The Impact of CSR on Employee Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis with Prosocial Motivation and Positive Psychological Capital

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained increasing attention, with interest in the success of an organization’s sustainable development upon employees’ work behaviors. Based on the social exchange and social identity theories, this study examines the effects of  CSR on employees’ organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Moreover, this study tests the mediating effect of prosocial motivation and the moderating effect of positive psychological capital. We collected data from 352 employees and 61 teams from large, state-owned construction enterprises in China. Results revealed that CSR practices positively affect employees’ OCB and significantly negatively affect CWB, with prosocial motivation mediating these links. In addition, employees’ positive psychological capital moderates the effects of CSR on employees’ OCB and CWB and the indirect impact of CSR on OCB and CWB. This study’s results contribute to theory and practice.