Linking CEO celebrity to the ethical behavior of family firms in a digital age: evidence from China
Given the widespread use of social media, growing interest has been paid to the nexus of corporate ethics and the celebrity status of chief executive officers (CEOs). This is of even more paramount importance in family-owned firms that are very sensitive to public image and its ethical relevance. Ho...
| Authors: | ; ; ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Journal of business ethics
Year: 2025, Volume: 198, Issue: 4, Pages: 787-811 |
| Further subjects: | B
Family Business
B Corporate social responsibility B Political Ethics B Business Ethics B Celebrity CEO B Aufsatz in Zeitschrift B Firm ethical behavior B Socioemotional wealth B family firm B Media Ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Given the widespread use of social media, growing interest has been paid to the nexus of corporate ethics and the celebrity status of chief executive officers (CEOs). This is of even more paramount importance in family-owned firms that are very sensitive to public image and its ethical relevance. However, no empirical evidence has been found. In response, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanisms through which family business ethics and CEO celebrity are associated, as well as the moderating influence of a leader's personal traits on these relationships. According to secondary data from listed Chinese family firms, from 2013 to 2020, the celebrity status of CEOs was strongly connected with the ethical behavior of organizations; however, this link was mitigated by the heterogeneity of CEOs. The firm's ethical behavior and the CEO's celebrity are positively correlated when the CEO is a family member; when the CEO is not a family member, the correlation is inversely U-shaped. Furthermore, the age, dualities (including the chairman role), and tenure of CEOs had a major impact on the mechanisms of CEO fame and family business ethics. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed in detail. |
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| ISSN: | 1573-0697 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s10551-025-05940-y |
