Can ESG Practices Improve Perceived External Prestige and Organizational Citizenship Behavior? A Comparative Study of U.S. and Korean Employees

ABSTRACT This cross‐cultural study investigates the sequential effects of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors on perceived external prestige, organizational identification (OI), and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in the hospitality industry, particularly within the integrated resort (IR) domain. Data were collected from 351 U.S. and 381 South Korean employees working for IR companies. The results showed that environmental and social practices affected perceived external prestige only in the U.S. group, while governance practices impacted perceived external prestige only in the Korean group. Social practices positively influenced OI in both groups. Social practices indirectly affected OI through perceived external prestige in the U.S. group only, whereas governance practices indirectly influenced OI via perceived external prestige in the Korean group only. Social and governance practices indirectly influenced OCB through perceived external prestige and OI. This study addressed research gaps in existing literature by developing and testing a research model across two different countries.