One option for firms responding to increasing stakeholder pressures for CSR is the appointment of a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO). This paper explores why that increasingly prevalent position is added to top management teams (TMTs). As the addition of this position to TMTs remains undertheorized, we propose a framework from a novel angle. Based on the attention-based view (ABV), we explore board busyness as an explanatory variable for the appointment of CSOs. More precisely, we hypothesize that, due to limited attention capacities, firms with busier boards are more likely to appoint CSOs. Further, we argue that board sustainability committees, which function as attention carriers, enhance this effect. Based on a sample of S&P 500 firms, we generally find support for the predicted effects.   

Biography

Kira Haensel is a doctoral candidate in strategic management and international business at the Florida International University College of Business. Her research examines crisis management and the antecedents and consequences of global corporate sustainability activities, particularly at the intersection of corporate governance and societal impact.