Carryforward Effects of CSR Champions

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

4-2020

Abstract

This study investigates whether executives of socially responsible firms carry forward corporate social policies when they move to different firms. In order to identify the carryforward effects of top executives on corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies, we construct a data set by tracking the movements of executives across firms. We designate top executives as CSR Champions if their firms demonstrate superior-quality CSR practices. We find that the entrance of a CSR Champion into a new firm improves its CSR performance, and we label these incremental effects CSR-Carryforward Effects. Our findings are stronger in firms with poor past CSR performance. Overall, this study extends the executive and CSR-related literature by documenting that executives of socially responsible firms have positive CSR-related effects on their new firms.

Comments

Posted online April 21, 2020.

DOI

10.2308/horizons-17-083

Link to Full Text


Share

COinS