive findings. Therefore, this study
distinguished external stakeholders from internal stakeholders, developed
measurements considering the context of the study, and introduced corporate
reputation and job satisfaction as mediating variables between CSR and corporate
performance based on stakeholder theory and social identity theory. In addition, the
effects of firm size and firm age on the abovementioned relationships were also taken
into consideration. A questionnaire survey on small and medium-sized manufacturing
enterprises was conducted in Hebei province, China. Partial least squares structural
equation modeling approach was used to analyze data of 309 samples which were
randomly selected. The results showed that CSR positively related to corporate
reputation and job satisfaction. Moreover, job satisfaction was found mediating the
relationship between CSR and corporate performance. However, the findings were
more complicated when firm size and firm age were taken into account and when the
investigation went deep into the relationships between lower-order variables. The
relationships between CSR, corporate reputation, job satisfaction and corporate
performance at the higher-order variables were found different among enterprises of
different age, while the relationships between lower-order variables were found
different between small enterprises and medium ones. The major contribution of this
study is the introduction of the job satisfaction factor into the relationship between
CSR and corporate performance as a mediator to construct a systematical mechanism
of CSR affecting corporate performance via both internal and external stakeholders.
In addition, the analysis on lower-order variables provides an in-depth understanding
about the relationship between CSR and corporate performance, and provides more
specific guidance or offers a useful basis for managers of SMEs to make decision on
CSR issues. The main implications of the findings are that SMEs, especially for
small enterprises or those at their early age, should conduct internal and external
CSR initiatives that could enhance employee job satisfaction to improve corporate
performance.
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Keywords
The effects of CSR on corporate reputation, job satisfaction, and corporate performance , of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in China.