NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

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RESEARCH REPORT
THE INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
(CSR) ON EMPLOYEE'S INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

Students: Nguyễn Hồng Anh - 11190263

Đào Thị Thanh Bình - 11190724
Phạm Nam Hải - 11191646
Đỗ Ngọc Khánh - 11192558
Nguyễn Khánh Linh - 11192906
Trần Hoàng Thành - 11194734
Đỗ Anh Tuyến - 11195650
Major: Business Administration
Intake: 61
Class: Management of quality and innovation
Supervisor: Vũ Hoàng Nam, PhD

Ha Noi, 06/2021
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DECLARATION

All information acquired from the questionnaire is allowed to be used in the study by all

respondents, and this research was authored by us.

Ha Noi, June 2021

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Table of Contents

DECLARATION............................................................................................................................i

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................................................iv

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES............................................................................................v

ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................8

CHAPTER 1.................................................................................................................................11

LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT......................................11

CHAPTER 2.................................................................................................................................13

RESEARCH METHOD..............................................................................................................13

2.1 Sample and data collection..................................................................................................13

2.2. Measures.............................................................................................................................13

2.3. Data analysis.......................................................................................................................14

CHAPTER 3.................................................................................................................................15

RESULTS.....................................................................................................................................15

3.1. Descriptive statistics of the study variables........................................................................15

3.2. Results of hypothesis testing...............................................................................................17

CHAPTER 4.................................................................................................................................18

DISCUSSIONS.............................................................................................................................18

4.1. Summary of findings...........................................................................................................18

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4.2. Suggestions and recommendations............................................................................................19

4.3. Research limitations and implications for further research................................................19

CHAPTER 5.................................................................................................................................21

CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................21

APPENDIX...................................................................................................................................22

REFERENCES............................................................................................................................23
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CSR Corporate social responsibility

SDT Self-determination theory

EIM Employees' intrinsic motivation

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Firgure 1: The conceptual model....................................................................................................12

Firgure 2: The result model............................................................................................................17

Table 3. 1: Descriptive statistics of the study variable...................................................................15

Table 3. 2: Result from hypothesis testing.....................................................................................17

Histogram 1: Graphical illustration for Employeein......................................................................15

Histogram 2: Graphic illustration of Corporate social responsibility............................................16

Diagram 1: Correlation between Employees’ intrinsic motivation and Corporate social

responsibility..................................................................................................................................16
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ABSTRACT

In recent years, discussions about social responsibility and employee behavior are still

relatively young. Still, more and more people are interested in studying the influence corporate

social responsibility has on employee motivation. The current Vietnamese workforce is aware

that to be profitable for the business, management and employees must interact and create an

environment that meets the needs of employees. But what is the real motivation of companies to

engage in CSR for employee behavior?

Purpose: The following article studies the influence of social responsibility on (CSR) on

intrinsic employee motivation.

Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire of 90 personnel was undertaken from

new hires to veterans with decades of expertise in Vietnam, we've got you covered. Using factor

scores from a principal component factor analysis, the study hypotheses were tested using

correlation and regression analysis.

Findings: Internal and external CSR initiatives are favorably correlated with internal

employee motivation, according to the research. All of the external CSR aspects were found to

have a stronger relationship with intrinsic employee motivation than internal CSR. In terms of

extrinsic CSR, customer-related activities had a better association with intrinsic employee

motivation than CSR activities involving local communities and business partners.

Research limitations/implications: Because the scope of this study is limited to one

country, additional research in other nations is required. The poll is being performed during a

period of economic downturn. It is proposed that the investigation be repeated in a stable

financial condition in order to assess the generality of the findings.

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Practical implications: Directors could use the findings of the study to tackle practical

problems by prioritizing CSR initiatives that help employees improve their intrinsic motivation.

Value: This study contributes to the field of CSR research by highlighting the impact of

CSR activities in improving employee intrinsic motivation.

