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Corporate philanthropy and firm performance: the role of corporate strategies
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to empirically explore the interaction between corporate philanthropy and firm performance through the mechanism of corporate strategies, such as unrelated diversification and global strategic posture (GSP).
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical framework was developed based on institutional theory to argue that GSP can play an important mediating role in the relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm performance. PROCESS macro for SPSS and SAS to test a mediation was conducted using data from 115 publicly traded US firms between 2010 and 2017.
Findings
This study verified that GSP acts as an indirect mediator that influences the relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm performance. However, unrelated diversification was not found to be a mediator of that relationship.
Research limitations/implications
This study has extended the current understanding of institutional theory to explain the relationship between corporate philanthropy and corporate strategies.
Practical implications
This study helps to provide corporate managers with a promising notion that corporate philanthropy can help firms with market entry strategies.
Originality/value
This study helps to provide empirical evidence on the relationships among corporate philanthropy, corporate strategies and firm performance. Specifically, the finding of this study indicates strategic conditions under which the firm’s philanthropic efforts are more likely to influence firm performance.
... Most billion-dollar businesses today aim to maximize profit while also prioritizing societal contributions. In 2023, over 75% of the world's 100 wealthiest entrepreneurs engaged in philanthropy, collectively donating $50 billion (Cha et al., 2023). Many successful business people establish thriving enterprises and allocate part of their income to charitable organizations, advancing education, medicine, and the environment (Leisinger, 2007). ...
... There appears to be a positive and reinforcing relationship between business profits and charitable donations. Entrepreneurs who generate profits are often invited to participate in corporate philanthropy (Cha et al., 2023). This involvement helps them avoid malpractices that can tarnish their reputation and threaten the long-term sustainability of their business. ...
Successful entrepreneurs such as Warren Buffett and Jack Ma have built thriving businesses and donated a portion of their earnings to charitable organizations that promote education, health care, and the environment. This paper first theoretically explores how successful business people benefit society by making and spending money. Then, this paper takes Chinese listed companies that have generated positive accounting profits in the past three years as samples to explore the relationship between environmental investment and intangible assets of listed companies and empirically verifies whether CEOs increase CSR investment out of strategic motives. Regression results show that when environmental investment increases by 1%, intangible assets of listed companies increase by 0.053%, indicating that CEOs may benefit others strategically to maximize the wealth of stakeholders and increase profits. Therefore, this paper finally draws the conclusion that successful business people not only make a positive contribution to society but also benefit the whole society. They fulfill their social responsibility by supporting global health, development, and sustainability programs, and the modern economy is critical to incentivizing this philanthropy.
... The first is the altruistic view, which posits that philanthropy is motivated by a desire to benefit another (Su and He 2010;Peterson et al. 2021) and is aligned with literature on blatant benevolence (Griskevicius et al. 2007). The profit maximization view suggests that enterprises pursue philanthropy assuming a direct economic benefit (Su and He 2010;Cha et al. 2023). The political and institutional power view posits that philanthropy will occur to maximize political return or circumvent regulations through the cooperation or influence of government officials for protection or business opportunities (Su and He 2010;Purda 2023). ...
End-of-life (EoL) healthcare facilities, relying on government funding, face restrictive per diem payment options, which has led to a renewed focus on donations from third parties. In this study, the role of diversity in donations at EoL facilities is examined, in which internal diversity is analyzed via patient diversity and external diversity through providers, referral sources, and service providers. General linear regression is employed on a dataset from 5,010 EoL facilities. The findings show that patient racial diversity in an EoL facility is positively associated with donations, whereas diversity in referral sources, providers, and service providers is negatively associated with donations.
... Muller & Kräussl (2011) shows that philanthropy in times of crisis not only provides social support but also builds a positive perception of the company, especially among its employees. Cha et al. (2022) added that the strategies of companies that incorporate philanthropy as part of their response to the crisis can produce better performance results because of such signals. Based on these two theories, it can be hypothesized that corporate philanthropy has a significant positive impact on the value of the company. ...
Corporate sustainability has become a critical concern for stakeholders, emphasizing that management's focus should extend beyond short-term profit maximization to encompass the broader welfare of all stakeholders. Through the adoption of strategic philanthropic initiatives and the implementation of robust risk management practices, companies can address stakeholder expectations while strengthening their competitive position in dynamic market environments. This study aims to analyze the influence of corporate philanthropy and risk management on firm value. Utilizing a sample of 112 manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the 2022 period, this research employs regression analysis, preceded by classical assumption tests to ensure the validity and reliability of the data. The findings reveal that both corporate philanthropy and risk management have a significant positive effect on firm value, underscoring the importance of socially responsible practices and effective risk mitigation in fostering sustainable corporate growth and long-term stakeholder trust.
... One of the cornerstones of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is corporate philanthropy, which refers to the voluntary and unrestricted donation of corporate resources, such as cash and in-kind contributions, by companies to social causes (Cha et al., 2023). Companies implementing CSR are aware of their impact on various economic, social, and environmental aspects. ...
Objective: This study aims to examine the effect of board competency and financial health on corporate philanthropic activities in achieving SDGs. Theoretical Framework: The stakeholder theory stands out as providing a solid basis for understanding the context of philanthropic activities aimed at promoting Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3), Quality Education (SDG4), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), and Climate Action (SDG13). Method: The population consists of 1,023 listed firms from 2018 – 2023. After excluding insufficient data on donation, the final sample consists of 391 firm-year observations. Results and Discussion: We found that board competency plays a significant role in the investment in philanthropic activities. Besides that, firms with higher profitability increase their investment in donations, and there is a tendency for firms to mask their solvency through donation activities to attract future investors. Research Implications: This research's practical and theoretical implications are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in philanthropy. Our study provides valuable insights for firms and stakeholders on the stability of the firms, which is crucial to determining the total philanthropic investment among firms. Originality/Value: This study is unique in that it examines the firm’s financial health concerning philanthropic charity donations.
... For instance, Liu et al. (2020) argue that firms that prioritize environmental sustainability and social responsibility through their philanthropic activities during the pandemic can enhance their reputation and develop stronger stakeholder relationships, which ultimately can lead to a competitive advantage. Additionally, other studies have shown that corporate philanthropy can enhance firms' reputation and image, leading to increased stakeholder support and ultimately improved financial performance (Shin et al., 2021;Cha et al., 2023). Moreover, corporate giving may benefit firms through the reputational capital generated (Brown et al., 2006). ...
