| Strategic leadership practice has been presented as a main source of competitive advantage for modern business firms (Ireland & Hitt, 1999). This dissertation explores the chief executive officer (CEO) moral capital concept to give centrality to the moral dimension of strategic leadership practice. By incorporating moral capital, I augment the view that strategic leadership practice involves the effective management of human and social capital (Hitt & Ireland, 2002). My research questions are: (1) What is CEO moral capital? (2) How is it formed? (3) How can we measure it? (4) What is its impact on performance? (5) What are the implications for the moral capital construct more generally?;Theoretically, I apply the resource-based view (Barney, 1997) and theory of action (Bourdieu, 1998) perspectives. I develop a definition and substantive theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) of CEO moral capital and eight associated propositions. Thereafter, I develop a definition, formal theory (Locke, 2001) of moral capital and six associated propositions. Throughout, I address the conscious functioning (Aristotle's concept hexis) of the CEO's bounded rationality (Simon, 1957) within the bounds of the unconscious influence of the CEO's underlying disposition (Bourdieu's concept habitus).;This dissertation introduces the CEO moral capital construct and supporting theories to serve as a platform for future inquiry into the moral element of leadership practice. Furthermore, it has the potential to advance managerial conceptions of executive morality and to impact managerial development pedagogy positively.;Key Words: moral capital, chief executive officer, strategic leadership, grounded theory, resource-based view, Barney, hexis, theory of action, Bourdieu, habitus, face validity, content validity, scale development.;Methodologically, I employ an inductive grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) in a three-year, three-phase, multi-method research inquiry into the CEO moral capital concept. The Stage 1 study involved seven semi-structured interviews with executives; it resulted in face validity for the construct. The Stage 2 study involved 33 semi-structured interviews with an array of stakeholders; it resulted in content validity for the construct. The Stage 3 study involved the development of a measurement instrument and its administration to a sample of 268 firms. Results extended the previous face validity findings; furthermore, I provide illustrative analyses of the dimensionality, reliability, content validity and discriminant validity of the constructs contained in my CEO moral capital structural model. |
