How CEO Workaholism Influences Firm Performance: The Roles of Collective Organizational Engagement and TMT Power Distance

Zhuolin She; Quan Li; Jilei Zhou

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.725199

How CEO Workaholism Influences Firm Performance: The Roles of Collective Organizational Engagement and TMT Power Distance

Front Psychol. 2021 Sep 21:12:725199. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.725199. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Zhuolin She¹, Quan Li², Jilei Zhou³

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
² Business School, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
³ School of Information, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Based on upper echelons theory, the current study examines how and under what conditions CEO workaholism influences firm performance. Specifically, we propose that CEO workaholism is positively related to collective organizational engagement, which has a subsequent positive effect on firm performance. Top management team (TMT) power distance would moderate the relationship between CEO workaholism and collective organizational engagement in such a way that workaholic CEOs are more likely to stimulate collective organizational engagement when TMTs have a high level of power distance. Findings based on multi-source, multi-wave data from a sample of 122 CEOs in state-owned enterprises and their corresponding TMT members supported the hypotheses. This study is an initial attempt to empirically examine the effects of leader workaholism at the firm level, which answers the call for more research into the intersection of workaholism and leadership and carries implications for organizational management practices.

Keywords: CEO workaholism; TMT power distance; collective organizational engagement; firm performance; upper echelons theory.