Examining the link between CSR perceptions and employee advocacy through organizational justice: Can corporate hypocrisy mitigate?

Abstract

This research aims to understand the relationship between employees' perceptions of corporate social responsibility and employee advocacy behavior through organizational justice. Furthermore, it explores the moderating effect of corporate hypocrisy in the relationship of organizational justice with employee advocacy behavior. Grounded in signaling and cognitive inconsistency theories, the proposed hypotheses were tested on data collected from 360 employees from the hospitality sector. The study followed a time‐lagged approach. In phase 1, the data were collected for demographic variables, corporate social responsibility perceptions, and corporate hypocrisy. In the second phase, data were collected for organizational justice and employee advocacy behavior, using separate survey links. Smart PLS 4.0 was applied to test the relationships proposed in the research model. The study found that employees who positively perceive firms' corporate social responsibility will engage in advocacy behavior. The results suggest a significant mediating effect of procedural justice in the relationship between corporate social responsibility and employee advocacy behavior. However, the mediating effect of distributive justice in this relationship could not be established. Further, the study found evidence that corporate hypocrisy moderates the indirect relationship between corporate social responsibility perceptions and advocacy behavior via procedural justice. Also, to the best of our knowledge, literature has no empirical evidence of the moderating effect of corporate hypocrisy in the indirect association between the perception of corporate social responsibility and employee advocacy behavior via organizational justice. It provides several important implications for advancing theoretical knowledge and practical insights for hospitality industry practitioners.