The effect of corporate social responsibility on employees' organizational citizenship behavior: A moderated mediation model of grit and meaning orientation

Even though research on the micro-effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been growing, our understanding of the psychological mechanisms through which perceived CSR affects employees' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) remains insufficient. Based on social identity theory and the concept of whole self, this study examines the mediating role of meaning orientation as a psychological mechanism and tests the moderating role of grit, using survey data collected from 361 South Korean workers. Our results show that the positive association between perceived CSR and OCB is mediated by meaning orientation. In addition, grit strengthens the perceived CSR-meaning orientation relationship, which in turn boosts employees' OCB. This study contributes to the literature by revealing a psychological mechanism and how it is moderated by individual traits, which are crucial in predicting CSR's micro-effects. We discuss how our results can be practically applied by organizations as part of sustainable human resource management.