Impact of Airline Top Management Teams on Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine the determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the airline industry by applying the conceptual framework of upper echelon theory. Based on this theory, certain attributes of managers—such as age, tenure, formal education level, share ownership, and stock options—are hypothesized to have an impact on CSR decisions. Furthermore, rather than considering only the chief executive officer's characteristics, the entire top management team (TMT) is taken into account to draw more robust conclusions. Data are collected from 13 publicly traded airlines in the US stock market from 1998 to 2013 and analyzed by panel feasible generalized squares. Based on the findings, the TMT's average age and the value of stock options held by the TMT are key in accounting for CSR decisions. The age of the TMT positively affects the airlines' CSR, whereas the value of stock options has a negative impact on CSR.