Five Star rated hotels in Kenya lead in turnover among the workers by 68 percent within the industry. While turnover is important at a workplace, but this rate exceeds the less than 15 percent global rate for healthy turnover which impedes firm performance due to the incurred cost in recruiting and developing new employees. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of shareholder strategy from an Internal Corporate Social Responsibility (I-CSR) viewpoint on commitment at Kenyan based 5-star hotels. The research design and approach for the study were descriptive and cross-sectional respectively. The target population for the study was two hundred and sixteen managers and a sample size of one hundred and forty-four managers were selected from sixteen out of twenty-four 5-star hotels across Kenya.  A questionnaire was used to collect data obtaining 86.5% response rate. Using both inferential and descriptive statistics to test the hypotheses. The results of regression analysis indicate positive and significant effect of shareholder strategy – with variables (Decision-Making, Planning Activities and Problem-Solving) and 53.1% contribution to commitment at Kenyan based 5-star hotels. Commitment exhibited by employees toward their organizations and turnover intentions are found to be inversely proportional. This means, the higher the commitment the lesser the staff intends to leave the organization. The findings indicate that Shareholder strategy promotes commitment by contributing 53.1% whose effect in turn lowers turnover intentions among the workers. 46.9% is contributed by other factors out the scope of the study. The study recommends implementation of I-CSR strategies to enhance staff attraction, retention and motivation by strengthening commitment among workers toward their organization. The study suggests a similar study with additional variables such as reciprocal, citizenship and altruistic strategies to be conducted in similar or different industry to solidify the field of I-CSR.

Keywords: Internal CSR, Hospitality Industry, Shareholder Strategy, Organizational Commitment, Decision-Making, Problem-Solving

Abbreviations: ICSR – Internal Corporate Social Responsibility