IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/buseth/v32y2023i4p1411-1428.html

Star CEOs and ESG performance in China: An integrated view of role identity and role constraints logics

Author

Listed:
  • Mengyao Li
  • Min Huang
  • Dong Wang
  • Xiaobo Li

Abstract

This study seeks to shed light on the effect of star CEOs on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of Chinese firms. Relying on the theoretical perspective of role identity and role constraints, we analyze data from 1222 Chinese firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2006 to 2019. The results analyzed using the ordinary least squares estimate method reveal a positive effect of star CEOs' extreme confidence and legitimacy pressure mechanisms on ESG performance. We also find that this positive relationship is negatively moderated by higher organizational slack but strengthened by a lower level of regional marketization, as the degree of firms' dependence on external stakeholders' resources differs significantly. Additionally, this study finds that ESG activities are less likely to be associated with firm performance if star CEOs pursue them to satisfy their need for star status. These findings supplement the early tests of the influence mechanism of star CEOs on organization‐level results and expand the context discussion of role identity and role constraints theory in the Chinese institutional environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Mengyao Li & Min Huang & Dong Wang & Xiaobo Li, 2023. "Star CEOs and ESG performance in China: An integrated view of role identity and role constraints logics," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 1411-1428, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:buseth:v:32:y:2023:i:4:p:1411-1428
    DOI: 10.1111/beer.12579
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12579
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/beer.12579?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. Sandra A. Waddock & Samuel B. Graves, 1997. "The Corporate Social Performance–Financial Performance Link," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 303-319, April.
    2. Otgontsetseg Erhemjamts & Qian Li & Anand Venkateswaran, 2013. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Its Impact on Firms’ Investment Policy, Organizational Structure, and Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 395-412, December.
    3. Marion Dupire & Bouchra M’Zali, 2018. "CSR Strategies in Response to Competitive Pressures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 603-623, March.
    4. Wenjing Li & Ran Zhang, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Ownership Structure, and Political Interference: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(4), pages 631-645, November.
    5. Qiao, Lu & Adegbite, Emmanuel & Nguyen, Tam Huy, 2022. "Chief financial officer overconfidence and stock price crash risk," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Ulrike Malmendier & Geoffrey Tate, 2005. "CEO Overconfidence and Corporate Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2661-2700, December.
    7. Dayuan Li & Min Huang & Shenggang Ren & Xiaohong Chen & Lutao Ning, 2018. "Environmental Legitimacy, Green Innovation, and Corporate Carbon Disclosure: Evidence from CDP China 100," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 1089-1104, July.
    8. Kent Walker & Fang Wan, 2012. "The Harm of Symbolic Actions and Green-Washing: Corporate Actions and Communications on Environmental Performance and Their Financial Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 227-242, August.
    9. Amama Shaukat & Yan Qiu & Grzegorz Trojanowski, 2016. "Board Attributes, Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, and Corporate Environmental and Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 569-585, May.
    10. 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.
    11. Najah Attig & Narjess Boubakri & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami, 2016. "Firm Internationalization and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 171-197, March.
    12. Lin, Kenny Z. & Cheng, Suwina & Zhang, Fang, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Institutional Environments, and Tax Avoidance: Evidence from a Subnational Comparison in China," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 303-318.
    13. Oleg V. Petrenko & Federico Aime & Jason Ridge & Aaron Hill, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility or CEO narcissism? CSR motivations and organizational performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 262-279, February.
    14. James S. Ang & David K. Ding & Tiong Yang Thong, 2013. "Political Connection and Firm Value," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 30(2), pages 131-166, September.
    15. Sun, Rui & Zou, Ganna, 2021. "Political connection, CEO gender, and firm performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. 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.
    17. Ren, Shenggang & Cheng, Yingmei & Hu, Yucai & Yin, Chao, 2021. "Feeling right at home: Hometown CEOs and firm innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    18. Yi Tang & Cuili Qian & Guoli Chen & Rui Shen, 2015. "How CEO hubris affects corporate social (ir)responsibility," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(9), pages 1338-1357, September.
    19. Sam Ronald & Suwandi Ng & Fransiskus Eduardus Daromes, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility as Economic Mechanism for Creating Firm Value," Indonesian Journal of Sustainability Accounting and Management, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 3(1), pages 22-36.
    20. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjö Koskinen & Chendi Zhang, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(10), pages 4451-4469, October.
    21. Zyglidopoulos, Stelios C. & Georgiadis, Andreas P. & Carroll, Craig E. & Siegel, Donald S., 2012. "Does media attention drive corporate social responsibility?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 1622-1627.
    22. 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.
    23. Chen, Yibiao & Wang, Steven Shuye & Li, Wei & Sun, Qian & Tong, Wilson H.S., 2015. "Institutional environment, firm ownership, and IPO first-day returns: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 150-168.
    24. Malmendier, Ulrike & Tate, Geoffrey, 2008. "Who makes acquisitions? CEO overconfidence and the market's reaction," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 20-43, July.
    25. De Cesari, Amedeo & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2015. "Executive incentives and payout policy: Empirical evidence from Europe," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 70-91.
    26. Adam, Tim R. & Fernando, Chitru S. & Golubeva, Evgenia, 2015. "Managerial overconfidence and corporate risk management," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 195-208.
    27. Lin, Karen Jingrong & Tan, Jinsong & Zhao, Liming & Karim, Khondkar, 2015. "In the name of charity: Political connections and strategic corporate social responsibility in a transition economy," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 327-346.
    28. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Wang, Qian & Zhou, Li-An, 2008. "Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 283-299, October.
    29. Dubbink, G.W. & Graafland, J.J. & Liederkerke, L., 2008. "CSR: Transparency and the role of intermediate organisations," MPRA Paper 17892, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    30. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    31. Husted, Bryan W. & Sousa-Filho, José Milton de, 2019. "Board structure and environmental, social, and governance disclosure in Latin America," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 220-227.
    32. Di Giuli, Alberta & Kostovetsky, Leonard, 2014. "Are red or blue companies more likely to go green? Politics and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 158-180.
    33. Martin J. Conyon & Lerong He & Xin Zhou, 2015. "Star CEOs or Political Connections? Evidence from China's Publicly Traded Firms," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3-4), pages 412-443, April.
    34. McCarthy, Scott & Oliver, Barry & Song, Sizhe, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility and CEO confidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 280-291.
    35. Farag, Hisham & Meng, Qingwei & Mallin, Chris, 2015. "The social, environmental and ethical performance of Chinese companies: Evidence from the Shanghai Stock Exchange," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 53-63.
    36. 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.
    37. Mikko Manner, 2010. "The Impact of CEO Characteristics on Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 53-72, June.
    38. Haifeng Huang & Zhenrui Zhao, 2016. "The influence of political connection on corporate social responsibility——evidence from Listed private companies in China," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-19, December.
    39. Kim, Bora & Lee, Seoki, 2022. "The impact of celebrity CEOs on restaurant firm performance: The moderating role of environmental dynamism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 869-880.
    40. Mike Adams & Philip Hardwick, 1998. "An Analysis of Corporate Donations: United Kingdom Evidence," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(5), pages 641-654, September.
    41. Pratima Bansal, 2005. "Evolving sustainably: a longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 197-218, March.
    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. Caiming Nie & Dor Kushinsky & Ting Ren, 2025. "Digital Transformation, CEO Compensation, and ESG Performance: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-23, April.

