Corporate governance, product market competition, and corporate social responsibility performance in the US energy industry

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increasingly become an essential issue for corporations. Extensive research has investigated how corporate governance (CG) mechanisms affect CSR with mixed results. Specifically, the existing literature concerning this link in the important energy industry is too sparse to provide meaningful insights. This study contributes to CG and CSR literature by investigating the effects of the two major types of corporate ownership [institutional blockholder ownership (IBO) and managerial ownership] on a firm's CSR performance in the US energy industry and exploring the moderating role of product market competition in various segments of this industry. The results show that both ownership types influence a firm's CSR performance but differently; and product market competition moderates the relationship between IBO and CSR. This paper advances theoretical understanding as well as provides practical implications for corporate ownership structure design for the energy industry.