CEO Humble Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Moderating Effect of Firm Slack

Abstract

Purpose: Strategic management scholars have investigated the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm financial performance, identifying various impacts of CSR activities showing conflicting results. Meanwhile, relatively less attention has been paid to the antecedents of CSR activities. According to upper echelons theory, organizational outcomes are predicted by characteristics of CEOs and top management team members. Corporate social responsibility is a type of organizational outcome influenced by such top leader characteristics and choices. Recognizing the importance of exploring new antecedents of CSR activities, I examine whether CEO humility affects CSR outcomes. Research design, data and methodology: The KEJI index was set as a dependent variable to measure CSR activities. Among the 200 sample companies registered in the KEJI database in 2014, 85 companies were finally selected and analyzed to measure CEO humility, as independent variable. I also examine the moderating effects of firm slack on the relationship between CEO humility and CSR activities. Results: There is a positive relationship between CEO humility and corporate social responsibility activities and this relationship is negatively moderated by firm slack. Conclusions: This paper contributes to understanding positive impacts of having humble CEOs on corporate social responsibility outcomes and recognizes the role of firm slack.