How internal and external corporate social responsibility reduce employee turnover: the mediating roles of affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior

Tourism and hospitality organizations invest heavily in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, yet employee turnover rates persistently outpace other sectors, suggesting disconnect between CSR design and retention outcomes. Drawing on attribution theory and signaling theory, this study investigates how internal CSR, directed toward employees, and external CSR, directed toward the community, help reduce turnover. Using survey data from 131 exhibition industry workers who reported retrospective employment histories, we employ recurrent-event survival analysis and regression analysis to test direct and mediating pathways. The findings indicate that internal CSR consistently reduces turnover, and that the integration of internal and external CSR creates a synergistic effect that further enhances retention. External CSR influences retention indirectly through affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. Internal CSR affects retention more directly. The results offer practical implications for tourism managers seeking to design CSR initiatives that strengthen long-term employee retention.