Purpose
The study aims to examine the role of green learning orientation, green knowledge acquisition and green knowledge management in fostering corporate environmental performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China. In addition, this research assesses the moderating role of chief executive officer (CEO) gender between green knowledge management and corporate environmental performance. Finally, this study examines the sequential mediating role of green knowledge acquisition and green knowledge management.
Design/methodology/approach
The study collected the data of 300 SMEs’ CEOs taken from five different provinces in China. The study used a partial least squares regression-based structural equation modelling technique.
Findings
The findings revealed that green learning orientation plays an important role in increasing SMEs’ corporate environmental performance. The results showed that green knowledge acquisition and green knowledge management serially and completely mediate the relationship between green learning orientation and corporate environmental performance.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study addressing the sequence of knowledge orientation, acquisition, management and results in terms of corporate environmental performance. Meanwhile, this study is the first to examine the indirect role of CEO gender on the relationship between green knowledge management and corporate environmental performance. As decisions are taken by the top management and CEO, especially in the case of SMEs, the role of top management and how well top management uses the knowledge acquired by the organization matters significantly.
... For instance, Liu et al. (2020) argue that firms that prioritize environmental sustainability and social responsibility through their philanthropic activities during the pandemic can enhance their reputation and develop stronger stakeholder relationships, which ultimately can lead to a competitive advantage. Additionally, other studies have shown that corporate philanthropy can enhance firms' reputation and image, leading to increased stakeholder support and ultimately improved financial performance (Shin et al., 2021;Cha et al., 2023). Moreover, corporate giving may benefit firms through the reputational capital generated (Brown et al., 2006). ...
Purpose
This study examines the relationship between green intellectual capital (GIC) and competitive advantage (CA) and proposes the moderating role of corporate philanthropy types (cash, in-kind and both) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this study investigates the types of corporate philanthropy, strengthening the link between GIC and CA for Chinese listed firms during a pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
Cross-sectional data were collected from 248 chief executive officers (CEOs) of Chinese firms listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through a structured questionnaire. Regression analysis was employed to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The findings reveal that all types of GIC positively influence a firm's CA. Furthermore, all three types of philanthropy – cash, in-kind and both – moderate the relationship between GIC and CA. However, the intensity of moderation was higher in the case of in-kind philanthropy than in the other two types.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study to examine the relationship between GIC (considering its three components: human, structural and relational capital) and CA in China. The study finds different types of philanthropy as moderating variables to better explain the relationship between GIC and CA. Further, it contributes to a new line of research that aims to study philanthropic aspects connected to the GIC debate.
How to cite this paper: Abdelwahed, N. A. A., Firm performance (FP) has become a significant challenge for every organization to survive in the markets. The present study investigates the FP directly through business strategy (BS) and environmental management process (EMP) and the mediating role of EMP between BS and FP among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. The study's conceptual framework is based on vigorous literature, i.e., Ilmudeen and Bao (2020) and Al Doghan et al. (2022). We gathered quantitative cross-sectional data from employees of SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The conclusions of the study are based on 366 valid samples. Employing path analysis using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 26.0, the study's results exert a positive and significant impact of BS and EMP on FP. Besides, BS also has a significant positive effect on EMP. Finally, EMP is a significant mediator between BS and FP. The study's findings will assist policymakers and the top management of SMEs in understanding BS and EMP's roles in connecting to FP and developing policies considering these links. Finally, the findings would enrich the fathom of literature providing empirical evidence from SMEs of Saudi Arabia. Authors' individual contribution: Conceptualization-N.A.A.A. and M.A.A.D.; Methodology-N.A.A.A. and M.A.A.D.; Software-B.A.S.; Validation-N.A.A.A.; Formal Analysis-B.A.S.; Investigation-N.A.A.A., M.A.A.D., and B.A.S.; Resources-N.A.A.A. and M.A.A.D.; Data Curation-N.A.A.A. and B.A.S.; Writing-Original Draft-N.A.A.A. and M.A.A.D.; Writing-Review & Editing-B.A.S. and N.A.A.A.; Visualization-N.A.A.A. and M.A.A.D.; Supervision-N.A.A.A. and M.A.A.D.; Project Administration-N.A.A.A.; Funding Acquisition-N.A.A.A. and M.A.A.D.
Strategic philanthropy has emerged as a significant aspect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for international firms, enabling them to make a positive global impact. This abstract aims to explore the concept of strategic philanthropy, examining how international firms strategically approach their philanthropic efforts to maximize their social, environmental, and business outcomes. By examining case studies and best practices, this study will shed light on the various strategies employed by international firms to align their philanthropic initiatives with their organizational goals and global development priorities. The study will also investigate the challenges and opportunities faced by these firms in implementing strategic philanthropy on a global scale. Ultimately, this research seeks to contribute to the understanding of how international firms can leverage their resources and expertise to create sustainable and impactful philanthropic initiatives that address global challenges and contribute to the well-being of communities around the world.
Manufacture sector becomes a focus of this research. The manufacturing sector was chosen because the sector had the biggest GDP in 2016-2020. This research aims to analyze the effect of corporate social responsibility based on corporate philanthropy, leverage, and firm size on the company's financial stability. Financial stability was used as a dependent variable in this study. This research uses a quantitative approach and multiple panel data regression method. The object used in this research was 456 observation data on the Indonesian Stock Exchange from 2016-2020. This research shows that corporate philanthropy has an insignificant effect on financial stability in Indonesia. Leverage has a significant negative effect on financial stability in Indonesia. Firm size has a significant positive effect on financial stability in Indonesia. The conclusion is that corporate philanthropy does not affect financial stability, while the level of leverage and the company's size affect financial stability. In Indonesia, the role of corporate philanthropy has not been as decisive as in developed countries. Managerial implications show that the company's size impacts customer trust so that the company has better governance. In addition, companies also need to properly manage the problem of using debt. It is within the optimal point limit not to become a burden and risk to the company. Keywords: corporate philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, financial stability, firm size, leverage
Purpose
Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) are typically reported to have a limited interest in broader societal concerns across the world. As a result, the purpose of this study is to develop a model of SME’s strategic philanthropic performance in light of the societal reactions to the COVID-19 issue, particularly in terms of the intervention of corporate spirituality and the solid regulatory motive behind these.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic mixed review analysis has been executed to analyze the strategic philanthropic performance configuration triggered by the recent COVID-19 crisis, in which over 369 publications are read and reviewed by the authors. It has also established the reliability and validity of literature analysis. Also besides, a short form of qualitative investigation has been used to support the direction of the study.
