AbstractsBusiness Management & Administration

Professional Doctorate - Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Firms face increasing pressure to understand and manage their obligations to stakeholders (Parmar et al, 2010), and maximise their social performance (Hull & Rothenberg, 2008). How firms strategise and implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may improve firm performance (Suprawan, 2011). Indeed, firms that display superior integration with the societies in which they operate may develop a sustainable competitive advantage (Porter & Krammer, 2006). This thesis aims to test how CSR impacts firm performance in the Australian context. Specifically, how authentic CSR impacts the levels of Organisational Commitment (OC) of professionals and managers in Australia. Utilising a quantitative cross-sectional design, a sample of 300 full-time employed business professionals in Australia is targeted from an online research panel - a group of pre-screened willing panellists - using an anonymous online survey questionnaire. Factor analysis is used to ensure the measurement traits before one two-stage and four three-stage hierarchical regressions test the relationships between, control variables to OC, CSR measures to OC, and the moderating effects of the individual Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (ICSR). All 4 hypothesised impacts of authentic CSR on OC were supported by the data analyses of the four three-stage hierarchical regressions, however the test for directs effects resulted in support for only H2A and H3A. Subsequently, only these two hypotheses - That Employee Engagement (H2A) and Financial Fairness (H3A) positively significantly impact OC - were supported. ICSR as a moderator of the hypothesised impacts of authentic CSR on OC was supported for H3B only, moderating the relationship between Financial Fairness and OC. In academia, this research helps fill gaps in the literature around the impacts of CSR on employees, specifically managers and professionals. In practice, an improved understanding of how CSR can be implemented and built into strategy will aid management decision making, and may increase firm performance.