CEO Social Class Perception and Employee-Related CSR: Evidence from Chinese Privately Owned Firms

Abstract

Despite recent progress, the existing literature still contains inadequate knowledge about the internal determinants of employee-related corporate social responsibility (CSR), particularly regarding the effect of the chief executive officer (CEO). Integrating upper echelon theory with social class literature, this study examines how CEO social class perception may influence private firms’ employee-related CSR. Based on a unique dataset from the Nationwide Private Firms Survey of China, this study empirically identifies that higher CEO social class perception will promote a higher level of employee-related CSR activities in private firms. Additionally, this positive impact of CEO social class perception on employee-related CSR may be amplified among younger firms and firms with a smaller amount of intangible resources. Our study contributes to the current literature by enriching our understanding of the antecedents of employee-related CSR from the perspective of the CEO’s cognition of his/her social class and revealing the related informative boundary conditions.