Antecedents and benefits of corporate citizenship: an investigation of French businesses

The authors first propose a conceptualization and operationalization of corporate citizenship. Then, they present an empirical study conducted among French businesses aimed at: (1) understanding whether an organization's culture affects its likelihood of engaging in corporate citizenship and (2) whether corporate citizenship is associated with specific business benefits. The results suggest that a market-oriented culture is conducive of corporate citizenship, which in turn is associated with greater employee commitment and business performance. The results point to corporate citizenship as a potentially fruitful practice not only for society as a whole but also for businesses themselves. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.