What's Charisma Got to Do with It? Two Faces of Charismatic Leadership and CSR Engagement

Abstract

In this article, we examine the importance of leadership styles in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Drawing from charismatic leadership theory, we argue that the two distinct styles of charismatic leadership, personalized charismatic leadership (PCL) and socialized charismatic leadership (SCL) influence firm’s CSR engagement through different underlying mechanisms. Integrating with existing CSR typologies (internal-external CSR, institutional-technical CSR, reputation-enhancement and stakeholder-reciprocation strategic CSR and substantive-symbolic CSR), we propose that socialized charismatic leaders favor CSR initiatives that benefit a wide array of stakeholders while personalized charismatic leaders have the propensity to selectively engage in CSRs that address the needs of a particular group of stakeholders (external CSR, technical CSR, reputation enhancement strategic CSR and symbolic CSR). In doing so, our study advances knowledge about the micro-foundations of CSR and the unique pathways between leadership styles and CSR types.