ABSTRACT
Previous research both recognizes and emphasizes the benefits organizations reap by cashing in on the fame of a so-called celebrity CEO, primarily for accessing human capital (Ranft et al., 2006). In a word, a CEO’s fame increases ‘economic opportunities’ (Treadway et al., 2009). This beneficial effect of CEO fame has been empirically supported; for instance, CEO reputation influences capital investment judgments about the firm’s future performances (Cianci and Kaplan, 2010; Jian and Lee, 2011), and actual firm performance (Koh, 2011). Efforts to connect the perceptual halo of celebrity CEO to substantial outcomes also involve utilizing CEOs as credible corporate spokespersons both through advertising and public relations activities (Sohn et al., 2009). On the public relations side, CEOs have been found to increase appeal of news stories since CEOs as news sources were rated more interesting, informative, trustworthy, and subsequently, more persuasive than other spokesperson positions (Straughan and Bleske, 1996).
