CEO Greed, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Organizational Resilience to Systemic Shocks
Abstract
This study investigates how CEO greed influences firms' engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and their ability to withstand and recover from systemic shocks, focusing on the 2008 global financial crisis. The authors argue that greedy CEOs, driven by personal wealth maximization, tend to underinvest in CSR, which undermines stakeholder relationships and long-term resilience. Analyzing data from 301 U.S. public firms, they find that CEO greed negatively impacts CSR, especially when compensation is tied to short-term incentives. Moreover, firms with greedy CEOs and low CSR investment experience slower recovery following the crisis, highlighting the long-term organizational risks posed by executive greed.
Authors
Dr. Miha Sajko is a scholar specializing in strategic management and organizational behavior. His research focuses on executive decision-making, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and organizational resilience. He has contributed to understanding how leadership traits, such as CEO greed, influence firm strategies and outcomes.
Dr. Christophe Boone is a Professor of Organization Theory and Behavior at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. His research interests include organizational ecology, upper echelons theory, and the dynamics of organizational change. He has published extensively on how organizational structures and leadership affect firm performance and adaptation.
Dr. Tine Buyl is an Associate Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Antwerp. Her research centers on upper echelons theory, focusing on how top executives' characteristics and team dynamics influence strategic decisions and organizational outcomes. She has explored topics such as executive compensation, leadership diversity, and corporate governance.
Keywords
corporate social responsibility, top management teams/upper echelon, executive compensation, event history analysis, research methods, panel and repeated-measure designs