    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. Koo, KwangJoo (KJ) & Kim, Jae B., 2025. "Managerial pessimism and investment in corporate social responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    2. 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.
    3. Chen, Ying & Wang, Zhitao & Ye, Fan, 2025. "How do prestigious CEOs change corporate ESG initiatives?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    4. Yuan Yuan & Louise Yi Lu & Gaoliang Tian & Yangxin Yu, 2020. "Business Strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 359-377, March.
    5. Jeong, Nara & Kim, Nari & Arthurs, Jonathan D., 2021. "The CEO’s tenure life cycle, corporate social responsibility and the moderating role of the CEO’s political orientation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 464-474.
    6. Alona Bilokha & Mingying Cheng & Mengchuan Fu & Iftekhar Hasan, 2025. "Understanding CSR champions: a machine learning approach," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 347(1), pages 761-774, April.
    7. Bassem Salhi, 2021. "RETRACTED: The Relationship between CEO Psychological Biases, Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, July.
    8. Zhu, Minghao & Yeung, Andy C.L. & Zhou, Honggeng, 2021. "Diversify or concentrate: The impact of customer concentration on corporate social responsibility," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    9. Daewoung Choi & Hyunju Shin & Kyoungmi Kim, 2023. "CEO’s Childhood Experience of Natural Disaster and CSR Activities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(2), pages 281-306, November.
    10. Jie Chen & Xicheng Liu & Wei Song, 2018. "CEO general managerial skills and corporate social responsibility," Working Papers 2018-16, Swansea University, School of Management.
    11. Hossain, Ashrafee T. & Masum, Abdullah-Al, 2022. "Does corporate social responsibility help mitigate firm-level climate change risk?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    12. Mike Adams & Wei Jiang & Siqi Liu, 2025. "Does risk management moderate the relationship between CEO power and corporate philanthropy?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 64(1), pages 53-87, January.
    13. Min Huang & Xiaobo Li & Jun Xia & Mengyao Li, 2024. "Does Confucianism Prompt Firms to Participate in Poverty Alleviation Campaigns?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(4), pages 743-762, February.
    14. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Krishnamurti, Chandrasekhar & Shams, Syed & Chowdhury, Hasibul, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility, overconfident CEOs and empire building: Agency and stakeholder theoretic perspectives," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 52-68.
    15. Panagiotis Karavitis & Pantelis Kazakis & Tianyue Xu, 2021. "Overconfident CEOs, Corporate Social Responsibility & Tax Avoidance: Evidence from China," Working Papers 2021_18, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    16. José‐Luis Godos‐Díez & Laura Cabeza‐García & Roberto Fernández‐Gago & Mariano Nieto‐Antolín, 2020. "Does CEO media exposure affect corporate social responsibility?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 825-840, March.
    17. Lu Zhang & Shenggang Ren & Xiaohong Chen & Dayuan Li & Duanjinyu Yin, 2020. "CEO Hubris and Firm Pollution: State and Market Contingencies in a Transitional Economy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 459-478, January.
    18. Saridakis, Charalampos & Angelidou, Sofia & Woodside, Arch G., 2020. "What type of CSR engagement suits my firm best? Evidence from an abductively-derived typology," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 174-187.
    19. Zhaocheng Xu & Jingchuan Hou, 2021. "Effects of CEO Overseas Experience on Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-24, May.
    20. Matthias Pelster & Stefan Schaltegger, 2022. "The dark triad and corporate sustainability: An empirical analysis of personality traits of sustainability managers," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 80-99, January.

    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:wly:buseth:v:32:y:2023:i:4:p:1411-1428. 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: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26946424 .

    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.