Abstract

CONTRERAS-PACHECO, Orlando E.; TALERO-SARMIENTO, Leonardo H.  and  CAMACHO-PINTO, Julio C.. Effects of corporate social responsibility on employee organizational identification: Authenticity or fallacy. Contad. Adm [online]. 2019, vol.64, n.4, e123.  Epub May 12, 2020. ISSN 0186-1042.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fca.24488410e.2018.1631.

Greenwashing implies the predominance of the fallacious application of the corporate social responsibility (Symbolic CSR) over its authentic practice (Substantive CSR). It represents, by definition, a conceptual conflict, worth it to observe in light of its impact on the organizational identification of employees. This work examines this impact by carrying out a cross-sectional investigation and analyzing it through structural equation modeling. The study is applied to a sample of two hundred and twenty professional employees in Colombia. Results obtained are mainly in line with the theory; they show a positive effect of Substantive CSR on employees’ organizational identification, as well as a futile character of Symbolic CSR on this same attitude. However, the study also finds a direct correlation between Symbolic CSR and Substantive CSR, which suggests a possible tacit acceptance of greenwashing as a valid organizational practice. This work contributes to enhance the theory, given the fact that a recently proposed conceptual model was academically tested for the first time ever. Likewise, at a practical level, results suggested that the decision-making process when related with CSR is under continuous scrutiny by employees, in function of its sense of authenticity and therefore with consequences that may affect their behavior.

Keywords : Greenwashing; Legitimacy; Micro CSR; Organizational identification.