Family and nonfamily female directors' effect on CSR strategy

Abstract

By investigating a sample of industrial Italian listed firms for the years 2003–2020, this research aims to explore two main relationships. First, the study examines the association between the ratio of female directors and CSR strategy score in both family and nonfamily firms. Second, it investigates the link between family female directors and nonfamily female directors within the subsample of family firms. The empirical findings show the existence of a positive link between the ratio of female directors and CSR strategy score only in the subsample of family firms and that this result is driven by the percentage of nonfamily female directors. Additional analyses, aiming to elucidate the heterogeneity of family female directors, report that family females who have an executive role on the board are beneficial for the CSR strategy score, whereas family females who are interlocked and with long tenure are detrimental for the CSR strategy score.