IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v33y2024i3p2413-2431.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A good name is rather to be chosen: The impact of CEO reputation incentives on corporate green innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaonan Sun
  • Javier Cifuentes‐Faura
  • Yao Xiao
  • Xiaoqian Liu

Abstract

In contrast to studies examining the effects of government incentives such as environmental regulation on corporate green innovation, this paper investigates the influence of CEO reputation, a market‐based incentive mechanism, on companies' green innovation behavior. Utilizing green patent data from Chinese A‐share listed companies from 2007 to 2020, we construct a CEO reputation index through principal component analysis and examine its impact on corporate green innovation behavior and underlying mechanisms. Our findings indicate that CEO reputation positively affects companies' green innovation behavior. This effect is primarily driven by reducing financing constraints, CEOs' risk perception, and rising environmental awareness. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals the positive relationship between CEO reputation and green innovation behavior is more pronounced in companies with strong executive compensation incentives, political connections, and effective internal control.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaonan Sun & Javier Cifuentes‐Faura & Yao Xiao & Xiaoqian Liu, 2024. "A good name is rather to be chosen: The impact of CEO reputation incentives on corporate green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 2413-2431, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:33:y:2024:i:3:p:2413-2431
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.3607
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3607
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.3607?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Steven Kaplan & Janet Samuels & Jeffrey Cohen, 2015. "An Examination of the Effect of CEO Social Ties and CEO Reputation on Nonprofessional Investors’ Say-on-Pay Judgments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 103-117, January.
    2. Shenggang Ren & Yue Wang & Yucai Hu & Ji Yan, 2021. "CEO hometown identity and firm green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 756-774, February.
    3. Gustavo Manso, 2011. "Motivating Innovation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(5), pages 1823-1860, October.
    4. Xiang, Xiaojian & Liu, Chuanjiang & Yang, Mian, 2022. "Who is financing corporate green innovation?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 321-337.
    5. Kimberly D. Elsbach & Robert I. Sutton & Kristine E. Principe, 1998. "Averting Expected Challenges Through Anticipatory Impression Management: A Study of Hospital Billing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(1), pages 68-86, February.
    6. Holmstrom, Bengt, 1989. "Agency costs and innovation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 305-327, December.
    7. Liu, Xiaoqian & Wang, Chang'an & Wu, Haitao & Yang, Cunyi & Albitar, Khaldoon, 2023. "The impact of the new energy demonstration city construction on energy consumption intensity: Exploring the sustainable potential of China's firms," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    8. David Schoenherr, 2019. "Political Connections and Allocative Distortions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(2), pages 543-586, April.
    9. Yuanyuan Li & Jing Tan & Binyang Wu & Jingwen Yu, 2022. "Does digital finance promote entrepreneurship of migrant? Evidence from China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(19), pages 1829-1832, November.
    10. Yu, Chin-Hsien & Wu, Xiuqin & Zhang, Dayong & Chen, Shi & Zhao, Jinsong, 2021. "Demand for green finance: Resolving financing constraints on green innovation in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    11. Jianming Zhang & Gongqian Liang & Taiwen Feng & Chunlin Yuan & Wenbo Jiang, 2020. "Green innovation to respond to environmental regulation: How external knowledge adoption and green absorptive capacity matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 39-53, January.
    12. Wu, Huiying & Li, Sihai & Ying, Sammy Xiaoyan & Chen, Xuan, 2018. "Politically connected CEOs, firm performance, and CEO pay," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 169-180.
    13. Lu, Hai & Shin, Jee-Eun & Zhang, Mingyue, 2023. "Financial reporting and disclosure practices in China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1).
    14. Cao, Xiaping & Pan, Xiaofei & Qian, Meijun & Tian, Gary Gang, 2017. "Political capital and CEO entrenchment: Evidence from CEO turnover in Chinese non-SOEs," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1-14.
    15. Lee, Gilsoo & Cho, Sam Yul & Arthurs, Jonathan & Lee, Eun Kyung, 2020. "Celebrity CEO, identity threat, and impression management: Impact of celebrity status on corporate social responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 69-84.
    16. Fama, Eugene F, 1980. "Agency Problems and the Theory of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(2), pages 288-307, April.
    17. Xiong, Yan & Jiang, Xu, 2022. "Economic consequences of managerial compensation contract disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2).
    18. Liu, Qigui & Luo, Jinbo & Tian, Gary Gang, 2016. "Managerial professional connections versus political connections: Evidence from firms' access to informal financing resources," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 179-200.
