Although managers and researchers have invested considerable effort
into understanding corporate social responsibility (CSR), less is known
about corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR). Drawing on strategic
leadership and moral licensing research, we address this gap by considering
the relationship between CSR and CSiR. We predict that prior
CSR is positively associated with subsequent CSiR because the moral
credits achieved through CSR enable leaders to engage in less ethical
stakeholder treatment. Further, we hypothesize that leaders’ moral
identity symbolization, or the degree to which being moral is expressed
outwardly to the public through actions and behavior, will moderate
the CSR–CSiR relationship, such that the relationship will be stronger
when CEOs are high on moral identity symbolization rather than low on
moral identity symbolization. Through an archival study of 49 Fortune
500 firms, we find support for our hypotheses.