Keywords: influence, Viet Nam, corporate social responsibility, Intrinsic employee motivation.
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INTRODUCTION

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, that's from a recent study on the topic of

motivation, are one of the incentives used to motivate employees. CSR has been found to have a

favorable impact on employee performance, acquisition, happiness, engagement, commitment,

and devotion.(Aguilera, 2007; Heslin, 2008) As either a result, firms may be able to use their

CSR profile to increase employee enthusiasm. CSR is a new management idea that has just lately

gained traction among academics and practitioners. It is still unexplored both theoretically and

experimentally. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives are one of the incentives used to

inspire workers, according to a comprehensive studies on the impact. Employers will be able to

incorporate their company's CSR profile to boost employee motivation. Employee motivation is

influenced by two forms of incentives, according to the self-determination theory: external and

internal (Skudiene, 2012). In the article below, we focus only on research "The influence of CSR

on employee's intrinsic motivation."

The significance of intrinsic motivation can be explained by a number of factors. To begin

with, intrinsically driven people are said to have greater interest, enthusiasm, and confidence

(Ryan, 2000), which leads to improved performance, persistence, self-esteem, and overall well-

being (Deci, 2008). Second, the intrinsic drive is what propels businesses to long-term success

(James, 2004). Despite the fact that intrinsic motivation is regarded as more vital, motivating

people organically is a challenging task for management because it can only be done indirectly.

Intrinsic motivation can be facilitated in a number of ways, according to the literature, including

designing exciting activities, making the job more hard, or you can establish a positive social

climate. Borger and Kruglianskas (Borger, 2006) discovered a strong link between a company's

adoption of a CSR strategy and effective environmental performance. As a result, a company's

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principles and CSR culture play a role in creating a favorable social atmosphere. As a

consequence, a firm's principles and CSR attitude are linked to the formation of a good social

atmosphere.

The paper is structured as follows - first, the review of the literature on key issues related

to CSR and intrinsic employee motivation. Then, to observe the impact on CSR aspects on

worker intrinsically motivated, follow the appropriate research description and outcomes of the

data done with a sample. Furthermore, there is a discussion of the conclusion, management

implications, study limitations, and implications for future study.

For those reasons, we conducted this study to find an answer to the question "Does

corporate social responsibility encourage employee work intrinsic motivation?"

Research method

The research used primary data from online survey questionnaires collected from 90

people. We used linear regression analysis to test the relationship between CSR and employees'

intrinsic motivation.

Structure of the report

The following chapters will go over the specifics of the research:

• Chapter 1 describes the literature review and hypothesis influence of CSR on employee's

intrinsic motivation and research model;

• Chapter 2 introduces the research method including sample and data collection, the measures

and data analysis used in this research;

• Chapter 3 provides results of the descriptive statistics and result of hypothesis testing;
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• Chapter 4 provides a summary and the discussions about the results; and

• Chapter 5 concludes the report

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CHAPTER 1

LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

CSR is "context-specific organizational actions and policies that take into account

stakeholders' expectations and the triple bottom line of economic, social, and environmental

performance" (Aguinis, 2011). At the same year, CSR is concerned with treating the stakeholders

of the firm ethically or in a socially responsible manner (Mozes, 2011). The literature review of

the work motivation shows that a person is intrinsically motivated in the work when she/he seeks

self-expression, enjoyment, interest, personal challenge, or satisfaction of curiosity (Amabile,

1993). Moreover, intrinsically motivated employees are more emotionally engaged with the

organization they work for and tend to relate their personal advancement to their work and the

organization's advancements (Skudiene, 2012). Thus, the influence of CSR on employee's

intrinsic motivation is positive research.

SDT (Self-determination theory) is one of the most commonly used intrinsic motivation

theories (Hon, 2011). According to the SDT, it was knowing the what (i.e., content) and why

(i.e., process) of goal pursuit requires satisfying the needs for competence, relatedness, and

autonomy. Employees that are intrinsically motivated are more likely to have the enthusiasm,

learning-seeking attitudes, cognitively versatile thought, and positive affection that are the main

determinants of workplace job innovation (Hur, 2018). As a result, when workers are intrinsically

inspired by a work atmosphere that constantly pursues CSR for positive social progress and the

promotion of social welfare, they are more constructive in their approach and approach issues

with innovative and creative minds, resulting in highly valued behavioral results such as

creativity, quality, and innovation.

