Ruthless Exploiters or Ethical Guardians of the Workforce? Powerful CEOs and their Impact on Workplace Safety and Health

Abstract The allocation of resources among different stakeholders is an ethical dilemma for chief executive officers (CEOs). In this study, we investigate the association between CEO power and workplace injuries illnesses. We use establishment-level dataset comprising 31,924 establishment-year observations 2002 2011. Our main result shows that employees at firms with structurally powerful CEOs experience fewer illnesses days away from work. reason derive a private benefit low injury illness rates are better influencing to take safety health seriously. Additional analyses reveal in led by expertise power. However, increased were linked controlled ownership Moreover, find mitigate differences relation geographical proximity corporate headquarters. contribute both research practical implications on topics social responsibility (CSR) general particular.