Building Reputation From the Inside Out: Employee-Oriented CSR, Trust, and Organizational Justice

This study examines the association between employee-oriented corporate social responsibility and employee-perceived institutional reputation in Pakistan’s higher education sector through organisational trust and across levels of organisational justice. Cross-sectional data from 380 employees of public and private higher education institutions were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results showed that employee-oriented corporate social responsibility was positively associated with organisational trust and employee-perceived institutional reputation. Organisational trust partially mediated the association between employee-oriented corporate social responsibility and reputation, while organisational justice strengthened the trust–reputation association. The study provides a sector-specific extension by explaining how employee-focused responsibility, trust, and justice may support reputable, fair, and institutionally sustainable higher education in a developing-country context.