Strategic CSR in family firms

Purpose This paper examines how family ownership influences corporate social responsibility (CSR) using a comprehensive sample of US firms. Design/methodology/approach Using 24,531 firm-year observations from 1992 to 2019, we employ firm fixed effects and propensity score matching to compare CSR performance between family and non-family firms. Findings We find that family firms exhibit significantly higher overall CSR performance than non-family firms. Economically, family ownership is associated with an increase of approximately 0.13 CSR points, representing about 45% of the sample mean CSR score. Importantly, this difference is driven primarily by family firms’ stronger emphasis on averting CSR-related concerns rather than greater engagement in positive CSR initiatives. Further analyses show that family firms match or outperform non-family firms across all CSR dimensions, particularly in areas linked to long-term business sustainability. We also find that CSR engagement increases following family CEO successions but declines after professional successions, consistent with a strategic use of CSR to support long-term survival. Originality/value This study provides comprehensive evidence that family ownership is positively associated with CSR performance and highlights the role of CEO succession in shaping CSR engagement, offering new insights into the strategic role of CSR in family firms’ long-term survival.