Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown: How celebrity CEOs affect corporate social responsibility—An empirical study of Chinese listed firms
This study examines the influence of celebrity Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Chinese listed firms in the A-share market from 2009 to 2020. We employ a multi-theoretical approach, drawing on upper echelons, impression management, and identity theories to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024175202 |
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| author | Mengxi Niu |
| author_facet | Mengxi Niu |
| author_sort | Mengxi Niu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study examines the influence of celebrity Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Chinese listed firms in the A-share market from 2009 to 2020. We employ a multi-theoretical approach, drawing on upper echelons, impression management, and identity theories to explore several aspects of this topic. We find that celebrity CEOs are associated with better CSR engagement, suggesting that celebrity CEOs are likely to utilize CSR to strategically manage their impressions. We then explore four boundary conditions in the relationship between celebrity CEOs and CSR, and how celebrity identity mechanisms moderate this relationship. We find that CEOs' age, gender, and degree of media attention can strengthen the celebrity CEOs–CSR relationship, explaining the boundary conditions influencing the level of celebrity CEOs' impression management motivation. Additionally, environmental dynamism does not influence the association between celebrity CEOs and CSR performance. Our study provides new insights into the understanding of CSR antecedents, particularly from the perspective of CEOs’ psychological motivation, and contributes to formulating future CEO and CSR strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8c722b71126d47e490c4ceb8e52a02d7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj-art-8c722b71126d47e490c4ceb8e52a02d72025-01-17T04:51:25ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-01-01111e41489Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown: How celebrity CEOs affect corporate social responsibility—An empirical study of Chinese listed firmsMengxi Niu0School of International Culture and Communication, Communication University of Zhejiang, China; Center for UK Studies, Communication University of Zhejiang, China; School of International Culture and Communication, Communication University of Zhejiang, China.This study examines the influence of celebrity Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Chinese listed firms in the A-share market from 2009 to 2020. We employ a multi-theoretical approach, drawing on upper echelons, impression management, and identity theories to explore several aspects of this topic. We find that celebrity CEOs are associated with better CSR engagement, suggesting that celebrity CEOs are likely to utilize CSR to strategically manage their impressions. We then explore four boundary conditions in the relationship between celebrity CEOs and CSR, and how celebrity identity mechanisms moderate this relationship. We find that CEOs' age, gender, and degree of media attention can strengthen the celebrity CEOs–CSR relationship, explaining the boundary conditions influencing the level of celebrity CEOs' impression management motivation. Additionally, environmental dynamism does not influence the association between celebrity CEOs and CSR performance. Our study provides new insights into the understanding of CSR antecedents, particularly from the perspective of CEOs’ psychological motivation, and contributes to formulating future CEO and CSR strategies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024175202Celebrity CEOsIdentity theoryImpression managementCorporate social responsibility (CSR) |
| spellingShingle | Mengxi Niu Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown: How celebrity CEOs affect corporate social responsibility—An empirical study of Chinese listed firms Heliyon Celebrity CEOs Identity theory Impression management Corporate social responsibility (CSR) |
| title | Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown: How celebrity CEOs affect corporate social responsibility—An empirical study of Chinese listed firms |
| title_full | Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown: How celebrity CEOs affect corporate social responsibility—An empirical study of Chinese listed firms |
| title_fullStr | Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown: How celebrity CEOs affect corporate social responsibility—An empirical study of Chinese listed firms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown: How celebrity CEOs affect corporate social responsibility—An empirical study of Chinese listed firms |
| title_short | Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown: How celebrity CEOs affect corporate social responsibility—An empirical study of Chinese listed firms |
| title_sort | uneasy lies the head that wears a crown how celebrity ceos affect corporate social responsibility an empirical study of chinese listed firms |
| topic | Celebrity CEOs Identity theory Impression management Corporate social responsibility (CSR) |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024175202 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mengxiniu uneasyliestheheadthatwearsacrownhowcelebrityceosaffectcorporatesocialresponsibilityanempiricalstudyofchineselistedfirms |