Conscience-driven corporate social advocacy: analyzing moral conviction and perceived motives as predictors of organization-public relationships

Purpose: This study examines how congruent moral conviction between an individual and a company impacts organization-public relationships (OPR). Using arguments from the Attribution Theory, this study also examines how individuals' perceptions of company motives impact the quality of the OPR. This study offers new understanding of what drives individuals' supporting behaviors regarding a company's advocacy efforts and how individual and company ethics contribute to OPR. Design/methodology/approach: This study conducts an online survey (N = 267) to examine the role of moral conviction as a predictor of OPR in the context of corporate social advocacy (CSA). Four types of attributions are examined as a mediating variable. Findings: Results indicate that moral congruency between an individual and an organization directly leads to stronger trust and power balance and that moral conviction positively predicts all four OPR dimensions through values-driven attributions. Originality/value: This study is novel in its inclusion of the moral conviction variable examined in a CSA context, as the role of ethics, or ethical applications, has not been widely examined in this body of literature.