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According to the empirical studies of (Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, Nguyen Van Song,

Bach, & Sang, 2020), we found that the relationship between CSR and intrinsic motivation by

positive work attitudes. CSR is emphasized, and employees have a favorable attitude regarding

their jobs as a result. Employees that have a favorable attitude toward their work are more likely

to engage in creativity and produce new ideas. Employees who are satisfied at work are more

likely to be happy at home. As a mutual exchange, support their organization. Furthermore, the

effective CSR of a company could also attract employees. Both employer branding and

organizational processes are pointing to CSR involvement as a feasible approach to encourage

young employees, as they point to employer branding to recruit brilliant young staff and

organizational processes to retain it. This argument is supported in the empirical studies of

(Jennifer Kunz, 2020)

Therefore, it is hypothesized:

Hypothesis: CSR has an effect on employees' intrinsic motivation. The more CSR, the more

employees' intrinsic motivation.

CSR
+
Employees’ intrinsic motivation
(Employees related)

Firgure 1: The conceptual model

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CHAPTER 2
RESEARCH METHOD

2.1 Sample and data collection

We conducted a survey on employees in Hanoi, Vietnam, to collect data for analysis.

The targeted employees were the youngsters, with age under 30. We used the convenient

sampling technique to approach and distributed the surveys to the targeted respondents.

We used an online survey as the main method. We received 90 responses, of which 88

were fully answered. So we use those 88 full responses for data analysis.

2.2. Measures

We adapted scales available in the literature for the study variables. All items were rated

on a Likert 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). The scales adapted for this

present study are included in Appendix.

Employees' intrinsic motivation was measured by three items adapted from (Jennifer

Kunz, 2020). These items represent the level of personal opinion about the intrinsic motivation of

employees in the workplace. The sample item is "Because I enjoy this work very much." This

scale shows exemplary reliability (α = .71).

We adopted the scale developed by (Aguilera, 2007) and measured corporate social

responsibility (employees related) by using four items. These items help to measure the level of

personal opinion about corporate social responsibility. A sample item is "My organization applies

equitable wage system" or "My organization tries to improve the psychological climate at the

workplace". The adapted scale used for this present study shows exemplary reliability (α = .742).
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2.3. Data analysis

We tested the hypothesis by using linear regressions in SPSS. In this study, CSR

(employees related) is independent, employees' intrinsic motivation is dependent.

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CHAPTER 3

RESULTS

3.1. Descriptive statistics of the study variables

The correlations table (table 3.1) shows that CSR (employees related) was significant

releated to employees’ intrinsic motivation ( r= . 450, p < .001)

Table 3. 1: Descriptive statistics of the study variable

Variable M SD 1 2
1.CSR 3.9945 .54669 -
2.EIM 3.7978 .63525 .450** -

Histogram 1, 2 and diagram 1 respectively shows the graphical summary of Employeein,

CSRem and correlation coefficient between Employeein and CSRem.

Histogram 1: Graphical illustration for Employeein

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Histogram 2: Graphic illustration of Corporate social responsibility

4 f(x) = 0.52 x + 1.71

R² = 0.2
Employeein

0
1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5
CSRem

Diagram 1: Correlation between Employees’ intrinsic motivation and Corporate

social responsibility
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3.2. Results of hypothesis testing

The model with hypothesis testing results was presented in Table 3.2. The purpose of

hypothesis 2 was to confirm the effects of CSR on EIM. The regressions of CSR to EIM were

significant. In detail, the estimated coefficients CSR was .523 (p<.001)

The model accounts for a small amount of CSR towards EIM (Adjusted R square = .203)

and explained 19.3% of the variance in EIM. In the Model , the value of the variance inflation

(VIF) is 1.000. Since it did not exceed the maximum level of 5, there was no multicollinearity.

Table 3. 2: Result from hypothesis testing

B SE
Constant 1.709*** .446
CSR .523*** .111
R² .203
N = 90; †p < .1, * p < .05; ** p < .01; ***p < .001.

CSR .523*** Employees’ intrinsic motivation

(Employees related)

Firgure 2: The result model

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CHAPTER 4

DISCUSSIONS

In this chapter, the results and summarized findings of the research are provided.

Furthermore, limitations, future research, and recommendations related to the entrepreneurial

intention of students would also be presented.

4.1. Summary of findings

The goal of this study was to see how corporate social responsibility (CSR) factors affect

employee intrinsic motivation.

