CEO political liberalism, stakeholders, and firms’ support for LGBT employees


Weng D. H., Chuang Y., Zhang C., Church R.

Leadership Quarterly, vol.34, no.3, 2023 (SSCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 34 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2022.101645
  • Journal Name: Leadership Quarterly
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, ABI/INFORM, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Political Science Complete, Psycinfo, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Keywords: CEO political liberalism, Contextual factors, LGBT employees, Organizational diversity, Stakeholders
  • TED University Affiliated: No

Abstract

© 2022 Elsevier Inc.We argue that CEO political liberalism, or the extent to which CEOs are more liberal rather than conservative, affects firms’ support for LGBT employees. Specifically, compared to conservative CEOs, liberal CEOs will be more likely to support LGBT employees by implementing LGBT-friendly policies. We furthermore posit that the presence of certain internal and external stakeholders—including boards, top management teams, and employees, as well as transient institutional investors and LGBT advocacy organizations—alter the proposed effect. Results based on a sample of Fortune 500 firms support our arguments. Our findings contribute to the literatures on leadership, stakeholders, and workplace diversity.