Is internal CSR really less impactful in individualist and masculine Cultures? A multilevel approach

Purpose Drawing on signaling theory and adopting a multilevel approach, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how meso-organizational attributes interact with the macro cultural context to affect employees’ behavioral responses to internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. This study unpacks the behavioral process through which internal CSR affects employees’ organizational citizenship behavior in an organization that has obtained SA8000 and that operates in an understudied Italian context characterized by high individualism and masculinity. Design/methodology/approach Bootstrapped multi-mediation analysis was used on a sample of 300 employees operating in one of the most important and largest Italian retail stores active in the food industry and involved in socio-environmental responsibility. Findings Results show that when a company obtains an internal CSR quality credential, particularly SA8000, an auditable certification standard that signals that a company goes beyond compliance standards to tailor to the well-being of its employees, it will likely attract like-minded employees that will positively react to internal CSR initiatives even when operating in a highly individualistic and masculine culture such as Italy. Originality/value While prior research has shown that internal CSR initiatives have a lower and, in some cases, an insignificant impact on employees’ behavioral outcomes in cultures characterized by individualism and masculinity, this study shows that the interaction between the cultural setting and company specific attributes can turn this effect to be significant, strong, and positive.