CSR practices and employee engagement: A literature review

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become an important topic due to its major implications for practitioners in the corporate arena. The aim of this article is to provide a distinct historical perspective on the evolution of CSR as a conceptual paradigm by examining the most relevant factors that have shaped its understanding and definition, such as academic contributions and significant social and political events.

The evolution of the CSR concept over the years shows just how essential a strategy it is for ensuring an organization's overall, long-term performance. Indeed, the notion of CSR has gradually spread through a number of phases, each of which reflects a particular and specific approach to the concept.

Contrary to popular belief that CSR is a new paradigm, the idea of CSR as a practice is quite old, and has its roots in corporate practices dating back over a century, especially in North America, known as “corporate philanthropy”. However, the development of CSR as an academic concept is more recent, and finds its starting point in the work of Bowen (1953), considered to be the founding father of CSR. Based on stakeholder theory, social exchange theory and social identity theory, a conceptual framework was established in this study to assess employee engagement.

The objective of this work is to present a literature review on the impact of responsible practices on employee well-being, in order to successfully engage employees in their workplace and provide practical recommendations for professionals.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility - employee engagement - stakeholders - well-being.

Classification JEL: M12 ; M14

Paper type : Theoretical Research