Family CEOs and CSR performance in Ibero-American family firms

Abstract

Based on the behavioral agency theory, this paper aims to analyze the relationship between family CEOs and the social and environmental adopted practices by family listed firms in Ibero-America, and how board structure (size, independence and female on the board) moderate this relationship. An unbalanced panel data integrated by 836 yearly-observations during 2011-2016 period and GMM method are adopted to carry out several econometric analyses. The results show that family CEOs increase social performance, particularly in the aspects related to labor practices, work condition and human rights. The main limitation of the study is the sample of study, focused on those companies with the highest stock market prices in four Ibero-American countries. This research contributes to advance both the family firms and CSR literature at a comparative level, and emphasizes that socio-emotional wealth preservation constitutes a strategic mechanism for family CEOs, which, in turn, enhances the non-financial performance of Ibero-American firms.