Findings
Through regulatory adjustments, the study's findings effectively developed a strategic philanthropic performance configuration for SMEs. In this case, the strategic philanthropic convergence of corporate giving, corporate volunteering, corporate foundation and food bank has the potential to help SMEs thrive in the long run. The study also discovers that corporate spirituality might potentially mediate between appropriate regulations and strategic philanthropic performance of SMEs in the context of a supportive external environment.
Research limitations/implications
Prior empirical attempts are subsequently required to inquiry about the proposed conceptualization from different perspectives.
Practical implications
The decision-makers of SMEs, with the efficient implementation of the proposed outline, will use the understanding given for their required actions to develop the competitive advantage in terms of social concerns. On this note, the outcomes of the study can also enhance business differentiation and competitiveness. It can also serve as a strategic guideline for firms to develop organizational values for long-term survival.
Social implications
In the COVID-19 reality, SMEs will contribute to the concerns through philanthropy activities that are better suited for both enhanced social good and greater corporate advantages. The idea can also serve as a basis for SMEs to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first research that conceptualizes the influence of government regulation on the strategic philanthropic performance of SMEs while taking corporate spirituality into account in order to survive the COVID-19 crisis.
We provide a comprehensive review of the growth of multinational enterprises (MNEs) based on a quarter-century (25 years) of scholarly international business publications. We synthesize research insights on the determinants of the growth of MNEs through the lens of Penrose’s theory of firm growth, which is the most influential theoretical perspective on firm growth. The review takes stock of the research findings on the facilitators, constraints, and the trajectory of growth of MNEs, and elaborates on the commonalities and differences between research on the growth of MNEs that draws on Penrose’s theory and research that does not. This comparison highlights the opportunity to build an internally coherent theory of the growth of MNEs, that is, a theory that connects ‘what an MNE is’ to ‘what determines an MNE’s growth.’ It also indicates that past research placed a strong emphasis on exogenous factors (e.g., cross-country distances) as key constraints on growth even though the Penrosean lens suggests a close consideration of endogenous factors that drive international growth, as well as endogenizing the ostensibly exogenous growth determinants. The review highlights the importance of firm-specific managerial knowledge and learning, which shapes the direction of the growth of MNEs and ensures its administrative coherence.
We conceptualize divestitures as a costly alternative to the internal resolution of conflicts among stakeholders, albeit one that avoids the more costly liquidation of the firm. In firms that have lower stakeholder orientation (defined as the extent to which management focuses attention on and integrates the interests of multiple stakeholders in its decision-making), divestitures will be less costly than the internal resolution of stakeholder conflicts, while the opposite will be true in firms that have higher stakeholder orientation. Consistent with this argument, we document a negative relationship between stakeholder orientation and divestiture activity, using a unique dataset of 909 U.S.-based, publicly-listed firms from 2002 to 2015. This negative relationship is more pronounced for selloffs than for spinoffs, for selloffs of businesses that are unrelated to or located far from the divesting firm, and for selloffs to acquirers that are not alliance partners of divesting firms. The core contribution of this paper is to treat different types of divestitures as increasingly costly responses to conflicts among stakeholders, thereby populating the theoretical middle ground between negotiated adaptations of firms’ governance structures and total firm failure. In so doing, this paper contributes to research at the intersection of stakeholder theory and corporate strategy.
Research Summary : We investigate how industrial disasters can discourage FDI and how MNCs' technological, safety management, and philanthropic capabilities can moderate these effects. Using two unique panel data sets of entry and expansion of U.S. wholly‐owned manufacturing subsidiaries overseas, we found that industrial disasters are associated with reduced foreign entry of wholly‐owned subsidiaries in the disaster industry, but not for all firms in the host country experiencing the disaster. We also found that MNCs' technological, safety management, and philanthropic capabilities can, in some cases, positively moderate the negative relationships between industrial disasters and the foreign entry and expansion of wholly‐owned subsidiaries. Additionally, three‐way interactions with government stability suggest that technological and safety management capabilities substitute government stability in managing industrial disasters, while philanthropic capability complements government stability.
Managerial Summary : How can MNCs' technological, safety management, and philanthropic capabilities overcome the effects of industrial disasters such as chemical spills and explosions in host countries? Our results show that industrial disasters are associated with reduced foreign entry of wholly‐owned subsidiaries in the industry in which the industrial disaster occurs, but not for other firms operating in the country experiencing the disaster. However, an MNC's technological capability can, in general, lower the negative consequences of industrial disasters in both the entry and expansion of its wholly‐owned subsidiaries. Regarding the institutional quality of a host country, the results imply that MNCs should develop philanthropic capability when the government stability of the host country is strong, and develop technological and safety management capabilities when the government stability is weak.
This study examines how philanthropy can mitigate liability of foreignness (LOF) in the aftermath of a national disaster. A major disaster restructures the social landscape, creating an avenue for corporate contributions to play a role in recovery and relief efforts. This social restructuring offers a valuable opportunity for multinational enterprises (MNEs) to establish strong local ties. In turn, MNE contributions at such times have a stronger impact on their local acceptance. Thus, MNEs can use these events to strengthen their position in the community and mitigate LOF. Using the context of a national disaster in India, I test these arguments with a sample of 190 MNEs and 660 domestic firms. I found that in the aftermath of the disaster, the increase in MNE contributions was much larger and less strongly tied to promotional activities than the increase in contributions from domestic firms, and this difference persisted over time. Moreover, the performance implication of post-disaster philanthropy was stronger for MNEs than for domestic firms. These findings suggest that philanthropy plays a more strategic role for MNEs in the aftermath of a disaster and it has a pronounced effect on mitigating LOF.
This paper analyses the philanthropic behaviour of companies listed on four stock markets: the IBEX 35 (Spain), CAC-40 (France), DAX-30 (Germany) and AEX-25 (Netherlands). A bibliometric method was used to obtain keywords related to corporate philanthropy in literature, while a qualitative content analysis was undertaken to obtain specific philanthropy-related words from company annual reports. 19 groups of words (codes) were defined, indicating the terms used by companies to express corporate philanthropy and community involvement, the forms they use to express such involvement, and the formulas chosen to channel their aid. The word analysis also gave information about the stakeholders that companies take into account when they become involved in community issues. Different hypotheses were stated to determine whether the use of words was related to country, firm size (revenues and employees) or industry. The use of probit regression also allowed us to obtain combinations of these variables that explained the probability of using every term together but not separately. The results indicated that the variables which most affected philanthropic codes were country and revenues. Conversely, the variables which least influenced philanthropic codes were number of employees and industry.
