The impact of corporate social responsibility on employee safety citizenship behavior in Chinese gas sector

Abstract

Drawing upon the Affective Events Theory (AET), we exam how and under what conditions corporate social responsibility (CSR) in gas companies relates to more employee safety citizenship behavior (SCB). In Study 1, a scenario-based experiment involving 481 gas company employees revealed that CSR initiatives positively influenced employee gratitude and SCB. Furthermore, the interaction between CSR and performance pressure significantly enhanced both employee gratitude and SCB. In Study 2, a multi-wave survey study of 370 gas company employees demonstrated that employee gratitude not only directly and positively predicted SCB but also mediated the relationship between CSR and SCB. Notably, the mediating effect of gratitude was more pronounced under conditions of low performance pressure. These findings advance theoretical understanding of the mechanisms linking CSR to safety outcomes and offer actionable insights for gas companies aiming to optimize CSR strategies to foster safer workplace behaviors.