Political Views and Corporate Decision Making: The Case of Corporate Social Responsibility

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6288.2008.00197.x Byline: Amir Rubin (1) Keywords: CSR; decision making; elections; headquarters; political views Abstract: Abstract This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and political beliefs in the United States. By analyzing the 2004 presidential election results of communities in which corporate headquarters are located, we establish a correlation between the political beliefs of corporate stakeholders and the CSR ratings of their firms. Companies with a high CSR rating tend to be located in Democratic, or 'blue' states and counties, while companies with a low CSR rating tend to be located in Republican, or 'red' states and counties. Author Affiliation: (1)Simon Fraser University Article note: (*) Corresponding author: Finance Area, Faculty of Business Administration, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada; Tel: (778) 782-5834; Fax: (778) 782-4920; E-mail: arubin@sfu.ca