The impact of corporate social responsibility on employee creativity: Examining the mediating role of work engagement and the moderating role of prosocial motivation in commercial banks in the Colombo District of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Purpose: Though employee creativity is vital for organizational competitiveness, mechanisms through which corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions foster work engagement and prosocial motivation remain underexplored. Hence, this study focuses to fill this lacuna on the impact of CSR on employee creativity. Design/Methodology: This study, underpinned by the broaden-and-build theory, follows a quantitative research approach with the survey design. Data was collected from 295 frontline employees and their supervisors across 40 commercial bank branches in Sri Lanka. Findings: The findings revealed that CSR perceptions significantly predict work engagement, which in turn positively predict creativity. CSR perceptions also had a positive, direct effect on creativity, supporting partial mediation. In contrast, the interaction term between CSR perceptions and prosocial motivation negatively predicts work engagement, indicating a weakening moderating effect. Moderator and mediator further confirmed that the indirect effect of CSR on creativity via work engagement was strongest at low levels of prosocial motivation, and weakest at high levels. Theoretical and Practical Implications: These findings suggest that while CSR can enhance creativity through engagement, high levels of prosocial motivation may paradoxically dampen this effect in emotionally demanding roles. Innovation/Value: The study contributes to CSR literature by uncovering the boundary conditions of prosocial motivation and highlights the importance of balancing CSR initiatives with employee resource capacity