Abstract
This study investigates the effect of two key corporate governance mechanisms, board gender diversity, chief executive officer (CEO) power, and their interactions on firms’ implementation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)-supportive policies. Using 348 Fortune 500 firms from 2003–2023, our study reveals that the presence of three or more female directors on the board is positively associated with LGBTQ-supportive policies. We also find that CEO formal (informal) power has a positive (negative) impact on LGBTQ-supportive policies. Lastly, we document that whereas the effects of the interactions of CEO formal power with both the gender diversity measures are positive, the interactions between CEO informal power and gender diversity measures: critical mass and token are positive and negative respectively. Overall, the results suggest that CEO power could act as a double-edged sword, and a high female director representation reduces the negative effect of CEO informal power on LGBTQ-supportive policy implementations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 102664 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Research in International Business and Finance |
| Volume | 74 |
| Early online date | 27 Nov 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2025 |
Keywords
- Board gender diversity
- CEO power
- Leadership
- LGBTQ-supportive
- Top management
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Business, Management and Accounting (miscellaneous)
- Finance