The multi-disciplinary interest in social responsibility on the part of individuals and organizations over the past 30 years has generated several descriptors of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee social responsibility (ESR). These descriptors focus largely on socially responsible behavior and, in some cases, on socially responsible identity. Very few authors have combined the two concepts in researching social responsibility. This situation can lead to an oversimplification of the concept of CSR, thereby impeding the examination of congruence between employees and organizations with regard to social responsibility. In this article, we connect two dimensions of social responsibility-identity and behavior-to build a Social Responsibility Matrix consisting of four patterns for classifying the social responsibility of employees and employers: Low Social Responsibility, Identity-based Social Responsibility, Behavior-based Social Responsibility, and Entwined Social Responsibility. The positioning of employers and employees on the same matrix (as determined by internal, relational, and/or external factors) is vital for assessing the level of congruence between employers and employees with regard to social responsibility and for discussing the possible outcomes for both parties. These identity and behavior-based patterns, determinants, and levels of congruence connecting employees and employers form the foundation for the multi-dimensional, dynamic ESR-CSR Congruence Model, as exemplified in a case study. This contribution enhances the existing literature and models of CSR, in addition to improving the understanding of employee-employer congruence, thereby broadening the array of possibilities for achieving positive organizational outcomes based on CSR.
This article argues that the nonprofit case for corporate volunteering is complex, requiring a multi-level perspective on the outcomes for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). To develop this perspective, we adopted an inductive research approach, conducting 39 exploratory semistructured interviews with NPO staff. We argue that NPO scholars and practitioners should disentangle individual and organizational-level outcomes resulting from interactions between corporate volunteers and NPO staff, as such micro-dynamics ultimately affect NPO services.Moreover, these outcomes are subject to conditions at the organizational level (e.g., involvement of intermediaries), as well as at the individual level (e.g., type of assignment).Our study highlights the complexity that should be considered when addressing the fundamental question of whether corporate volunteering contributes to the ability of NPOs to provide their services, and under what conditions. We therefore propose that corporate volunteer management within NPOs is inherently, albeit contingently, intertwined with the services that these organizations provide.Keywords: corporate volunteering, nonprofit case, qualitative, multi-level. Corporate volunteering and NPOs Corporate volunteering and NPOs 3Despite the fundamental challenges that corporate volunteering poses to the functioning of NPOs, previous studies have tended to focus on the business case for such activities (Allen, 2003). In other words, they address the outcomes of corporate volunteering for corporations and their employees (Rodell et al., 2015). In recent years, however, some scholars have begun to develop the nonprofit case for corporate volunteering (Allen, 2003;Samuel, Wolf & Schilling, 2013;Schiller & Almog-Bar, 2013) by exploring the reasons that NPOs have for being involved in corporate volunteering and the outcomes that they realize from such relationships. Existing research proceeds from the general assumption that corporate volunteering should contribute to realizing the NPO's mission and that the benefits should outweigh the costs (Allen, 2003;Harris, 2012). Such "bottom-line tests" (Allen, 2003, p.58) have proven highly complex, however, much more so than the usual general outcome assessments. The nonprofit case for corporate volunteering thus warrants further scrutiny.In this study, we demonstrate that understanding the nonprofit case for corporate volunteering requires systematically disentangling outcomes at multiple levels (see also Rodell et al., 2015), paying additional attention to relationships between individual-level and organizational-level outcomes, and identifying particular characteristics that act as antecedents for these outcomes (see also the framework for the business case developed by Rodell et al., 2015, p. 9). A multi-level perspective on the antecedents to and outcomes of corporate volunteering could help NPOs to develop strategies for engaging corporate volunteers in ways that would maximize their own benefits (see Allen, 2003;Samuel et al., 2013). While many ex...
Research has identified that volunteering provides value to organizations, communities, and volunteers themselves. Yet, empirical research on the value that volunteers might provide to recipients of their support (i.e., clients) is very limited. Building on insights from attribution theory, we argue that clients are more likely to attribute support from volunteers to altruistic and sincere motives relative to support from paid workers, and that this provides the foundations for affect-based trust to develop between clients and volunteers. We present data from two experiments that support this indirect effect of volunteerism on affect-based trust. Our findings provide insights into why and how volunteers may provide relational value to clients and human service organizations.
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