Actions in the spotlight: Differential effects of corporate social responsibility actions on organizational celebrity

Abstract

AbstractWhile the financial value of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been thoroughly addressed in extant research, scholars have yet to fully explore the mechanisms through which CSR benefits the firm. Social approval assets, such as reputation or legitimacy, represent one mechanism through which CSR actions generate idiosyncratic value among stakeholders that is likely to lead to superior firm performance. The present study introduces a new social approval asset, organizational celebrity, to the CSR literature and proposes how CSR actions can be leveraged to generate high levels of attention and positive emotional resonance among stakeholders. In doing so, the model provides insight into how organizational celebrity is formed via distinctive CSR actions that generate media attention and emotional resonance among stakeholders. The conceptual model extends existing work integrating CSR as a key antecedent to the development of social approval assets as key intangible resources for the firm.