CSR influence on job performance: the roles of psychological needs fulfillment and organizational identification among tourism firms

Purpose: This research paper aims to explore whether and how perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences employee-associated outcomes in ways that are controllable by managers. Drawing from the theories of self-determination and social identity, this study investigates the mediating effects of psychological needs fulfillment and organizational identification in exploring the mechanisms that link perceived CSR to employee job performances of Chinese state-owned tourism companies. Design/methodology/approach: Survey was used to collect original data from ten Chinese state-owned tourism companies to examine the proposed model. Data was analyzed through structural equation modeling. Findings: Employees’ perceptions of CSR are found to demonstrate significantly effective associations with their job performance. Moreover, results support that the influences of CSR on staff’s job performance are also conveyed through psychological needs fulfillment (competence) and organizational identification (i.e. cognitive identification and affective identification). Practical implications: Findings not only provide strategic ideas and operational tactics for tourism managers to devise CSR strategies and allocate CSR resources but also offer inspirations to integrate CSR initiatives with human resource management strategies. Originality/value: This study diverts the research of CSR from the organizational level to the individual level. This study also explores the mechanism of psychological needs fulfillment and organizational identification underlying processes in the employee perceptions of CSR–job performance linkages.