Is Cain more able? A behavioral perspective on the relationship between family CEO birth order and family firms' CSR
研究了家族企业CEO出生顺序对企业社会责任行为的影响，发现出生顺序越晚的CEO因风险容忍度更高而更少采取CSR，且该关系受兄弟姐妹数量和CEO年龄调节。
Abstract Research Summary We investigate family CEO birth order as an antecedent of family firms' CSR behavior. Despite psychology literature recognizing it as a key predictor of individual behavior, birth order has been largely neglected in management research. Drawing on behavioral economics and evolutionary psychology—specifically, the Family Niche Model—we identify economic and social preferences as two competing channels through which birth order effects propagate to CSR behavior. An unbalanced panel dataset of 550 firm‐year observations from 84 family firms between 2010 and 2022 reveals a negative relationship between family CEO birth order and CSR behavior, pointing to the dominance of the economic channel, whereby the higher risk tolerance among later borns manifests. This relationship is positively and negatively moderated by family CEO sibship size and age, respectively. Managerial Summary We examine the role of family CEO birth order in shaping family firms' CSR behavior considering that individuals' economic and social preferences are strongly influenced by their birth order. The results show that family CEO birth order negatively relates to CSR behavior. We argue that this relationship is driven by higher risk tolerance among later‐born family CEOs, who are consequentially less inclined to adopt CSR behavior as a risk‐mitigating strategy. The relationship is attenuated by family CEO sibship size and amplified by CEO age. Our study cautions family firms concerned with CSR to carefully consider the implications of birth order when selecting family members for the CEO position. Concurrently, family CEOs should be aware that their early family experiences may affect their CSR decisions.