From Words to Worth? The Influence of CEO Conversational Receptiveness on Firm Reputation

This study investigates the impact of CEO conversational receptiveness on firm reputation. Prior research emphasizes the advantages of conversational receptiveness on perceptions in interpersonal contexts. However, despite its assumed relevance as leadership behavior, little is known about how conversational receptiveness influences the perceptions of external stakeholders and firm-level outcomes. Drawing on Information Processing Theory and Signaling Theory, we hypothesize that high CEO conversational receptiveness lowers a firm’s reputation, as it may hinder swift market actions and signal indecisiveness. Additionally, we examine CEO firm variety and research and development (R&D) intensity as factors moderating this relationship. Using panel data from 329 firms in the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index between 2007 and 2021, our findings reveal a negative relationship between CEO conversational receptiveness and firm reputation. Further, we find that this relationship is partially weakened in firms with high CEO firm variety or R&D intensity. Our results challenge the assumption that the benefits of receptiveness extend to non-conversational contexts and — to the best of our knowledge — provide the first empirical evidence on the role of CEO conversational receptiveness in a managerial context. Moreover, we offer valuable insights for firms on contextual factors influencing the relationship between CEO conversational receptiveness and firm reputation.