Contextualizing Motivating Language to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): How Leader Motivating Language Affects Employees’ CSR Engagement and Employee–Organization Relationships

Yafei Zhang, Chuqing Dong, Andrea M. M. Weare and Song Harris Ao
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Yafei Zhang: Department of Management, Marketing and General Business, Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX 79106, USA
Chuqing Dong: Department of Advertising and Public Relations, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Andrea M. M. Weare: School of Communication, College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA
Song Harris Ao: Divisions of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macau, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-17

Abstract: Drawing on motivating language theory (MLT), this paper aims to demonstrate the effects of strategic leader speech in the context of internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. Specifically, the study (1) examines how leader motivating language strategies used in CSR communication influence employees’ CSR engagement and employee–organization relationships (EORs) and (2) identifies the mediator explaining the underlying psychological mechanism of the effects. Structural equation modeling was performed on a sample of 406 participants who are full-time and part-time employees in the U.S. The results showed that leader motivating language was positively associated with employees’ CSR engagement and EOR quality. Such relationships were significantly mediated by person–organization (PO) fit. This study advances CSR research and practice by explicating the impact of leaders’ oral communication in constructing employees’ CSR experiences and relationships with the employer.

Keywords: leader communication; motivating language; corporate social responsibility; employee CSR engagement; employee–organization relationships (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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