The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Employer Attractiveness in Egypt: The Moderating Effect of the Individual’s Income

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility activities can generate many forms of competitive advantage. Employer attractiveness, among others, is one them. Simultaneously, the global talent shortage and the national labor market dynamics render talent attraction a big challenge for organizations in Egypt. The relationship between corporate social responsibility and employer attractiveness was neither tested in Egypt, nor moderated by the individual’s income. The main motivation behind this study is to close these gaps. For this purpose, the conceptual framework proposes that there is a positive relationship between corporate social responsibility and employer attractiveness, and that this relationship is moderated by the individual’s income. The study was conducted at a private university in Cairo. Masters of business administration students were surveyed using non-probability convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using one-way and two-way Analysis of Variance. Findings indicate that there is a strong positive relationship between socially responsible organizations and their attractiveness as employers. Supporting Carroll’s 1979 framework of the relative importance of corporate social responsibility dimensions, the economic responsibility has the highest effect on employer attractiveness, followed by the legal responsibility, and then the discretionary one. Results also show that the individual’s income does not moderate the relationship. These findings act as a valuable guide for human resources practitioners on how to develop an effective employer branding strategy.