Does the explicit recognition of the commitment and contribution of staff within an organisation's CSR strategy matter?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore the possible underlying reasons for the differences in approaches adopted by organisations regarding the inclusion or exclusion of explicit statements in relation to the personal commitment and contribution of their employees within their publicized CSR strategies. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is based on a longitudinal study involving interviews with 47 UK National Health Service (NHS) managers between 2000 and 2009. Theoretical frameworks and literature related to CSR, organisation culture and institutional theory are drawn upon in an integrated manner to analyse and discuss the findings. Findings – Although the majority of NHS managers report holding core altruistic values they believe the general public does not recognize this and views them negatively. It is suggested that a combination of direct and indirect strategies aimed at highlighting the socially responsible role of NHS managers and their overall commitment and contribution to the NHS would help challenge the existing negative public image of NHS managers. Research limitations/implications – The study is based on a relatively small number of London based NHS managers consisting mainly of managers occupying senior and middle management positions and who may not necessarily represent the views of all managers nationally. Originality/value – Whilst issues related to CSR are of concern to a wide range of organisational stakeholders, there appears to be relatively limited research undertaken in the context of directly exploring issues of concern from the employee stakeholder perspective. Within the context of the aims of this paper, this paper addresses this relative gap. The paper is of interest to a wide range of readers including NHS and non‐governmental organisation (NGO) policy formulators and practitioners; academics and students.