The link between corporate philanthropy and firm value has been controversial. On one hand, corporate philanthropy is often criticized as an agency cost because it may serve narrow managerial self-interests. On the other hand, corporate philanthropy may enhance firm value because it improves the relationships between firms and their stakeholders. In this study, we argue that this controversy is contingent upon whether corporate governance mechanisms can stimulate the financial benefit of corporate philanthropy. Based on a sample of U.S. firms from 1996 to 2003, we find that CEO long-term pay positively moderates the relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm value while multiboard outside directors negatively moderate this relationship. Contrary to our expectations, we find that the relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm value enhances as CEO tenure increases. Our findings show that corporate governance plays an important moderating role in the relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm value.
Because it promises to benefit business and society simultaneously, strategic philanthropy might be characterized as a “happy marriage” of corporate social responsibility behavior and corporate financial performance. However, as evidence so far has been mostly anecdotal, it is important to understand to what extent empirics support the actual practice as well as value of a strategic approach, which creates both business and social impacts through corporate philanthropic activities. Utilizing data from the years 2006 to 2009 for a sample of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World), which monitors the world’s most sustainable companies, the authors test a model of strategic philanthropy in which the dependent variable is evidence that a firm does or does not measure business and social impacts simultaneously. From the DJSI data, the authors find a proposed measure of overall corporate social performance (CSP) to be the most important explanatory factor for engagement in strategic philanthropy. Moreover, this measure of CSP has a mediating effect on the relations between certain independent variables and strategic philanthropy. Other important findings provide support for the influence of the institutional factors industry and region on the likelihood that companies are practicing strategic philanthropy, but little effect of the business characteristics company size and profitability on that likelihood.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) amongst Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is often characterised in the literature as unstructured, informal and ad hoc discretionary philanthropic activities. Drawing insights from recent theoretical/analytical frameworks (i.e. Crane et al., in Corporate social responsibility: Readings and cases in a global context, 2013; and Valente and Crane, in Calif Manag Rev 52(3):52–78, 2010), and on empirical data collected from both Nigeria and Tanzania, we found that CSR practices in SMEs are much more nuanced than previously presented. In addition, SMEs undertake their CSR practices to varying degrees in multiple spaces—i.e. the workplace, marketplace, community and the ecological environment. These CSR practices go beyond philanthropy and in some instances involve institutional works aimed at addressing some of the institutional gaps in the environments where these SMEs operate. The paper makes a contribution by drawing attention to the multiple spaces of CSR practices amongst SMEs, and the institutional works they do, which are often taken for granted in the extant literature. We provide a unique perspective—by arguing that what is frequently conceptualised as philanthropic CSR in Africa is (or may include) ‘institutional works’.
Two network contagion models are used to describe corporate contributions officers' evaluations of nonprofit organizations seeking philanthropic donations. Contagion by cohesion predicts that behavioral communication between contributions officers results in their sharing the same evaluation. Contagion by structural equivalence predicts that symbolic communication via role playing between officers similarly positioned in the interorganization network of contributions officers results in similar evaluations. We find strong evidence of contagion, robust over differences in the evaluated nonprofit organizations and differences between officers. The evidence is overwhelmingly of contagion by structural equivalence.
This study builds on insights from both upper echelons and agency perspectives to examine the effects on corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of CEO’s narcissism. Drawing on prior theory about CEO narcissism, we argue that CSR can be a response to leaders’ personal needs for attention and image reinforcement and hypothesize that CEO narcissism has positive effects on levels and profile of organizational CSR; additionally, CEO narcissism will reduce the effect of CSR on performance. We find support for our ideas with a sample of Fortune 500 CEOs, operationalizing CEO narcissism with a novel media-based measurement technique that uses third-party ratings of CEO characteristics with validated psychometric scales.
The practice of corporate philanthropy has evolved significantly over the past several decades and has now become an integral part of corporate strategy. This article identifies an emerging form of corporate community involvement called "Corporate Social Initiatives" (CSI). These programs differ from their predecessors in that they are connected to the firm's core values, responsive to moral pressures, based on the firm's core competencies, and have clear objectives and means of measurement. Firms are adopting these initiatives as a part of a strategy that seeks competitive advantage through reputation assets or as a response to perceived pressures from the moral marketplace. This article explicates the drivers behind the increased interest in CSI, relates CSI to changes in the environment of social expectations for business, reviews potential challenges to CSI programs, and suggests critical factors in the design of successful CSI programs.
This study investigates financial correlates of corporate philanthropy in Fortune 1000 companies using structural equation modeling. The results suggest that cash flow (one of the most discretionary types of organizational slack) has a significant impact on a firm’s cash donations to charitable causes, but monetary donations do not affect firm financial performance. These findings support the accepted view of corporate philanthropy as a discretionary social responsibility and the traditional thinking about firm giving in the business and society literature—that doing well enables doing good. Contrary to some contemporary thinking, the findings imply no significant effect on profits from corporate generosity.
Using institutional theory as the foundation, this study examines the role of organizational visibility from a variety of sources (i.e., slack visibility, industry visibility, and visibility to multiple stakeholders) in influencing corporate social performance (CSP). The conceptual framework offers important insights regarding the instrumental motives of managers in performing CSP initiatives. Based on a sample of 124 S&P 500 firms, the authors found that it is a firm’s visibility to stakeholders, rather than its economic performance, that has the larger impact on managers’ decisions regarding how much CSP their firms exhibit. The results show that more profitable firms may not be motivated to engage actively in CSP unless they are under greater scrutiny by various firm stakeholders. The authors also found that organizational slack (estimated as cost of capital) is positively associated with a Social CSP dimension but negatively associated with a Strategic CSP dimension. This research contributes to the current CSP literature by demonstrating that motivations in addition to normative or ethical ones may be at play in the decisions firms make regarding their CSP.
