Relationship of perceived corporate social responsibility with employee motivation and intention to lead

Purpose Motivating employees to pursue leadership roles remains a key concern for management development. As employees look to engage in meaningful work that contributes to society beyond pure economic interests, a focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) may be relevant. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between perceived CSR and employee motivation to lead (MTL) within an organization. Design/methodology/approach We relied upon existing scales to measure employees’ perception of their organization’s CSR, the employees’ MTL and their intentions to pursue leadership roles within their organizations. We also measured employees’ perceptions of traditional rewards for assuming leadership roles. We employed an online survey of 375 diverse workers. Findings Employee perceptions of employer CSR were significantly related to employees’ MTL within the organization, and MTL predicted their intention to lead. Further, positive CSR perceptions added significantly above and beyond traditional financial rewards in predicting MTL. With respect to specific aspects of MTL, an employee’s motivation to lead out of a sense of duty and social obligation seems especially key. Originality/value The findings suggest unique value that an organization’s CSR has in leadership pipeline management and career progression that goes beyond financial commitments to employees for assuming leadership. This suggests that more research and attention in practice may be warranted to employee stakeholders and their perceptions of CSR for potentially unique value and influence in workforce management, especially as organizations may be taking a step back from environmental, social and governance (ESG) and CSR perspectives in recent times.