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• This paper analyzes Chinese private enterprises' donation behaviors based on social class view. • We investigate the influence of entrepreneur's perceived status on firm's donation engagement. • We explore the moderating influences of several organisational characteristics including firm size and institutional environment. • We offer implications for the application of social status and upper echelons theory on research. Social status has increasingly been recognized as a powerful force in people's lives. In this study, we investigate the influence of entrepreneur's perceived status on firm's donation engagement. In addition, we explore the moderating influences of several organisational characteristics including firm size and institutional environment. Our theory and findings highlight that one's perceived status exhibits a positive effect on donation, while the moderators have negative effect on this relationship. By examining this novel entrepreneurial characteristic, we offer important implications for the application of social status and upper echelons theory on research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]