Female Chief Executive Officers and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Literature Review on Upper Echelons Theory

Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

Authors

This study addresses the impact of female Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) outcomes. Based on upper echelons theory, a structured literature review of empirical research on CEO gender, CSR performance, reporting, and assurance was conducted. Country-specific studies were differentiated according to their board structure and board gender quotas. This literature review indicates a positive impact of female CEOs on CSR performance in regimes with a one-tier system and voluntary board gender quotas. Research results on other regimes, other CSR outcomes, and cross-country designs are low in number or inconclusive. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first literature review with a focus on female CEOs and CSR. Key research gaps and recommendations for future research are mentioned, such as linking female CEOs with other demographic, social capital, and human capital attributes, including CSR reporting quality and moderator variables. Moreover, the study supports regulatory bodies and business practice to promote the selection of female CEOs for successful CSR transformation processes.

Original languageEnglish
JournalSustainable Development
Number of pages16
ISSN0968-0802
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 30.09.2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). Sustainable Development published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

    Research areas

  • CEO gender, corporate governance, CSR performance, CSR reporting, gender diversity, upper echelons theory
  • Management studies

DOI

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