The nexus of corporate social responsibility (CSR), affective commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour in academia A model of trust

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance knowledge on the implications of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employee levels of commitment and citizenship behaviour (OCB) by investigating a trust-based mediational process in the context of academia. Design/methodology/approach The research data are collected from a sample of 736 academics through a questionnaire based survey administered in different Pakistani universities. The nature of trust-based mechanism underlying the relationships between CSR, affective commitment and OCB is determined through structural equation modelling of the research data. Findings The findings suggest that the perceived CSR is an important predictor of academics' attitudes and behaviour in universities. Whilst the findings implicate the mediating role of trust in the process by which perceived CSR influences academics' commitment, trust does not appear to mediate the perceived CSR's relationship with OCB. Originality/value There is a paucity of research on CSR in the academic work settings of developing countries. This is the first study to examine the trust-based microfoundation of CSR in the context of academia in Pakistan.