The study of the effects of CSR was mainly focused on macro-levels, and centered around financial and marketing areas. On the other hand, there is a lack of empirical research on whether CSR is correctly recognised and evaluated by the organizational members as intended by the entity. In addition, despite the ongoing strategicization of CSR, there is still a lack of research on prior factors that can explain the variants that occur in the process of recognizing and evaluating the various types of CSR activities that an individual, whether strategic CSR or philanthropic CSR, conducts by an organization. From this background, discussions on the effectiveness of CSR awareness at the individual level need to be extended to strategic CSR, including philanthropic CSR.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to select the inherent characteristics of the individual traits, job condition, and CSR-related experience factors as antecedents for good and balanced CSR activities, and to empirically identify the impact on the organization''s CSR performances. To achieve the purpose of the study, this study selected CSR-related experience factors, job condition factors, and ethical tendencies of individuals as the antecedents that trigger cognitive evaluation of CSRs by organizational members.
Data collection used scenario-based self-reporting questionnaire. However, for the cognitive assessment of strategic and philanthropic CSR, the scenario approach was used. A total of 476 surveys were retrieved, 450 questionnaires were finally put into empirical analysis.
The structural equations model analysis results showed that awareness and participation in CSR activities did not significantly effect on the evaluation of authenticity and fit for CSR activities, whereas satisfaction with CSR education programs had a positive effect on CSR performance, and cynicism about CSR activities had a negative effect on both CSR authenticity and fit. These results support the argument that even if the organizational members are aware of their CSR activities and participate directly or indirectly, they cannot expect a positive effect from their participation in the CSR program if they do not sympathize with the authenticity of these activities.
In addition, in the evaluation of CSR activities carried out by the organization, results were obtained to meet expectations that it would be difficult for individuals to positively evaluate CSR activities if they were less satisfied with compensation, or if the CEO''s ethical leadership and morality were significantly lower in the favorableness of job condition with very high intensity of work. In particular, it has been confirmed that the intrinsic job condition has a stronger effect on attachment and immersion to the organization than on extrinsic job condition.
Finally, as a result of the multi-group analysis, the cognitive evaluation of CSRs on CSR performance, was also differentiated in the two groups. In particular, the variable that identified significant differences between groups was CSR performance. Nevertheless, the effects of CSR authenticity and fit on CSR performance in each individual group were all found to be positive. However, there was a difference in the size of the effect. The variable that has a greater effect on CSR performance was CSR authenticity in the philanthropic CSR group, and CSR performance in the strategic CSR group. These results can be interpreted as a result of showing that it is important for an entity to be perceived as an activity that meets its industrial characteristics, vision, strategic objectives, etc. in the case of a strategic CSR, and that it is important for a philanthropic CSR to focus on more social issues and be perceived as a genuine activity to solve these problems.
In conclusion, companies should strive to encourage voluntary participation of employees in a sincere manner and to have an eye that can be understood as an integrated and complementary relationship without looking dichotomously at the business and society, work and life. In addition, regular, continuous and consistent operation of CSR activities and education programs could be a good tool to maximize the internal effects of CSR activities. In particular, instead of being satisfied with the level of conveying facts and content, more efforts should be made to enable members to experience that they and their organizations are desirable and helpful to society through direct and indirect CSR activities, and that tangible results and changes are taking place.