Donation overperformance duration and visual salience in CSR reports

Abstract

Although performance-feedback research increasingly considers duration, how persistent overperformance on contested organisational targets relates to visual salience remains unclear. Using 8,287 firm-year observations from Chinese listed firms (2007–2022), we examine how the duration of above-aspiration donations relates to visual salience in CSR reports. We control for reporting status and estimate separate models for mandatory and voluntary reporters. Visual salience follows a U-shaped pattern, declining then rising as overperformance persists. This pattern is consistent with firms behaving as if short surpluses raise efficiency concerns, whereas sustained surpluses signal capability. The pattern survives controls for visual-design inertia and industry-year reporting prevalence and remains robust across alternative estimators. Industry culpability flattens the curve, whereas competition mainly steepens its later upward arm. We introduce retained-image area and area-weighted colourfulness and document a non-monotonic duration pattern that disclosure-volume measures miss. The findings suggest that duration is a candidate contingency for performance-feedback research on contested targets.