Corporate social responsibility and affective commitment: An investigation on Turkish maritime sector

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and the affective commitment of employees within the Turkish maritime sector. Despite the growing interest in CSR, empirical research addressing its association with employee outcomes in maritime enterprises remains limited. In this context, using survey data obtained from, 468 shore-based employees across various maritime firms through convenience sampling, a SEM approach was applied to test how three distinct CSR orientations; toward employees, customers, and stakeholders, relate to affective commitment. The findings indicate that employee-oriented CSR is strongly and positively associated with affective commitment (β = .55), whereas neither stakeholder-oriented (β = .10) nor customer-oriented CSR (β = -.14) showed a significant association. These results suggest that employees’ affective commitment to the organization is largely associated with CSR practices that they experience directly and perceive as being directed toward themselves within their daily work processes. In other words, employee-centered and internal CSR practices appear to be most closely associated with employee commitment, while outward-facing CSR initiatives show no comparable association. As the findings are based on a convenience sample of shore-based employees, they should be interpreted as indicative rather than representative of the entire Turkish maritime workforce. By revealing the multidimensional nature of CSR and its varying associations with employee commitment, this study contributes to the sparse empirical literature in the maritime context. Furthermore, it provides managerial implications for maritime businesses aiming to strengthen employee commitment.