Examining How Female Board Representation Shapes Corporate Social Responsibility through Internal and External Legitimacy Critical Influence:
PH.D. PROGRAM DISSERTATIONS
OVERVIEW
This study investigates the relationship between board gender diversity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance by examining the legitimacy conditions that enable female directors to influence CSR outcomes. Drawing on critical mass theory and institutional legitimacy frameworks, the study introduces “critical influence,” the concept that positional authority through formal board leadership roles can substitute for numerical representation in empowering women directors to shape strategic decisions. Using 16,086 firm-year observations from U.S. public companies (2012–2022), fixed-effects panel regression analyses reveal three key findings. First, higher female board representation significantly predicts stronger CSR performance. Second, critical influence, women serving as board chairs or committee chairs, independently and positively predicts CSR outcomes, even without achieving critical mass thresholds. Third, industry-level female board prevalence also positively predicts CSR, suggesting external normative legitimacy creates enabling conditions. These findings shift the conversation from counting women on boards to examining their capacity to lead, offering governance insights for boards, regulators, and advocates of meaningful inclusion.
The culmination of a Ph.D. candidate’s journey is completing their dissertation, which represents years of research, refining, and defending their work. This section features approved dissertations from candidates in the Coles College’s Ph.D. in Business Administration program, allowing readers to sample the work of these newly christened scholarly academics.
Mari Sifo (Ph.D. Graduate) Canan Mutlu (Dissertation Chair) Patricio Duran (Committee Member) Rajaram Veliyath (Committee Member)
TAKEAWAYS
Female board representation significantly predicts stronger CSR. Positional authority may be able to substitute for critical mass thresholds.
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