Public Service Motivation’s Mediating Role in the Effect Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Justice Have on Organizational Commitment in Higher Education Institutions
This research aims to determine the mediating effect that public service motivation (PSM) has on the effects from the factors of organizational justice and corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the perspectives of social identity theory, social exchange theory, and organizational justice theory. The sample of the study was selected from the academic staff of Atatürk University, which ranks first in terms of the number of university social responsibility projects in the category of community service and social responsibility according to the university monitoring and evaluation reports published in 2019 by Türkiye’s Council of Higher Education. The data were collected from 341 samples using the questionnaire method based on a five-point Likert-type scale. The results from analyzing the data obtained from the questionnaire have determined faculty members’ perceptions of organizational justice and CSR to have both direct and indirect effects on their emotional and normative commitment levels. Meanwhile, the findings from this study have also determined PSM to have a mediating effect, and this is an important contribution to the literature that accepts the premise of organizational justice and CSR as significant variables of organizational commitment.
Yükseköğretim Kurumlarında Kurumsal Sosyal Sorumluluk ve Örgütsel Adalet Algısının Örgütsel Bağlılığa Etkisinde Kamu Hizmetleri Motivasyonunun Aracı Rolü Üzerine Bir Araştırma
Bu araştırma sosyal kimlik kuramı, sosyal mübadele kuramı ve örgütsel adalet kuramı perspektiflerinden kurumsal sosyal sorumluluk (KSS) ve örgütsel adalet faktörlerinin örgütsel bağlılık üzerindeki etkisinde, kamu hizmetleri motivasyonunun (KHM) aracılık etkisinin tespit edilmesini amaçlamaktadır. Araştırmanın örneklemi Yükseköğretim Kurulu’nun 2019 yılında yayınladığı üniversite izleme ve değerlendirme raporlarına göre topluma hizmet ve sosyal sorumluluk kategorisinde, üniversite sosyal sorumluluk proje sayısı alanında birinci sırada yer alan Atatürk Üniversitesinde çalışan öğretim elemanlarından seçilmiştir. Çalışmanın evreninden çok aşamalı örnekleme yöntemi kullanılarak evreni temsil gücü yüksek bir örneklem grubu belirlenmiştir. Veriler beşli Likert ölçeğine dayalı anket yöntemi ile 341 katılımcıdan toplanmıştır. Bu verilerden yola çıkarak kullanılan ölçeklerin istatistiksel olarak geçerlilik ve güvenilirlik analizleri yapılmıştır. Daha sonrasında yapısal eşitlik modeli kullanılarak değişkenler arasındaki ilişkiler, doğrudan etkiler, dolaylı etkiler, tam aracılık rolleri ve kısmi aracılık rolleri analiz edilmiştir. Anketten elde edilen verilerin analizi neticesinde öğretim elemanlarının örgütsel adalet ve KSS algılarının duygusal ve normatif bağlılıkları üzerinde hem doğrudan hem de dolaylı etkilerinin olduğu belirlenmiştir. Diğer taraftan bu çalışmanın bulguları ile örgütsel adalet ve KSS’yi örgütsel bağlılığın önemli öncül değişkeni olarak kabul eden literatüre önemli bir katkı olarak KHM’nin aracılık etkisi olduğu tespit edilmiştir.
This study has been conducted to contribute to the literature on micro-level human resources and micro-organizational behaviors as well as to investigate the mediating effect of public services motivation (PSM ) in the relationship employees’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and organizational justice have with their organizational commitment types. The research seeks answers to the following research questions: Does CSR have a significant impact on organizational commitment and its sub-dimensions? Does organizational justice have a significant impact on organizational commitment? Does PSM have a mediating effect on the relationship between CSR and organizational commitment? Does PSM have a mediating effect on the relationship between organizational justice and organizational commitment?
CSR-related research is seen to neglect those who work in higher education institutions and to instead focus more on the perspectives of students, who are generally accepted as the main social interest group (Mascarenhas et al., 2020) . However, talented and motivated employees who do their job well are considered critical factors for any type of organization in terms of the sustainability of organizational success (Brammer et al., 2007; Du et al., 2010). Many empirical studies have shown organizational justice to affect organizational commitment (Colquitt et al., 2001; Çolak & Erdost, 2004; Gilliland, 2008; Schmiesing et al., 2003). When approaching the subject in the context of CSR, Rupp (2011) claimed to have evaluated employees’ perceptions toward organizations’ CSR activities as externally oriented third-party judgments on justice. Employees’ perceptions toward CSR are accepted as a proxy for corporate justice, increasing the likelihood that organizations treat employees treated fairly based on how fair they treat their stakeholders (Rupp, 2011). On this point, corporate social responsibility, organizational justice, and organizational commitment form the basic dynamics of ideal management. The literature on CSR, has stated a strong need to exist for micro-based studies (Ng et al., 2019). This study has been conducted based on the gaps in the literature in order to contribute to the literature on microhuman resources and micro-organizational behaviors by investigating the mediating effect PSM has in the relationship between employees’ perceptions of CSR and organizational justice and the type of organizational commitment they express. The main reason for focusing on PSM mediating effect is that PSM together with internal and external factors is used to evaluate the reasons that lead employees to work in public institutions (Giauque et al., 2012). Meanwhile, Edward and Kudret’s (2017) study stated investigating the mediating effect of PSM to also be a great way to fill the gap in the CSR literature based on the claim that not enough studies are found explaining why and what to expect in terms of employees’ different responses to CSR activities that focus on internal and external stakeholder goals. This is because PSM as a fairly new concept in the field of public administration was put forward based on the assumption that different factors than those in private sector organizations affect individuals’ desire to work in public institutions as well as their willingness to continue working (Perry, 1996).
This study has preferred the survey method, a quantitative research method. The data required for this study were obtained from Atatürk University . The multi-stage sampling method has been used to ensure that the selected sample has a high representative power of the population in terms of the determined sample number. Data from 341 surveys were obtained as a result of multi-stage sampling based on title and department. Four different scales were used for measuring CSR, organizational justice, organizational commitment, and PSM within the scope of the research. The study’s hypotheses are based on the conceptual framework and experimental research and seek answers to the research questions. The researchers analyzed the data collected with the survey method using the programs SPSS and AMOS. Reliability and validity analyses, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and correlation analyses were performed, followed lastly by the path analysis of the structural equation model.
As a result of the analyses, CSR is concluded to have a significant effect on all the dimensions of organizational commitment apart from continuity commitment. Likewise, the effect organizational justice has on the sub-dimensions of organizational commitment was also found to have a significant effect on other sub-dimensions apart from those in organizational justice. On the other hand, the hypothesis tests regarding the mediating role PSM has in the effects from the predictive variables over the predicted variables determined PSM to have a mediating role in the significant effects on the sub-dimensions except for continuation commitment. As a matter of fact, continuity commitment can be said to have a relatively negative organizational quality compared to the other two sub-dimensions of organizational commitment that affect the results in line with this.
