Catch Up with the Good and Stay Away from the Bad: <scp>CEO</scp> Decisions on the Appointment of Chief Sustainability Officers

Why do some chief executive officers (CEOs) appoint sustainability (CSOs) for their firms while others not? We answer this question by examining CEOs' attention allocation to competition stakeholders' approval, which can be triggered both industry peers' corporate social responsibility (CSR) and irresponsibility (CSiR). An increase in CSR triggers observing that peers have improved thus pose a competitive threat own firms. CSiR perceiving stakeholders will demand more place higher sanctions on the future. allocated CSiR, turn, perceived importance urgency of appointing CSOs ‘catch up with good’ (responsible peers) ‘stay away from bad’ (irresponsible peers). also theorize moderating roles motivational attributes, such predominantly prevention-focused CEOs are (less) likely as (CSiR), future-oriented (CSR).