Does corporate social responsibility matter to financial service representatives in faith-expressive firms?

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the conceptual and empirical effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on affective and behavioral inclinations of financial service representatives (FSRs) in faith-expressive (FE) banks and financial institutions in non-Western markets. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon recent CSR research findings, this study proposed a conceptual model of the association between FSRs’ perceptions of the firm’s CSR toward stakeholders with FSRs’ affective attachment, work engagement and proactive work inclinations using survey data ( n = 175). Pre-analysis procedures were applied followed by structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. Findings FSRs were more emotionally attached to the firm when CSR initiatives were directed at them or toward social organizations, but were generally ambivalent to CSR directed to suppliers or competition. As firm attachment becomes stronger, propensity to engage in work and proactive work behaviors increases. Research limitations/implications This paper improves management understanding and sensitivity to managing the service salesforce in FE firms as emerging organizations. Future research can focus on actual measures of job performance and on comparative results when applied to traditional financial firms. Practical implications Marketing managers relying on CSR to motivate FSRs should realize its limitations when applied to FE firms. Qualitative approaches to solicit stakeholders’ input are encouraged to improve CSR performance. Originality/value In non-Western FE firms, strategizing CSR initiative spending should include its potential impact on service employees dealing with customers with particular attention to firm attachment, and inclination to excel in service providing.