How CEOs Respond to Mortality Salience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Integrating Terror Management Theory With Regulatory Focus Theory

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Li, Andrew; Chiu, Shih-chi (Sana); Kong, Dejun Tony; Cropanzano, Russell; Ho, Chien-Wei
• 署名单位: Texas A&M University System; West Texas A&M University; University of Houston System; University of Houston; State University System of Florida; University of South Florida; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Boulder
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-9010
• DOI: 10.1037/apl0000956
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 1188-1201
• 关键词: covid-19; mortality salience; Terror Management Theory; REGULATORY FOCUS THEORY; Social responsibility

摘要

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. As chief strategists of their respective firms, how do Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) react to mortality salience associated with the number of new daily COVID deaths in the U.S.? To answer this question, we integrate terror management theory (TMT) with regulatory focus theory to examine how CEOs respond to mortality salience. Based on a sample of CEOs of S&P 500 firms, we found that mortality salience was associated with CEOs' increased other-orientation, and this association was more pronounced among those with high prevention focus. Mortality salience also was associated with CEOs' decreased self-orientation, particularly among those with high promotion focus. We also found that CEOs' self-orientation was negatively related to the likelihood of their firms' making community donations.