Strategic communication to motivate corporate volunteering participation among Chinese employees: a comparison of state-owned and private enterprises for social impact

Purpose: Drawing on expectancy theory, this study explores corporate volunteering (CV) motivations among state-owned enterprise (SOE) and private enterprise (PE) employees in China, as well as the communication strategies these corporations use to motivate their employees’ CV participation, generating social impact. 

Design/methodology/approach: Forty interviews were conducted with 20 employees from five SOEs and 20 employees from five PEs. 

Findings: The results indicated that SOE employees are primarily motivated by their current or potential future identity as members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and work ethics, whereas PE employees are significantly motivated by personal fulfillment and the expansion of their social networks. Holistic engagement in life was a prominent shared motivation. Consequently, SOEs and PEs employed more distinct than similar communication strategies to boost expectancy, instrumentality and valence, thereby motivating CV participation. 

Research limitations/implications: This exploratory study’s limitation lies in its focus on the perspectives of employees from large and top-performing corporate social responsibility corporations in China. 

Practical implications: The study provides practical insights on strategic communication for increasing and sustaining CV participation among SOE or PE employees by enhancing motivations, ultimately resulting in community and social benefits. 

Social implications: The study enables corporations to maximize social impact by increasing employees’ participation in CV and enhancing employees’ well-being through CV involvement. 

Originality/value: The study advances the theorizing of CV for social impact by using SOEs in China as a contextual factor to examine CV motivations and strategic communication for driving CV participation.