Micro Foundations of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Social Exchange Perspective

In this study we propose and test a social exchange perspective on corporate social responsibility (CSR). We argue that employees reciprocate towards their organizations when they perceive their firms as being socially responsible. This reciprocation occurs via employees being more likely to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors that are directed towards their organizations. As the result of the higher OCBO involvement these employees receive better individual performance evaluations from their managers, thereby completing the social exchange process. We test our hypotheses on a large multi-industry sample and find strong support for the social exchange perspective on corporate social responsibility.