Purpose
This study aims to develop a classification schema for strategic philanthropy as a framework for empirical investigation and managerial decision making. Additionally it aims to present experimental assessments of various types of philanthropy based on the classification schema.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents the results of two experiments examining the effects of different types and implementation strategies of philanthropy on consumer perceptions of brand equity variables.
Findings
The experiments suggest that in a proactive condition corporate philanthropy does have an overall positive effect on consumer perceptions of corporate associations. However, the effects did not transfer to brand evaluations or patronage intentions. Additionally, philanthropy as a part of a recovery strategy has a consistent but non‐significant effect on consumer perceptions.
Research limitations/implications
In the study manipulations respondents received the response at the same time as they read about the crisis. This generally would not happen in actual situations. A second limitation is the lack of control or manipulation for history between the company and the target segment in the directed philanthropy conditions.
Practical implications
The findings of this study have three managerial implications. First, traditional philanthropy may be effective for corporate or brand image objectives, but ineffective for brand evaluation and purchase objectives. Philanthropy directed toward a particular segment may also have a positive effect on consumers beyond that segment. Finally, in cases in which the objective is simply to thwart negative publicity, reactive philanthropy may not be a viable strategic option.
Originality/value
This study examines the effects of philanthropic activity on consumer perceptions of firms and the brands they market.
I offer an institutional theory of corporate social responsibility consisting of a series of propositions specifying the conditions under which corporations are likely to behave in socially responsible ways. I argue that the relationship between basic economic conditions and corporate behavior is mediated by several institutional conditions: public and private regulation, the presence of nongovernmental and other independent organizations that monitor corporate behavior, institutionalized norms regarding appropriate corporate behavior, associative behavior among corporations themselves, and organized dialogues among corporations and their stakeholders. Concerns about corporate social responsibil- ity have grown significantly during the last two decades. Not only has the issue become com- monplace in the business press and among business and political leaders (Buhr & Graf- strom, 2004) but a body of academic literature has also emerged around it (Margolis & Walsh, 2003; Walsh, Weber, & Margolis, 2003). Neverthe- less, little theoretical attention has been paid to understanding why or why not corporations act in socially responsible ways (Rowley & Berman,
In this paper we theoretically and empirically investigate the idea that firms diversify in part to utilize productive resources which are surplus to current operations. Knowledge of these resources allows us to make predictions about the direction of a firm's expansion. In particular, we suggest that excess physical resources, most knowledge-based resources, and external financial resources are associated with more related diversification, while internal financial resources are associated with more unrelated diversification.
This study measures the construct validity of an objective (entropy) approach to measurement of diversification strategy. Results indicate strong convergent, discriminant and criterion-related validity for the entropy measure of diversification. In particular, support for the entropy measure of diversification strategy was demonstrated through associations with the Rumelt subjective measure of diversification (convergent validity); size, debt and R&D intensity (discriminant validity); and accounting and market-based performance (criterion-related validity). Using structural equations modeling, the study reports strong standardized validity coefficients with a diversification factor (0.87 for the entropy and 0.94 for Rumelt's measures). The objective (SIC count) measure exhibits a low standardized validity coefficient (0.44) with the diversification factor. In a discriminant validity test, 70 percent of the variance in the entropy measure is unique to diversification while only 2.8 percent and 7.6 percent are unique to leverage and size, respectively. However, only 6.3 percent of the variance in the SIC count measure is unique to diversification. The study suggests that it may be more appropriate to use the diversification factor with both the entropy and Rumelt subjective measures for maximum accuracy (however, using either alone would be acceptable). Also, the results suggest that the SIC measure may be appropriate in more limited circumstances.
During the past decades, academics and practitioners have been extensively focusing on corporate philanthropy as an important part of corporate social responsibility and a vast number of papers have been published on this topic in various disciplines. To have a better understanding of the evolution of corporate philanthropy, this paper critically reviews some 60 years of research covering 228 corporate philanthropy documents (including 214 journal articles, 5 dissertations, and 9 books and book chapters) across and between disciplines, and analyzes their content in a systematic and comprehensive manner. A multi‐level and multidisciplinary theoretical framework that synthesizes and integrates the corporate philanthropy literature at micro‐, meso‐, and macro‐levels of analysis is offered. Specifically, the framework presents antecedents, intermediaries (moderators and mediators), consequences of corporate philanthropy, and the underlying mechanisms of the corporate philanthropy–firm performance relationship. This paper helps bridge important knowledge gaps of corporate philanthropy and its relation with firm performance by studying corporate philanthropy at a multi‐level of analysis and applying diverse theoretical frameworks of corporate philanthropy. The paper concludes by offering several suggestions for future research on corporate philanthropy.
This paper investigates the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on the corporate philanthropy (CP) behaviors of firms using a dataset from Chinese A-share listed firms. We find that, on average, firms decrease their CP significantly when economic policy uncertainty increases, but the response is heterogeneous for firms with different ownership types. Compared with their counterparts, private firms are willing to contribute more donations in an environment with high economic policy uncertainty. Further analysis shows that private firms take on more other types of corporate social responsibility at the same time, and private firms' additional CP in a high EPU environment is rewarded with more subsidies, indicating that altruistic and political motives may play important roles in driving the CP behaviors of private firms. There is no evidence that private firms selling products directly to consumers are more likely to engage in additional CP. Our findings indicate that the main motivation behind Chinese private firms' additional CP under high economic policy uncertainty is seeking more government resources, instead of keeping consumers loyal by maintaining good reputations during hard periods.
Building on institutional theory, this study investigates the impact of local officials' turnover on corporate philanthropy in China. Using data from Chinese listed firms from 2000–2015, we find that when city-level officials are replaced, firms increase the amount of money they donate. We also note that such positive relationship is stronger when the turnover of a local secretary is unexpected or when the firm experiences stronger performance than in the prior year. Further in-depth analysis shows that the positive impact of the turnover of local officials becomes more salient when firms have high levels of state ownership.
Drawing on sustainable family business theory and stakeholder theory, this study explores how corporate philanthropy affects corporate performance with the consideration of the moderating effects of religious atmosphere. Based on data of Chinese 534 listed family firms, the results show that corporate philanthropy is positively associated with corporate financial performance (CFP) and corporate social performance (CSP). Moreover, religious atmosphere negatively moderates the relationship between corporate philanthropy and CFP, but positively moderates the relationship between corporate philanthropy and CSP. Our findings provide systemic understandings of family firms' CFP and CSP by drawing important insights of corporate philanthropy and religious atmosphere.