    19. Lamotte, Olivier & Chalençon, Ludivine & Mayrhofer, Ulrike & Colovic, Ana, 2021. "Intangible resources and cross-border acquisition decisions: The impact of reputation and the moderating effect of experiential knowledge," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 297-310.
    20. Hyunseob Kim & Howard Kung, 2017. "The Asset Redeployability Channel: How Uncertainty Affects Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(1), pages 245-280.
    21. Bu, Maoliang & Qiao, Zhenzi & Liu, Beibei, 2020. "Voluntary environmental regulation and firm innovation in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 10-18.
    22. Sun Hyun Park & Sung Hun (Brian) Chung & Nandini Rajagopalan, 2021. "Be careful what you wish for: CEO and analyst firm performance attributions and CEO dismissal," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(10), pages 1880-1908, October.
    23. Li, Xin & Shao, Xuefeng & Chang, Tsangyao & Albu, Lucian Liviu, 2022. "Does digital finance promote the green innovation of China's listed companies?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    24. Tan, Yongxian & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Xinde & Zhao, Hailong, 2020. "The real effect of partial privatization on corporate innovation: Evidence from China's split share structure reform," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    25. Wang, Chang’an & Liu, Xiaoqian & Li, Han & Yang, Cunyi, 2023. "Analyzing the impact of low-carbon city pilot policy on enterprises' labor demand: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    26. Xiaoping He & Shuo Jiang, 2019. "Does gender diversity matter for green innovation?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1341-1356, November.
    27. Weng, Pei-Shih & Chen, Wan-Yi, 2017. "Doing good or choosing well? Corporate reputation, CEO reputation, and corporate financial performance," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 223-240.
    28. Cho, Sam Yul & Kim, Sang Kyun, 2017. "Horizon problem and firm innovation: The influence of CEO career horizon, exploitation and exploration on breakthrough innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1801-1809.
    29. Liu, Xiaoqian & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier & Zhao, Shikuan & Wang, Long, 2023. "Government environmental attention and carbon emissions governance: Firm-level evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 121-142.
    30. Grzegorz Zimon & Arash Arianpoor & Mahdi Salehi, 2022. "Sustainability Reporting and Corporate Reputation: The Moderating Effect of CEO Opportunistic Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-28, January.
    31. Mathew L. A. Hayward & Violina P. Rindova & Timothy G. Pollock, 2004. "Believing one's own press: the causes and consequences of CEO celebrity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(7), pages 637-653, July.
    32. Anna M. Cianci & Shana M. Clor-Proell & Steven E. Kaplan, 2019. "How Do Investors Respond to Restatements? Repairing Trust Through Managerial Reputation and the Announcement of Corrective Actions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 297-312, August.
    33. Scott D. Graffin & James B. Wade & Joseph F. Porac & Robert C. McNamee, 2008. "The Impact of CEO Status Diffusion on the Economic Outcomes of Other Senior Managers," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(3), pages 457-474, June.
    34. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    35. Olivier Lamotte & Ludivine Chalençon & Ulrike Mayrhofer & Ana Colovic, 2021. "Intangible resources and cross-border acquisition decisions: the impact of reputation and the moderating effect of experiential knowledge," Post-Print halshs-03223489, HAL.
    36. Huang, Xiaoqi & Liu, Wei & Zhang, Zhan & Zou, Xinyu & Li, Pujuan, 2023. "Quantity or quality: Environmental legislation and corporate green innovations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PB).
    37. Bel, Germà & Joseph, Stephan, 2018. "Policy stringency under the European Union Emission trading system and its impact on technological change in the energy sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 434-444.
    38. Jing‐Yue Liu & Yue‐Jun Zhang & Charles H. Cho, 2023. "Corporate environmental information disclosure and green innovation: The moderating effect of CEO visibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 3020-3042, November.
    39. Yuan Yuan & Gaoliang Tian & Louise Yi Lu & Yangxin Yu, 2019. "CEO Ability and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 391-411, June.
    40. Holmstrom, Bengt & Milgrom, Paul, 1991. "Multitask Principal-Agent Analyses: Incentive Contracts, Asset Ownership, and Job Design," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(0), pages 24-52, Special I.
    41. Jian, Ming & Lee, Kin Wai, 2011. "Does CEO reputation matter for capital investments?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 929-946, September.
