Chapter 6: The Spectrum of CSR Engagement Introduction A necessary first step of this research, and from which subsequent contributions are formed, is the understanding that employees exist across a spectrum of engagement from highly engaged to highly disengaged. This chapter highlights variations in antecedents to engagement across the spectrum, recognising that employees are driven differently. Furthermore, it contributes tfo a growing body of work that suggests engagement and disengagement are not opposites. Unique drivers for both employee CSR engagement and disengagement are critically analysed. By exploring individual differences, this research not only contributes to gaps in theory, but also identifies alternative means by which to engage disengaged employees. In particular, the type of CSR intervention, which has received relatively little attention within the literature, will be identified as having key implications for employee engagement. Attention then turns to the role of individualism in employee CSR engagement and this research’s proposed model of engagement. Lastly, due to its central role within organisations, CSR communication is critiqued. The Spectrum of Engagement Most companies see CSR development, implementation and management as a top-down process. Consequently, it has largely been senior management who decide what to support and how (Bhattacharya, et al., 2008). However, a more strategic approach to CSR warrants greater ownership of the initiatives by employees, who are increasingly required not just to have an opinion about corporate responsibility but also to be active participants in its creation, adoption, and dissemination. Consequently, while extant CSR literature has focused at the organisational level (Lee, 2008), an increasing interest has been shown in the individual level of CSR (Aguinis & Glavas, 2012). However, because employees accept, interpret and operationalise corporate responsibility differently and thus engage and disengage from organisational CSR in different ways, organisations continue to struggle with the practical implementation of sustainability interventions. This research subsequently puts forward a model of employee engagement that recognises that employees exist along a spectrum, identifying a range of personal, project, and organisational level factors that influence employee CSR engagement. This model, while derived from the findings rather than the literature, is presented at the beginning of the findings chapters in order to contextualise and provide clarity for subsequent findings chapters, offering an overarching framework by which to
Chapter 6: The Spectrum of CSR Engagement Introduction A necessary first step of this research, and from which subsequent contributions are formed, is the understanding that employees exist across a spectrum of engagement from highly engaged to highly disengaged. This chapter highlights variations in antecedents to engagement across the spectrum, recognising that employees are driven differently. Furthermore, it contributes tfo a growing body of work that suggests engagement and disengagement are not opposites. Unique drivers for both employee CSR engagement and disengagement are critically analysed. By exploring individual differences, this research not only contributes to gaps in theory, but also identifies alternative means by which to engage disengaged employees. In particular, the type of CSR intervention, which has received relatively little attention within the literature, will be identified as having key implications for employee engagement. Attention then turns to the role of individualism in employee CSR engagement and this research’s proposed model of engagement. Lastly, due to its central role within organisations, CSR communication is critiqued. The Spectrum of Engagement Most companies see CSR development, implementation and management as a top-down process. Consequently, it has largely been senior management who decide what to support and how (Bhattacharya, et al., 2008). However, a more strategic approach to CSR warrants greater ownership of the initiatives by employees, who are increasingly required not just to have an opinion about corporate responsibility but also to be active participants in its creation, adoption, and dissemination. Consequently, while extant CSR literature has focused at the organisational level (Lee, 2008), an increasing interest has been shown in the individual level of CSR (Aguinis & Glavas, 2012). However, because employees accept, interpret and operationalise corporate responsibility differently and thus engage and disengage from organisational CSR in different ways, organisations continue to struggle with the practical implementation of sustainability interventions. This research subsequently puts forward a model of employee engagement that recognises that employees exist along a spectrum, identifying a range of personal, project, and organisational level factors that influence employee CSR engagement. This model, while derived from the findings rather than the literature, is presented at the beginning of the findings chapters in order to contextualise and provide clarity for subsequent findings chapters, offering an overarching framework by which to