The gender effects on corporate social responsibility decoupling of the hospitality and tourism firms

From the risk preference perspective of gender stereotype, this study investigates the impacts of female CEOs and female directors on corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling using data from Chinese listed hospitality and tourism firms spanning 2009–2020. The results obtained through the cluster-adjusted fixed effects regression method show that female CEOs are negatively correlated, suggesting that firms with a female CEO are unlikely to engage in CSR decoupling, while female directors are positively correlated, indicating that firms with a higher proportion of female directors are more likely to pursue CSR decoupling. And performance shortfall strengthens the negative impact of female CEOs. These findings could contribute to the gender diversity literature, CSR decoupling literature, and the behavioural theory of the firm, and offer practical insights for both firm decision-makers and policymakers.