CEO power and corporate social responsibility

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of chief executive officer (CEO) power on corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors use regression analysis to investigate the research question. Findings Using a 23-year panel sample with 1,574 unique US firms and 8,575 firm-year observations, the authors find a significant and negative relation between CEO power and CSR, suggesting that firms with more powerful CEOs engage in less CSR activities. Originality/value The results reveal that more powerful CEOs become less responsive to the needs of stakeholder groups, confirming the validity of the stakeholder theory of CSR.