CEO Social Status and Corporate Social Responsibility

Jiangtao Xie, Tanusree Jain

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Abstract

There has been a growing interest among corporate social responsibility (CSR) scholars to understand how CEO characteristics can affect CSR performance, with an emphasis on characteristics derived from CEOs' core self-evaluations. Specifically, core self-evaluation refers to individuals' sense of self-concept. Examples of such self-evaluations include narcissism, overconfidence, and hubris. While this line of research has been valuable in understanding the role of CEOs in CSR, it has disregarded that others' evaluations of CEOs can also matter to CSR. Meanwhile, prior literature has already suggested that others' evaluations of CEOs can have implications for various firm behaviors, such as mergers and acquisitions or firm performance. Yet, it is still unclear how others' appraisals of CEOs can influence CSR, thereby leading to a partial view of how CEOs can affect CSR. To address this gap, we examine how CEO social status - the extent to which an individual or group is respected or admired by other - affects CSR performance. Drawing on social status literature, we argue that CEOs with higher social status can boost CSR performance because they are more attentive to stakeholder demands towards CSR and are more likely to show higher competencies in firms' CSR strategies. We also theorize that this positive relationship is weakened by CEO tenure and strengthened by board gender diversity. By analyzing CEOs from S&P 1500 firms for the period of 2004 and 2022, we find support for our hypotheses. Our findings highlight the importance of CEO social status, and more broadly, others' evaluations of CEOs, to CSR.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the Eighty-fourth Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management
EditorsSonia Taneja
Number of pages1
Place of PublicationValhalla, NY
PublisherAcademy of Management
Publication date2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024
EventThe Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2024: Innovating for the Future: Policy, Purpose, and Organizations - Chicago, United States
Duration: 9 Aug 202413 Aug 2024
Conference number: 84
https://aom2024.eventscribe.net/

Conference

ConferenceThe Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2024
Number84
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityChicago
Period09/08/202413/08/2024
Internet address
SeriesAcademy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings
ISSN0065-0668

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