| Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) represents the direct efforts by a company to improve aspects of society as well as the integral responsibilities that every organization has with respect to primary stakeholders such as employees, customers, investors, suppliers, communities, the environment, and society as a whole. Any time corporate social responsibility as it relates to business is mentioned, scholars and practitioners automatically think about Friedman's classic statement that "a corporation's responsibility is to make as much money for the stockholders as possible." Scholars and practitioners will either justifiably defend or refute Friedman's position; however, does implementing corporate social responsibility present opportunities or help a firm's competitive advantage by influencing employee engagement or commitment?;This dissertation examined corporate social responsibility, strategic implications, and their influence on frontline service employee engagement and commitment. Based on the findings, this research determined that corporate social responsibility influences all stakeholders and every aspect of a firm's operations and managing social demands, and the demands of all stakeholders must be a priority for managers. This goes back to the question of who owns the firm and whose interest should be priority. As the core of business operation, employees should be the primary concern. Managers understand the incentives for adopting positive social and environmental practices as they attempt to reap the benefits of engaged employees. The findings show that different types of CSR initiatives do influence their behavior, attitude, and productivity. |
