The researchers found left-leaning CEOs are more likely to make socially conscious investments beyond the interests of their company, but those efforts fall by 18 percent when their political beliefs are reflected in the White House.
“You think that the people who are committed to social responsibility will stay committed regardless of the context,” said study author Nara Jeong, PhD, assistant professor of management at San Francisco State University. “[CEOs] may change their stance if the context changes.”
Dr. Jeong and her co-author used the Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini index, which rates companies’ social investments, to examine CEO activity from 1994 to 2005. More than 750 CEOs were included in the study. Their political leanings were determined with 10 years of political donation data from the Federal Elections Commission.
More articles on leadership and management:
Piedmont Healthcare splits from Georgia Hospital Association
7 hospitals cutting jobs
U of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics CEO: ‘Everything in healthcare doesn’t need to be done by a hospital CEO’
At Becker's 4th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, taking place November 2–5 in Chicago, more than 1,500 hospital and health system executives tackle decisions that determine whether organizations thrive or merely survive: protecting margins under cost pressure, choosing where to grow, renegotiating payer relationships, stabilizing the workforce and proving real ROI on technology. This is where leaders work through them together, face-to-face. Apply for complimentary registration now.
