CSR performance of dual-class firms in different life cycle stages

This paper investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and different phases within a firm's life cycle. Drawing on a sample of U.S. public firms spanning the period from 1991 to 2018, our empirical findings reveal distinct patterns: Younger firms with dual-class equity structures tend to allocate fewer resources to CSR initiatives compared to their single-class counterparts. However, as firms progress into the mature phase of their life cycle, dual-class firms exhibit superior CSR performance compared to single-class firms. Furthermore, we also observe that CEO compensation in dual-class firms tends to be higher during the mature phase. Those findings make a substantial contribution to the fields of agency theory, corporate governance, and business ethics.