Conformity or differentiation? The role of CEO turnover

This study investigates the nexus between CEO turnover and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices using all US-listed companies as the sample. Considering each company's different fields in the CSR practice, we use conformity and differentiation to quantify the CSR practice. Our generalized difference-in-difference method shows that incoming CEOs can positively impact differentiation and negatively affect conformity. Our empirical evidence further indicates that CEO career horizon and compensation structure are the two potential mechanisms through which CEO turnover affects the CSR practice. Our results provide insightful implications for companies that wish to gain a competitive advantage via the CSR practice.