A critical review of forms of corporate community involvement: from philanthropy to partnerships

Abstract

The paper offers a critical review of the forms of corporate community involvement (CCI) including: corporate philanthropy, benefaction, patronage, sponsorship and cause related marketing (CRM) and partnership. It discusses the differences/similarities and compares the limitations of the transactional forms of interaction with the latest form of partnership. The paper suggests that the form of partnership represents a shift towards a non-linear business model of CCI, that is moving away from an outcome towards a process orientation. Three factors are identified conditioning the successful implementation and sustainability of partnerships which are linked with the previous limitations of transactional approaches of interaction. Finally, the paper puts forward three propositions in order for partnerships to: (1) contribute to the increase of institutional trust among organisations and across sectors; (2) assist in balancing the dynamics across the sectors and (3) appreciate the process of interaction as a source of benefits.

Image differentiation with corporate environmental responsibility

“…Various literatures have listed traditional philanthropy as the original form of CSR or as CSR at its most basic level (Bronn & Vrioni 2001;Seitanidi & Ryan 2007). In fact, there exists a continuum in terms of the degree of involvement in CSR, where corporate philanthropy is at one end of the spectrum and corporate community involvement and partnerships are listed at the opposite end.…”

“…In fact, there exists a continuum in terms of the degree of involvement in CSR, where corporate philanthropy is at one end of the spectrum and corporate community involvement and partnerships are listed at the opposite end. In what is being referred to as a new paradigm in CSR (Seitanidi & Ryan, 2007), there appears to be a movement away from an indirect from of corporate involvement such as corporate philanthropy, to a more direct form of involvement or interaction such as cause related marketing. Seitanidi & Ryan (2007) noted that the trend has been for organizations to be more receptive to the idea of corporate community involvement or community relations.…”

Seeking Legitimacy Through CSR: Institutional Pressures and Corporate Responses of Multinationals in Sri Lanka

“…Promoted as an 'ideal way' through which MNEs can engage in ethical behaviour, activities labelled as 'corporate social responsibility' vary considerably, ranging from involvement with communities (Grayson, 1993;Muthuri, 2008;Seitanidi and Ryan, 2007) to establishing environment management systems (Ingram and Frazier, 1980;Rondinelli and Berry, 2000).…”

Multinational Corporations at the Base of the Economic Pyramid: A Strategic Analysis Framework

“…Previous studies describe such alliances as ranging along a continuum from those which entail little collaboration to others which involve considerable collaboration (e.g., Austin, 2000;Gray, 1989;Murphy and Arenas, in press;Reed and Reed, 2009;Seitanidi and Ryan, 2007). The most collaborative type of B2N alliances, identified as integrative alliances, are characterized as alliances combining the partners' competencies and resources in a process of systematic learning (Austin, 2000) and tend to prioritize objectives of creating social value (Hess, Rogovsky and Dunfee, 2002;Waddock, 1989).…”