Can CEOs' corporate social responsibility orientation improve firms' cooperation in international scenarios?

Abstract

This paper intends to analyze the role of the chief executive officer's (CEO) Corporate Social Responsibility Orientation (CSRO) on interfirm cooperation. Interfirm cooperation is central to gaining competitiveness, particularly in international scenarios where firms must deal with uncertain challenges. Nonetheless, the current understanding of its key determinants needs further development. We argue that whereas environmental hostility pushes firms to cooperate for self-interested purposes, CEOs' CSRO pulls towards cooperation as an end in itself, even more so under hostile conditions where the need for good-willed committed partners is higher. In a sample of 124 internationalized Spanish firms, we found that CEOs' CSRO alone increases firms' international interfirm cooperation and that this impact is stronger under hostile international environments. Our findings thus highlight the importance of leading firms in a socially responsible direction to boost their interfirm cooperation levels in international scenarios.