CSR AS AN EMPLOYEE RETENTION TOOL: A RELATIONAL APPROACH

Strategy & Business Policy

Speaker: Michelle ROGAN

Professor Imperial College

Conférence - Jouy-en-Josas

ABSTRACT

Research suggests that corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs increase retention of employees who participate in them. Yet, given participation constraints, the effectiveness of programs as strategic human capital interventions depends on whether and when benefits extend to nonparticipating employees. We develop a relational perspective on CSR, proposing that connections to CSR participants increase the retention of nonparticipating employees by increasing perceptions of the firm’s CSR efforts as authentic. Because social impact work is associated with the female gender role stereotype, we further propose that women who participate in CSR are seen as more authentically motivated. Hence connections to participating women increase nonparticipant retention more than connections to participating men. We find support for our arguments using longitudinal data on 5,744 employees in a management consultancy.