Impact of CSR on Organizational Behavior during a Pandemic: Highlighting Public Health and Safety in the Airline Industry

• Main Authors: Sung-Eun Kang, Choong-Ki Lee, Young-Joo Moon, Yae-Na Park, Courtney Suess
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: flight attendants; corporate social responsibility; public health and safety; organizational identification; self-esteem; organizational commitment
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/17/9704

This study expands Carroll’s CSR typology with the public health and safety dimension to examine how the airline industry’s CSR and public health and safety activities influence flight attendants’ organizational identification, self-esteem, and commitment to the company during COVID-19. A total of 342 South Korean flight attendants participated in online surveys. Based on social identity theory and using structural equation modeling (SEM), the study reveals that ethical-, economic-, and philanthropic-CSR and public health and safety are positively related to organizational identification and that all are linked to the self-esteem and organizational commitment of flight attendants. However, legal-CSR did not affect their organizational identification. The results suggest that “public health and safety” should be applied when initiatives aim to enhance flight attendants’ organizational behavior. The study’s findings contribute to the literature by extending the original CSR model and providing theoretical and practical implications for academic researchers and airlines during a pandemic.