This study examines corporate philanthropy in the context of corporate wrongdoing punishment in emerging markets. Building on institutional theory, we propose that in emerging markets, after being punished for fraudulent behavior by the government, which is collectively the largest institution, convicted firms tend to use corporate philanthropy as an institutional strategy to regain legitimacy. Using data of Chinese-listed firms that were punished for financial fraud in the ten years from 2004 to 2013, our findings show the subsequent growth of corporate philanthropy to be positively related to punishment severity. Furthermore, convicted firms’ media visibility, dominant state ownership, and national political appointment strengthen the effect of punishment severity on corporate philanthropy increase. Our institutional perspective offers new insights into why firms engage in corporate philanthropy after fraud punishment.
Using the case of Nigeria's Dangote Group and an exploratory research technique, we critique CSR practices in a developing country context based on a three‐pillar model—traditional CSR, strategic CSR and strategic business engagements. Our paper makes a unique contribution by revealing how a company can transform its strategic CSR into strategic business engagements that permit it to circumvent public procurement laws and secure public contracts at non‐competitive terms. We show how, in weak institutional and regulatory contexts, strategic CSR could be turned to a tool for rent extraction and profit maximization. We advocate for regulatory measures that impose ex ante and ex post limits on the extent to which firms can go in integrating CSR into their normal business operations. Based on the outcomes from this important African case study, we illustrate and propose the strategic business engagement model as a new framework for analysing the social benefits of strategic CSR practices in developing countries.
This work fits into a stream of research dealing with the role of the Internet and social networks as effective disclosure tools. We argue that the asset management company's (AMC) self‐presentation, its product disclosure, and how it communicates in the social media can be positively associated to its performance. In this paper we have studied these relationships on 21 Italian and UK AMCs in the EUROSIF Panel by adopting an experimental study asking business ethics course university students to evaluate the AMCs' ethical commitment. Our research shows that a high corporate social performance (CSP) disclosure through Web and social media is positively associated to AMCs' economic performance. Even a high perceived coherency between AMCs' self‐presentation and ethical financial product communication can enhance AMCs' financial success. In reverse, a high perceived coherency between financial products and corporate social responsibility communication through Web and social media networks does not seem to improve AMCs' economic performance.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate how corporate philanthropy (CP) can affect consumer perceptions of Japanese multinationals, for which there exists strong animosity in Asia, and how this animosity can be attenuated.
Design/methodology/approach
The study first examines Japanese firms in China (Study 1) and then Japanese, European and local firms in Korea (Study 2).
Findings
The results suggest that CP activities can have a positive effect on the consumer recognition of company localness and they can also attenuate company animosity for foreign multinationals. In addition, the findings suggest that Japanese multinationals can benefit greatly from CP activities in Asia than for domestic and other foreign firms.
Research limitations/implications
The study found that consumers do not have ethnocentric attribution biases in evaluations of CP activities by foreign multinationals, as suggested by attribution theory (Hewstone, 1990; Nisbett, 1971).
Originality/value
There is limited evidence supporting the effects of CP activities by foreign multinationals from a country of origin for which there exists strong animosity.
This study aims to develop insights on how firms could manage their relationships with the ecological setting, which is a major stakeholder to create value in an international entrepreneurial and environmental context. Based on the inductive constructive method, and drawing on the recent entrepreneurial CSR literature, stakeholder and internationalization theories, we suggest that managing ecological stakeholder relationship is intimately connected to the idea of creating value for stakeholders through creating ethical relationship with them. In this context, this study posits that with increasing emphasis from the society to assure firms' accountability to multiple stakeholders including the ecological stakeholders, the complexity of relational pressures is greater, when a firm operates in cross-border markets. Furthermore, such pressures are also higher in complex stakeholder relations, when a firm attempts to integrate internationalization and stakeholder theories in CSR-based value creating parameters, as a meaningful relationship with the ecological setting, as a key stakeholder in international markets. In this context, we have proposed propositions at the intersection of the aforementioned theoretical areas. Our synthesis offers novel insights on how firms could proactively manage their relationship with the ecological settings that is a core stakeholder in cross-border market to create stakeholder value.
This paper investigates whether family firms display corporate giving practices significantly different from nonfamily firms. Our two-stage model theorizes, and finds empirical support from a survey of 3,075 Chinese private firms, that firms sensitive to institutional pressures (as a result of firm visibility and political linkages) are more likely to engage in philanthropy (stage 1) and to donate larger amounts (stage 2). In stage 1, family and nonfamily firms display similar conforming behaviors, aimed at maintaining sociopolitical legitimacy. In stage 2, family ownership intensifies the effect of institutional pressures on firms’ philanthropic giving, as reputational motives overlay legitimacy concerns. Our study integrates institutional analyses of socially responsible practices and family business theories to yield insights on the role of the family variable as a key moderator of institutional effects.
Technical Summary
This study examines the relationships between market strategies (international diversification and product diversification) and nonmarket strategies (human rights and employee orientation disclosures) in 335 largest global companies from 31 countries. Hypotheses generated from the Institutional and Stakeholder theoretical perspectives proposed two alternative nonmonotonic relationships (an inverted U‐shape and a U‐shape) between market and nonmarket strategies. Data on company human rights and employee disclosures was collected from the Annual Reports of the MNE’s parent company. The results of Generalized Least Square (GLS) regressions generally support both hypothesized nonmonotonic relationships, and the results vary by region (Europe, the Anglo‐Saxon cluster, and Asia and emerging markets).
Managerial Summary
Global companies diversify internationally by entering new countries and at the same time also diversify into more and more products. Global firms also need to take into account the concerns of various stakeholders such as stockholders, employees, governments, suppliers, and non‐governmental organizations. We relate the diversification strategies (international and product) with nonmarket strategies in the form of human rights and employee disclosures made by global firms in their annual reports. We propose two alternative relationships (an inverted U‐shaped pattern and a U‐shape) between both types of market and nonmarket strategies. We find the relationships vary by the three regions of the world: Anglo‐Saxon cluster, Europe, and Asia and emerging markets. We speculate that national business systems and culture may account for these differences.
