The Diffusion and Consequences of Coordinated Impression Management Support among Minority Leaders

In this study we examine a social mechanism by which female and racial minority CEOs have counteracted important forms of social discrimination in firm leadership. In particular, we examine the diffusion, organization, and consequences of “minority support groups” or “MSGs”, which are informal groups of minority CEOs that help each other manage their reputations as leaders by engaging in coordinated impression management in communications with journalists. The first part of our theoretical framework draws from theory and research on social exchange and collective action to explain how generalized reciprocity facilitated the diffusion of MSGs across industries. We then draw further from social exchange theory in explaining the social organization of MSGs. We suggest that the prevailing approach to organizing the provision of support in these groups represents a distinct form of generalized social exchange, which we describe as need-based, net generalized reciprocity. The last part of our framework draws from the social psychology of persuasion to explain why coordinated impression management by members of MSGs is likely to be especially influential with journalists, in comparison to the uncoordinated support by individual leaders examined in prior research.