The interplay of employee perceptions of CSR dimensions and intention to stay: role of satisfaction and pride

Purpose This study investigates how hospitality employees’ perceptions of five organizational corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions are associated with their intention to stay with their organization. It applies stakeholder theory at the employee level and clarifies how employees’ CSR perceptions are indirectly associated with intention to stay through CSR satisfaction and organizational pride. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 352 hospitality employees in the United States. Five CSR dimensions were measured alongside CSR satisfaction, organizational pride and intention to stay. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to assess direct effects, indirect effects and sequential mediation relationships. Findings The results show that direct associations between CSR dimensions and organizational pride and intention to stay were largely nonsignificant. Social CSR was the only dimension with a significant direct association with organizational pride, although the effect was small. Significant indirect associations through satisfaction with CSR were found for all five CSR dimensions with both organizational pride and intention to stay. Organizational pride also significantly mediated the association between satisfaction with CSR and intention to stay, underscoring the importance of employees’ affective evaluations of CSR in understanding retention-related intentions. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to hospitality CSR literature by adopting a multidimensional, employee-level perspective and identifying CSR satisfaction and organizational pride as important intervening constructs. The findings clarify the employee-level application of stakeholder theory and show that the associations between employees’ CSR perceptions and intention to stay are predominantly indirect, with CSR satisfaction and organizational pride accounting for important portions of these associations. Practical implications For hospitality organizations facing persistent labor shortages, the findings suggest that CSR initiatives are more likely to be associated with employee satisfaction and pride when internally meaningful and well-communicated. Emphasizing socially oriented CSR initiatives and involving employees in CSR activities may be associated with stronger retention-related intentions. Originality/value This study offers empirical evidence on the indirect pathways linking CSR dimensions to hospitality employees' intention to stay, providing timely insights for managing workforce retention in the post-pandemic US hospitality industry.