After analyzing the data, we discovered that CSR had a positive impact on employees'

intrinsic motivation. It suggested that people with a favorable attitude toward their jobs are more

likely to be intrinsically motivated. We discovered some similarities and differences between our

findings and the findings of other studies when we compared them.

In terms of similarity, the company's CSR programs have a positive relationship with

employee happiness, self-image, teamwork, loyalty, retention, trust, psychological desire for

belongingness, employee morale, and commitment (Aguilera, 2007; Heslin, 2008; Turban,

1997)

In terms of distinction, CSR behavior can imply different things to various individuals at

different times. Thus we must be cautious in how we utilize and define the phrase (Campbell,

2007). We suspect that this is due to variances in sample size and cultural context in each nation,

which are causing these disparities in results. Furthermore, CSR has a direct impact on intrinsic

motivation, implying that individuals who are more motivated would work harder.
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Finally, we discovered a link between CSR and intrinsic motivation in our research.

Furthermore, there are positive effects on the intrinsic motivation of employees.

4.2. Suggestions and recommendations

Several recommendations for management practices can be made based on the findings

of the research. Internal CSR positively increases internal employee motivation, according to the

findings of the study.  As a result, executives can use this data to solve practical problems by

prioritizing areas of CSR like having a fair wage system, creating a positive workplace

environment, motivating employees, honest and flexible communication and, engaged in

decision-making processes more frequently, and fostering a personal and career development

culture in the workplace.

Furthermore, employees should also have a bigger role in the company's CSR initiatives.

It would not only increase data exchange, but it would also make employees appear to be a part

of the organization, allowing them to become much more emotionally invested in CSR programs

and have a better understanding of their firm. It's also important to assess the present economic

situation. Human resource concerns, notably layoffs and wage cuts, are one of the effects of the

worldwide economic slump. Because external incentive is dwindling as a result of wage cuts, it

is much more critical to use internal motivating factors. The research findings of study shows

that CSR is a very important instrument for developing benefits for firms, and they are consistent

with (Hopkins, 2008) results that CSR has a positive long-term impact and is a successful

professional step to operating a company.

4.3. Research limitations and implications for further research.

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Because this study was limited to a small number of people and was too generic, more

research should be needed. Since a result, the survey should be examined at major and well-

known companies, as this would aid the research in obtaining more precise and reliable data. We

recommend repeating the research in the context of a sustainable economy to determine the

generalizability of the results.

A quantitative data survey was the ideal option because the goal of the study was to look

at the effects of CSR on employee internal motivation. However, it would be fascinating to make

a face-to-face conversation with a specific organization to learn about their opinions and

experiences with CSR and how it affects employee motivation. Qualitative research like this can

give you more information on the topic you're looking into.

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

Only intrinsic motivation had a considerable detrimental impact on employee motivation,

according to our data.. It's crucial to understand how different aspects of CSR affect employee

internal motivation, according to the author. Employees also assess the company's CSR

operations and respond in ways that are relevant to their own behavior.

Several administrative suggestions can be made based on the findings of the

investigation. First, both intrinsic and extrinsic CSR have a positive impact on intrinsic employee

motivation, per the study. Internal corporate CSR initiatives, on the other hand, have a bigger

influence on employee engagement than external CSR activities. Into decision-making processes

and promote a culture of personal and professional development in the organization, which

facilitate more employee internal motivation enhancement. Second, CSR efforts to improve an

industry's goodwill, as well as company's socially accountable behavior, can assist the structured

strategy its notoriety, create value, and have a positive impact on to its consumers. Furthermore,

employees should be more actively involved in the company's CSR initiatives. This would not

only improve information flow but would also make employees feel like they were a part of the

firm, allowing them to become more emotionally invested in CSR projects and a deeper sense of

identification with the company.

Because there is a chance that young entrepreneurs will succeed, the findings of our study

can be used to assist firms in becoming more successful in the future

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APPENDIX

Scale for study variables

Scale and source Items

Employees' intrinsic motivation Because I enjoy this work very much

Source: (J. Kunz, 2020) (Jennifer Kunz, 2020) For the moments of pleasure that this job

brings me

Because I have fun doing this job

CSR (employees related) My organization applies an equitable wage

Source: (Aguilera, 2007) system

My organization tries to improve the

psychological climate at the workplace

My organization keeps an open, honest, and

flexible communication with employees

My organization involves employees in the

decision-making process
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