The prevalence and significance of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) role have sparked a growing body of research examining its impact on firm social performance, though findings have been mixed. This study shifts the focus from examining social outcomes to exploring how CSOs influence firms’ strategic use of CSR. Specifically, we investigate how CSOs drive the use of CSR as a tool for legitimacy seeking and differentiation establishment—key components of achieving optimal distinctiveness. By doing so, we address and mitigate the confounding effects of contextual factors, such as institutional environments, that have complicated prior studies. Using data from U.S. publicly listed companies from 2005 to 2020, we find that the presence of a CSO is significantly associated with strategic CSR utilization, reflected in enhanced CSR scope conformity for legitimacy seeking and increased CSR emphasis differentiation for differentiation establishment. This study contributes to the CSO literature by uncovering their pivotal role in leveraging CSR as an instrumental strategic tool.
