A meso-level conceptualization of CEO celebrity effectiveness

The concept of celebrity has the potential to expand traditional views of leadership by suggesting that, with the aid of the media, firms and CEOs can surpass their peers and develop marketable personas of their own. However, the research, to date, has focused on the emergence of CEO celebrity, rather than the critical question of how CEOs translate their celebrity into personal and firm-related success. The present paper addresses this issue by articulating a meso-level conceptualization focused on the role of CEO political skill in the conversion of celebrity to reputation and performance at the individual and firm levels of analysis. Implications of the proposed conceptualization and directions for future research are discussed.