TY - JOUR
T1 - Are firms with hometown CEOs better citizens? Evidence from the corporate poverty alleviation participation in China
AU - Li, Xiaobo
AU - Huang, Min
AU - Shao, Jinan
AU - Li, Mengyao
AU - Shangguan, Wuyue
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025
PY - 2025/4
Y1 - 2025/4
N2 - Support from the business world is an indispensable factor in alleviating poverty. Nevertheless, it is unclear what internal motivations drive firms to participate in poverty alleviation (PA) programs. In this study, leveraging social identity theory, we examine chief executive officer (CEO) hometown identity as an intrinsic driver for its PA participation when a firm has a hometown CEO. Employing a panel dataset of Chinese listed firms from 2016 to 2020, we find that CEO hometown identity has a positive effect on corporate PA participation. Furthermore, CEO media appearance and environmental complexity strengthen the relationship between CEO hometown identity and corporate PA participation, whereas organizational slack weakens this relationship. Our study is among the first to identify the mechanism through which CEO hometown identity affects corporate PA participation and provide references for other countries in the world suffering from poverty; that is, hometown companies and hometown CEOs can become key forces in alleviating poverty.
AB - Support from the business world is an indispensable factor in alleviating poverty. Nevertheless, it is unclear what internal motivations drive firms to participate in poverty alleviation (PA) programs. In this study, leveraging social identity theory, we examine chief executive officer (CEO) hometown identity as an intrinsic driver for its PA participation when a firm has a hometown CEO. Employing a panel dataset of Chinese listed firms from 2016 to 2020, we find that CEO hometown identity has a positive effect on corporate PA participation. Furthermore, CEO media appearance and environmental complexity strengthen the relationship between CEO hometown identity and corporate PA participation, whereas organizational slack weakens this relationship. Our study is among the first to identify the mechanism through which CEO hometown identity affects corporate PA participation and provide references for other countries in the world suffering from poverty; that is, hometown companies and hometown CEOs can become key forces in alleviating poverty.
KW - CEO hometown identity
KW - CEO media appearance
KW - Corporate poverty alleviation participation
KW - Environmental complexity
KW - Organizational slack
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85215434736&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102351
DO - 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102351
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85215434736
SN - 1043-951X
VL - 90
JO - China Economic Review
JF - China Economic Review
M1 - 102351
ER -
