Internal Versus External Corporate Social Responsibility Effects on Employees of a Multinational Subsidiary in Russia: The Roles of Morality and Attributions

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is interpreted and enacted differently in developed and transition countries. These differences can present a challenge for Western multinational companies (MNCs) that operate in emerging markets, as they are faced with inconsistent norms on CSR between home and host country. Drawing on Social Identity Theory and Attribution Theory, the current research addresses how employees of MNC subsidiaries situated in emerging markets evaluate internal (which directly benefits employees) and external (which benefits other stakeholder groups) CSR practices. A survey was conducted among professionals (N = 481) working at a subsidiary of a Western MNC in Russia. Our findings revealed that internal CSR positively affected organizational identification through perceived organizational morality. Interestingly, employees’ responses to external CSR appeared to be ambivalent. Whereas external CSR had a negative direct effect on perceived organizational morality, a positive mediation effect on perceived organizational morality was found through attributed extrinsic corporate motives. This research provides much-needed contextualized insights on the psychological mechanisms underlying employees’ judgments of CSR strategies in emerging markets.