COMMUNICATION AND LEADERSHIP FOR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. A qualitative study on Greek employees’ perception s of the CSR initiatives

Now more than ever, organizations increasingly invest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. This is due to the pressure that today’s organizations receive from the stakeholders. Despite the importance of employees as vital stakeholders for organization, research studies predominantly focus on the external stakeholders of corporations in the context of corporate social responsibility. However, employees, as a key stakeholder group, can benefit from corporate social responsibility activities by developing their skills. In addition to this, employees can work as brand ambassadors and strengthen organizational reputation. Recent studies indicated that employees have different perceptions of corporate social responsibility due to various factors such as individual traits and job attributes. Researchers suggested investigating further which specific drivers explain their motivations for corporate social responsibility initiatives and what is the role of leadership and internal communication in corporate engagement. In order to further develop the employees’ understanding of corporate social responsibility, the aim of this research was to study employees’ motivations for corporate social responsibility initiatives and the role of internal communication and leadership as organizational factors. By conducting 14 interviews with employees who work in Greece, this research study uncovered the key motivators that encourage corporate social responsibility, the drivers that block corporate social responsibility, and the role of internal communication and leadership in the process of corporate social responsibility initiatives. The findings allowed the researcher to span multiple levels of analysis (micro-meso-macro). The micro level of analysis indicated that intrinsic motivations shape CSR engagement. The meso level of analysis showed that poor internal communication and indifferent leaders block CSR. The macro level of analysis outlined that macro drivers such as bureaucracy and financial crisis constitute barriers to the implementation of corporate social responsibility. The practical implications of this research can help today’s organization build effective internal initiatives for their employees. Finally, this research study paves the way for future research in employees’ perceptions of CSR and the different levels of motivations.