Purpose
This study explores corporate strategic orientations as important drivers of firms’ philanthropic engagement. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between two broad corporate strategic orientations – domain offense (DO) and domain abandonment (DA) strategies – and the level of philanthropic engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose that firms pursuing aggressive DO strategies are more likely to invest in corporate philanthropy as part of their market expansion efforts. On the contrary, firms pursuing DA strategies are less likely to invest in corporate philanthropy because of decreased slack resources, rather conservative external stakeholder expectations as well as a firm’s conscious decision to disengage with external stakeholders. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted using data from 122 publicly traded US corporations from 2008 to 2013.
Findings
The findings provided empirical support for a significant positive relationship between DO strategies (acquisition and strategic alliance intensity) and firms’ philanthropic engagement. However, the relationship between DA strategies (divestiture and plant/facility closing) and firms’ philanthropic engagement was not found to be significant. Overall, the findings indicated that philanthropic engagements along with carefully crafted DO strategies help firms expand their market presence.
Practical implications
Organizational leaders that systematically target philanthropic causes that effectively converge with important corporate strategies do benefit in the long run by achieving better brand equity and overall enhanced corporate reputation.
Originality/value
By empirically investigating the relationship between corporate strategic orientations and philanthropic engagement, this study contributes to the on-going scholarly discussion on the link between corporate strategies and philanthropic engagements.
This study examines how emerging economy firms pursue growth in the domestic market during pro-market reforms. Grounding in the literature on institutional perspective on strategic adaptation during institutional transition, we propose an inverted U-shaped relationship between pro-market reforms and firms' pursuit of growth through new investments. However, the effect of pro-market reforms is likely to vary depending on organizational forms and prior logic of competition. More specifically, we propose that business group affiliation has a positive moderating effect, while prior diversification has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between pro-market reforms and corporate expansion through new investments. Our empirical findings based on a sample of 6072 new investment projects undertaken by 3028 companies in India during 1995–2014 provide robust empirical support for the hypothesized relationships.
The paper contributes to literature on the geographies of corporate philanthropy through a case study of the origins, growth and decline of the Northern Rock bank's charitable foundation. Analysis reveals the complex, geographically-embedded nature of philanthropic motivations and impacts. It demonstrates that investment in home and community by philanthropists was part of a regionally-inscribed business-model of excessive risk taking that brought them considerable personal financial rewards. It highlights tensions and conflicts between corporate philanthropists and professional grant-makers over the scale and regional focus of giving. The paper concludes that the positive outcomes of corporate philanthropy are difficult to sustain in disadvantaged regions where shifts in corporate strategy and fragilities in the local economy undermine charitable giving.
I present a complex theoretical explanation that draws on multiple bodies of literature to present an academically rigorous version of a simple argument: good deeds earn chits. I advance/defend three core assertions: (1) corporate philanthropy can generate positive moral capital among communities and stakeholders, (2) moral capital can provide shareholders with insurance-like protection for a firm's relationship-based intangible assets, and (3) this protection contributes to shareholder wealth. I highlight several managerial implications of these core assertions.
Corporate philanthropy is expected to positively affect firm financial performance because it helps firms gain sociopolitical legitimacy, which enables them to elicit positive stakeholder responses and to gain political access. The positive philanthropy-performance relationship is stronger for firms with greater public visibility and for those with better past performance, as philanthropy by these firms gains more positive stakeholder responses. Firms that are not government-owned or politically well connected were shown to benefit more from philanthropy, as gaining political resources is more critical for such firms. Empirical analyses using data on Chinese firms listed on stock exchanges from 2001 to 2006 support these arguments.
The complexity surrounding globalization offers a unique context in which to study the moderating role of uncertainty on top management team (TMT) demographic effects. In a sample of United States-based industrial firms, TMT international experience, educational heterogeneity, and tenure heterogeneity were positively related to firms' global strategic postures, and functional heterogeneity exhibited a negative association. However, when the level of uncertainty facing TMTs was accounted for, these associations were found to be nonlinear.
Although public sector organizations have long been seen as driving the institutionalization of business firms and nonprofit organizations, government agencies themselves have only occasionally been studied as subjects of institutional pressures. This research examines whether public sector organizations, when compared with organizations in the business and nonprofit sectors, are more or less as susceptible to mimetic, normative, and coercive pressures. Using data from the National Organizations Study, we discover that governmental organizations are in fact more vulnerable to all three types of institutional forces than other organizations, whereas the effect of institutional variables on for-profits and nonprofits is more sporadic. The susceptibility of public sector organizations to institutional pressures raises important questions for the field of public administration and has consequences for nonprofits and business firms, which are funded and regulated by government.
We review some 30 years of academic research on corporate philanthropy, taking stock of the current state of research about this rising practice and identifying gaps and puzzles that deserve further investigation. To do so, we examine a total of 162 academic papers in the fields of management, economics, sociology, and public policy, and analyze their content in a systematic fashion. We distinguish four main lines of inquiry within the literature: the essence of corporate philanthropy, its different drivers, the way it is organized, and its likely outcomes. After reviewing the main findings of the literature, we build on several research gaps to highlight directions for future research on corporate philanthropy with an interest in strengthening our understanding of this fascinating phenomenon at the crossroads of business and society.
This paper investigates whether philanthropic giving decisions and amount of charitable giving are related to firms’ political connections and ownership type. To this end, Chinese firms listed on either the Shenzhen or Shanghai stock exchange between 2004 and 2011 are examined, where government interference in the business sector is prevalent, state ownership structure is dominant, and corporate political connections prevail. Our analyses show (1) a significant and positive relationship between political connections and the likelihood and extent of firm contributions; (2) a significant and negative relationship between state ownership and extent of firm contributions; and (3) a stronger relationship between political connections and corporate philanthropy in non-state-owned firms. These findings with regard to the relationship between corporate giving, political connections, and ownership type have important implications for understanding corporate giving behavior in China and in emerging markets in general.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a key component of a firm's reputation. The reputational vulnerabilities and pressure for CSR are perhaps greatest among international firms with business activities across many countries and cultures. Although the strategies of firms entering new markets have been well researched, the CSR component of the market entry decision has been largely ignored, despite its significant relationship with the financial performance of the firm. Further, previous research has largely considered CSR from an environmental performance point of view, and thus has focused on a minimum level of investment in CSR as opposed to the optimal form of the investment. Our paper seeks to address this gap by examining market entry decisions as they relate to corporate philanthropy.