    42. Bai, Lijuan & Yan, Xiangbin & Yu, Guang, 2019. "Impact of CEO media appearance on corporate performance in social media," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    43. Jennifer Francis & Allen H. Huang & Shivaram Rajgopal & Amy Y. Zang, 2008. "CEO Reputation and Earnings Quality," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 109-147, March.
    44. Steven N. Kaplan & Luigi Zingales, 1997. "Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 169-215.
    45. Yizao Chen & Shihua Huang, 2023. "CEO Reputation and Corporate Risk-Taking: Managerial Competence or Managerial Defence?," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(14), pages 4028-4053, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yan Ma & Gen‐Fu Feng & Zhu‐jia Yin & Chun‐Ping Chang, 2025. "ESG disclosures, green innovation, and greenwashing: All for sustainable development?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 1797-1815, April.
    2. Li Meiyi & Gan Yufei, 2025. "More Philanthropy, More Consistency? Examining the Impact of Corporate Charitable Donations on ESG Rating Uncertainty," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 19(1), pages 1-21.
    3. Liu, Jun & Zhao, Weilin & Zhuang, Castiel Chen, 2025. "Going green or losing edge? The impact of government procurement on carbon reduction and firm value in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sun, Yanmei & Wang, Changyun & Wang, Yuqi, 2025. "CEO reputation in corporate innovation: Financing versus talent-attraction," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Xiao, Zhongyi & Shum, Wai Yan & Lai, Fujun & Xiang, Cheng, 2025. "How do firms respond to divergent ESG ratings? The perspective of green innovation," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    3. Chen, Yuhuilin & Yuan, Ruizhi & Guo, Xinran & Ni, Tao, 2024. "Do foreign acquisitions improve target firms’ green innovation performance?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Ahmed, Mohamed Shaker & Kumar, Satish & Gupta, Prashant & Bamel, Nisha, 2024. "CEO media coverage and cash holdings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Jian Zhou & Xiaodong Lei & Jianglong Yu, 2024. "ESG rating divergence and corporate green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 2911-2930, May.
    6. Wang, Si-Meng & Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2024. "Deleveraging and green technology innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Z. Jun Lin & Shengqiang Liu & Fangcheng Sun, 2017. "The Impact of Financing Constraints and Agency Costs on Corporate R&D Investment: Evidence from China," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 17(1), pages 3-42, March.
    8. Dan Huang & Jie Cheng & Xiaofeng Quan & Yanling Wu, 2024. "Managerial attention to environmental protection and corporate green innovation," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 1047-1081, October.
    9. Du, Lixia & Geng, Baiyang, 2024. "Financial technology and financing constraints," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    10. Lin, Yongjia & Fu, Xiaoqing & Fu, Xiaolan, 2021. "Varieties in state capitalism and corporate innovation: Evidence from an emerging economy," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    11. Park, SeHyun, 2023. "Profitability of politically corrupt firms: Evidence from Romania," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    12. Alexandre Garel & Arthur Petit-Romec, 2021. "Engaging Employees for the Long Run: Long-Term Investors and Employee-Related CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 35-63, November.
    13. Azzam, Ala'a & Alhababsah, Salem, 2023. "Does age similarity between board chair and CEO matter for R&D investments? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).
    14. Dong, Hanmin & Zhang, Lin & Zheng, Huanhuan, 2024. "Green bonds: Fueling green innovation or just a fad?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    15. Zhang, Ping & Wang, Yiru & Gao, Jieying, 2023. "Going public and innovation: Evidence from the ChiNext stock market," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 586-613.
    16. Yuming Zhai & Zhenghuan Cai & Han Lin & Ming Yuan & Ye Mao & Mingchuan Yu, 2022. "Does better environmental, social, and governance induce better corporate green innovation: The mediating role of financing constraints," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1513-1526, September.
    17. Chen Lin & Sibo Liu & Gustavo Manso, 2021. "Shareholder Litigation and Corporate Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(6), pages 3346-3367, June.
    18. Yin, Hongying & Qian, Yuting & Zhang, Bin & Pérez, Rebeca, 2023. "Urban construction and firm green innovation: Evidence from China's low-carbon pilot city initiative," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    19. Xiaofeng Quan & Cheng Xiang & Ru (Tina) Gao, 2024. "Reputation is golden: Superstar CEOs and trade credit," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1-2), pages 631-656, January.
    20. Chen, Chen & Chen, Yangyang & Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Podolski, Edward J., 2016. "Be nice to your innovators: Employee treatment and corporate innovation performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 78-98.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:33:y:2024:i:3:p:2413-2431. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.