Drawing upon structural power theory (Tost, 2015; Tost & Johnson, 2019; Tost, Wade-Benzoni, & Johnson, 2015), we investigate the nuanced relationship between power distance belief (PDB), personal power, and individual support for corporate social responsibility (CSR). We develop and test hypotheses predicting that when individuals are high in power distance belief, they will support acts of corporate social responsibility more and individual social responsibility less, because they endorse corporations aiding those lower in a hierarchy. High PDB individuals will also exhibit distinct CSR preferences based on their personal power. Specifically, we reveal that individuals high in both PDB and personal power prefer social, rather than environmental, CSR activities, reflecting a complex interplay between hierarchical perceptions and personal agency. We find support for our hypotheses across four complementary experiments that activate PDB and feelings of personal power, shedding new light on the conditions under which PDB and personal power influence support for different types of CSR.