Copyright
Stories of firms that exceed local compliance requirements in their environmental performance appear routinely. However, we have limited theoretical explanations of what propels these firms to exceed compliance. Our theory suggests that global competitive and institutional pressures lead multinational firms to develop highlevel, environmental management systems (EMS) that make them more competitive. For economic and other reasons, select firms make the choice to rationalize their collective environmental performance to the highest common denominator rather than the lowest. Regulations around the world differ widely and are a moving target in many settings. The need to comply with such myriad, shifting rules leads to firms creating EMS to help stay ahead of regulations worldwide. Using institutional and internationalization theories as our basis, we offer a propositional model concerning global competitive/institutional pressures and their effects on corporate environmental performance. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the implications of the model.
To date, there is ample evidence on the determinants of domestic charitable contributions made by US firms. However, to the best of our knowledge, no one has investigated the determinants of foreign charitable contributions made by US firms. Using the Socrates KLD database and the US M&A data for the 2004–2010 period, we find evidence that foreign giving by US manufacturing firms is linked to certain key variables. Specifically, we find evidence that variables found significant in the domestic giving literature (pre entry return on assets, size, debt to asset ratio, market to book ratio, and research and development expense as a function of sales) are also found significant for foreign giving. However, and notably, cultural distance and foreign sales percentage have been found to be important discriminators between manufacturing firms who give abroad and those who do not. It appears that high international business experience (proxied by the foreign sales ratio) and operations in culturally distant countries motivate foreign giving. Finally, subsample analysis involving developed and developing countries suggests that cultural distance matters for developing countries, but does not for the developed country subsample. Firm level profitability matters for developed countries, but not for developing countries. Future research may be expanded to include the dollar amounts of giving and a bigger sample size. Differences in foreign giving patterns between manufacturing and non-manufacturing firms, and by firms in countries other than the US, may also be explored.
Corporate decisions about philanthropic contributions have become more strategic in recent years. Contributions aim not only to benefit recipient nonprofit organizations but also to fulfill major business objectives. This article develops a typology of strategic corporate philanthropy that distinguishes between strategic process and three strategic outcomes. It reports the extent of strategic philanthropy categories in an exploratory study of large firms headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Relationships between strategic philan thropy and industry sector, organizational placement of the phil anthropy function, firm age, and firm size are identified.
Strategic philanthropy, according to the literature, is becoming the state of the art in corporate contribution management. The term is defined in this study as the process by which contributions are targeted to meet business objectives and recipient needs. It represents the integration of philanthropy into the overall strategic planning of the corporation. Given this trend, this research examines the extent to which corporate philanthropy has become predominantly a business deal with direct and measurable financial returns to shareholders. The study presents the results of a national survey of corporate direct contribution programs. The 226 corporations that responded to the mailed questionnaire were primarily large corporations from over 20 different industries. The findings suggest that contributions made directly by corporations are primarily used in less tangible ways to meet responsibilities to employees and their communities.
Outlines the concept of strategic philanthropy, assesses its development and evolution, gives examples of the stakeholder focus, discusses marketing issues and addresses elements to consider in implementation. Organizations have long realized the benefits of benevolent philanthropy in supporting community, employees and the interests of investors. It has only been in recent years that organizations have formalized and integrated the philanthropic decisions with corporate citizenship and other key strategic organizational performance-related decisions. Organizations in the twenty-first century are increasingly concerned about managing societal issues in marketing to benefit key stakeholder interests. A new definition of strategic philanthropy is developed and contrasted with other initiatives that link marketing and society. Finally, suggestions for future research are provided.
While work in the field of global strategic management has largely focused on defining the content of effective global strategies and on prescribing winning strategic moves for multinationals, this research argues the importance of the process through which global strategies are generated, in particular the perceived procedural justice of that process. Drawing on the theoretical heritage of justice-based research, this study first explored the meaning of procedural justice by an investigation of the specific criteria used by subsidiary top managers to define what they perceive to be a fair process in global strategy-making. Second, the importance of procedural justice was assessed by an examination of its effects on the higher-order attitudes of commitment, trust, and social harmony as well as on the lower-order attitude of outcome satisfaction in subsidiary top management. One of the central conclusions of the research is that the procedural justice of the global strategy generation process indeed affects commitment, trust, and social harmony as well as outcome satisfaction in subsidiary top management, and hence provides a potentially powerful but, as yet, unexplored avenue for mobilizing the multinational's global network of subsidiaries.
This paper develops a theoretical model that explains the impact of the fit between top executive characteristics and strategic orientation on organizational performance. Using the Miles and Snow typology as an integrative framework, the central propositions of the model were evaluated. The results of the empirical examination provided significant support for the administrative dimension, an aspect of the typology that has been largely overlooked thus far. Further, it was found that firms achieving a greater degree of alignment between their strategy and the profiles of top managers, generally realized superior performance outcomes.
This paper explores corporate charitable giving disclosures in order to question the extent to which corporations can claim that their philanthropy activities are charitable at all. Exploration of these issues is carried out by means of a tropological analysis that focuses on the different linguistic tropes within the philanthropy disclosures of 52 companies, namely metaphor and synecdoche. The results reveal a number of complex and contradictory things. Primarily, the master metaphor of ‘altruism’ projected by the corporate disclosures is ideologically at odds with the more business case-oriented discourse that shapes the disclosures. This contradiction is put into starker contrast by the existence of a root metaphor, whereby the recipients of corporate philanthropy are presented as the ‘deserving poor’. Synecdochal devices are present within the corporate disclosures, whereby employee initiatives that are independent of corporate strategies are used to confer attributes onto the disclosures that bolster the master metaphor of ‘altruism’. As such, corporate philanthropy is presented by the paper as a structurally incoherent discourse and yet one that has implications for both extracting greater value from various societal groups and in defining, on behalf of civil society, what is a worthy cause.
This study investigates the efficacy of three corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives—sponsorship, cause-related
marketing (CRM), and philanthropy—on consumer–company identification (C–C identification) and brand attitude and, in turn,
consumer citizenship behaviors. CSR reputation is proposed as the moderating variable that affects the relationship between
CSR initiatives, C–C identification, and brand attitude. A conceptual model that integrates the hypothesized relationships
and the moderating effect of CSR reputation is used to frame the study. Using a between-subjects factorial designed experiment,
the results showed that all three CSR initiatives have a significant effect on C–C identification and brand attitude. The
level of that influence, however, varied according to a firm’s CSR reputation. Managerial implications of these findings are
also discussed.