When employees matter: How employee resource groups and workforce liberalism jointly spur firms to support Pro-LGBTQ legislation

Abstract

Employees are increasingly vocal about and attentive toward their organizations’ social policies and practices. Scholars have identified two main channels through which employees influence responsible business conduct: (1) employee activists proactively shaping corporate decisions and (2) the prevailing worldviews and attitudes of the workforce, which create normative pressure on appropriate corporate behavior. We propose that these two channels interact to produce high levels of employee influence. To assess this hypothesis, we examined corporate support for the Equality Act, a US congressional bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Our quantitative analysis shows that firms with both LGBTQ employee resource groups and liberal workforces were more likely to endorse the Equality Act. Qualitative methods then allowed us to pinpoint the underlying mechanisms. Thus, our study expands our understanding of what enables employees to advance responsible business conduct and why firms engage in sociopolitical issues.