Abstract
In wake of recent protests against police brutality and racial inequality, supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement have placed great pressure on major corporations to act. While existing literature has recognized that external events influence organizational decisions (Morgeson et al., 2015), research on corporate giving to societal events (i.e., corporate social giving) in the fight against racism is scarce. Drawing on upper echelons theory, this dissertation considers the impact of managerial characteristics in determining corporate giving to social justice causes. The purpose of this dissertation is to extend current research on corporate giving by empirically examining two types of determinants: racial composition and gender composition of boards of directors. The demographic compositions of boards are explored in isolation then findings are compared to uncover whether and to what extent directors influence corporate donation behaviors. Using pledge donation announcements made by Fortune 1000 firms, this dissertation examines how the proportions of racial minority and female directors affect two corporate social giving strategies: 1) the decision to donate and 2) the amount of monetary pledge donations. Findings suggest that boards with higher proportions of female directors are more likely to announce a pledge donation to address social justice than boards with less gender diversity. This study can serve as marketing guidance to organizations seeking donations for social justice causes and contribute to the limited research yet nation-wide topic on corporate support for societal concerns.