| Giving Green An Office: The Effectiveness of Chief Sustainability Officer Presence |
Received:October 16, 2017 Revised:October 16, 2017 |
Key Words: corporate social responsibility, Chief Sustainability Officer, upper echelons theory, AMO framework |
| Author Name | Affiliation | | Yi Tang | Hong Kong Baptist University | | Ruchunyi Fu* | City University of Hong Kong | | Guoli Chen | INSEAD |
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Abstract: |
| With special attention to the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) in firms, we integrate upper echelons theory and the ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO) framework to examine the effectiveness of setting up CSO position. We propose that the presence of CSO improves corporate social performance by boosting its responsible behavior and reducing irresponsible practices. Furthermore, the effect of CSO presence is contingent on the industrial attributes of the firm, as well as the capability, the formal power and informal resource of the elected CSO. With a sample of U.S. S&P 500 firms from 2005 to 2014, our results yield significant support to the positive influence of CSO presence on corporate social performance. Most interestingly, we find that the decrease of irresponsible behavior is more sensitive to the environmental contingencies. Specifically, the effect of CSO presence on corporate social irresponsibility will be strengthened when the firm is labeled as sinful in nature, and when the appointed CSO is more capable, endowed with greater formal power or provided with greater CEO support. Implications to upper echelons theory and corporate social responsibility research are discussed. |
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