Women managers and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Spain: Perceptions and drivers

Abstract

Synopsis Companies' perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have been partially analysed based on top managers and mostly offer comparisons between men and women. According to our best knowledge, no study has focused on women managers and identified how their personal characteristics and values influence their perceptions of CSR. This paper analyses the differences in attitudes towards the different dimensions of CSR focusing on the viewpoint of women managers. Moreover, it measures how personal and professional backgrounds influence the perception of CSR. A total of 206 women in management positions were surveyed. The findings suggest that women in top management positions in Spain value the stakeholder orientation dimension more than they value other CSR dimensions. Furthermore, the results show that personal and professional backgrounds have a limited impact on women's perceptions of CSR. Finally, our results suggest that entrepreneurial women tend to have a better perception of CSR. Thus, several implications can be drawn for business management, and interesting directions for future research are provided.