External corporate social responsibility promotes employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior: An attribution perspective

In corporate social responsibility (CSR) research conducted in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the relationship between organizational-level CSR and individual-level outcomes is receiving increasing research attention. However, little is known about why, when, and how CSR would encourage employees to engage in unethical pro-organizational behaviors (UPB). Combining attribution theory with cue consistency theory, this study develops a mediated moderation model to explore the mechanism and boundary condition underlying the effect of external CSR, an organizational factor, on employees’ UPB. Data were collected from 304 employees working in 10 SMEs in China at two-time points. The results showed that external CSR had a positive effect on UPB through symbolic attribution, while perceived internal CSR weakened the positive effect of external CSR on UPB as well as the indirect effect of symbolic attribution in the relationship between external CSR and UPB. Overall, this study explains why, when, and how external CSR facilitates employees’ UPB. These findings indicate attribution to be the very mechanism that explains employees’ behavioral response to the organization’s external CSR and provide an innovative insight into how internal CSR may be utilized to reduce UPB of employees of Chinese SMEs.