Corporate social responsibility and green behaviour: Towards sustainable food-business development

Literature in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has mainly focused on customers, particularly on their loyalty, behavioural intent and satisfaction. That is, the effectiveness of CSR dimensions has been less considered by scholars. Hence, this research strives to explore the effect of CSR dimensions on the green behaviour among employees of food businesses in Iran. In this vein, the mediating role of green trust and the moderating role of gender in the relationship between the CSR dimensions and the green behaviour of employees have been investigated. The samples of this research included 415 employees of food businesses and companies in Iran. The findings reveal that the CSR dimensions (economic CSR, ethical CSR and philanthropic CSR) directly and indirectly—through the mediating variable of green trust—played an important role in shaping the green behaviour of employees. In this study, the direct and indirect effects of legal CSR on green behaviour among employees were not confirmed. Furthermore, the results represent that the gender variable moderates the effect of the CSR dimensions on the green behaviour of employees, highlighting that economic CSR and ethical CSR played a prominent role in shaping the green behaviour of respectively males and females. In addition, the theoretical and practical implications of the research discussed the impact of green behaviour on producing environmentally friendly products in order to sustainable development in the food business.