Employees' perceptions of corporate social responsibility and ethical leadership: are they uniquely related to turnover intention?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the simultaneous effect of ethical leadership (EL) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employees' turnover intention and examine the mediating mechanism in these relationships. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a field study of 851 employees across a variety of industries. This study applied partial least squares structural equation modelling for hypothesis testing. Findings The results show that employees' perceptions of CSR as well as EL are both uniquely and negatively related to turnover intention. The authors also found that employees' job satisfaction but not commitment, mediates these relationships. Originality/value Previous research has found that both employees' perceptions of supervisory EL and CSR are negatively related to employees' turnover intentions. Yet, the authors know little about their relative importance because these relationships have not been adequately examined simultaneously.