Creating A Safer Workplace: What Role for CEOs, Boards, And Regulators?

Abstract

Neglected so far from management studies on workplace safety is the role of executives (e.g., CEOs and TMTs), boards, and regulators. CEOs and executives are likely to influence safety priorities throughout their companies, albeit indirectly, via other groups of organizational actors (Tucker et al., 2016), for example, depending on the extent to which their speeches focus on efficiency and cost control (Amernic et al., 2013), or on how powerful they are relative to other executives on the board (Haga et al., 2021). Boards of directors, who increasingly agree that workplace safety falls under their responsibility (Ebbevi et al., 2021), may influence product safety and culture through decisions such as the appointment of a named health and safety director (Wright et al., 2006), the monitoring of safety key performance indicators (KPIs), and the inclusion of such KPIs in CEOs compensation contracts (Bradley et al., 2021) as well as by monitoring and advice giving (Ebbevi et al., 2021). As the research on political CSR shows, companies also interact with, influence, and sometimes substitute for government responsibilities (Matten et al., 2020; Ozcan et al., 2018), raising the strategic question of how regulation and regulators affect firms’ workplace safety initiatives and results – all of which trickle down from the top to other organizational layers (Lornudd et al., 2021). By showcasing studies that investigate the role of CEOs, boards, and regulators on workplace safety, our symposium hopes to stimulate additional strategy research (particularly on the role of upper echelons) on workplace safety – and on social responsibility along the supply chain more broadly. With almost two million people dying around the globe each year from exposure to workplace risk factors (WHO/ILO Report, 2021), we aim to show how C-suite executives, boards of directors, and regulators may play a more central role in leading their corporations to create safer workplaces for workers and society – addressing the central theme of the Academy of Management’s 2022 conference. To embrace diversity of thoughts, we invited a highly accomplished group of scholars from Europe and the US across multiple disciplines, including strategic decision making, corporate social responsibility, operations and supply chain management, and organizational behavior. This diversity allows us to examine in-depth how we could create a safer working environment based on experiences from multiple countries and including theoretical lenses. CEOs, Corporate Culture, and Workplace Safety Presenter: Jesper Haga; Hanken School of Economics Presenter: Fredrik Huhtamäki; Umeå School of Business and Economics, Umeå U. Presenter: Dennis Sundvik; Hanken School of Economics Presenter: Timmy Thor; Hanken School of Economics Workplace Safety After Product Recalls: A Learning Advantage to Board Diversity Presenter: Yoon S. Son; U. of Notre Dame Presenter: Corinne A. Post; Villanova U. Presenter: Katie S. Wowak; U. of Notre Dame Presenter: Veronica Haydee Villena; W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State U. Rob Peter to Pay Paul? The Role of Board Reforms in Workplace Safety Presenter: Dennis Wajda; U. of Miami Presenter: Wei Shi; U. of Miami Do Regulatory Inspections Make Operational Workers Safer? Presenter: Mary Parkinson; U. College Dublin Presenter: Mark Pagell; U. College Dublin Presenter: Anthony Veltri; - Presenter: John Gray; Ohio State U. Presenter: Frank Wiengarten; ESADE Business School