Are firms with hometown CEOs better citizens? Evidence from the corporate poverty alleviation participation in China

Xiaobo Li, Min Huang, Jinan Shao, Mengyao Li and Wuyue Shangguan

China Economic Review, 2025, vol. 90, issue C

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: CEO hometown identity; Corporate poverty alleviation participation; CEO media appearance; Organizational slack; Environmental complexity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chieco:v:90:y:2025:i:c:s1043951x25000094

DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102351

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