Twelfth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

As one of the results of the political and economic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989 and the increasing participation of this region into the processes of globalisation, transnational corporations have opened local subsidiaries in Poland. These developments over the last three decades allowed transnational corporations not only to invest in Poland, but also to influence the Polish society with their projects of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Such corporations employ a cultural diverse workforce, composed of the local and international employees, which is also reflected in the diversity of their very own CSR projects. Therefore, these transnational corporations have an influence in Poland not only on the economical dimension of globalisation, but also on the social and cultural dimensions with their concepts of CSR. Based on a case study of WrOpenUp, this paper focuses on these Polish and international employees and analyse their personal incentives for participating in projects of CSR. Grounded in the psychological theory of self-determination and its concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of human behaviour, the purpose of this research is to identify the different types of motivation for volunteering. In order to identify the main motives for employees to commit themselves to projects of community service, the aim of this paper is to examine whether there are significant differences in motivation among volunteers of various nationalities, religions, and gender. The core objective is to find significant differences of motivation to volunteer for CSR-projects between Polish and international employees.