Philanthropy as Strategy

Abstract

Scholars and practitioners alike indicate a movement in corporate philanthropy toward "strategic" giving, for example, giving that improves the firm's strategic position (ultimately the "bottom line") while it benefits the recipient of the philanthropic act. Although the existence of this trend is widely accepted, it is represented in the literature most often by anecdotal evidence. This article presents the findings of a survey of corporate giving managers of U.S. firms that have had an established giving program of at least 5 years, with annual giving totaling at least $200,000 each year. The data show that corporate giving managers believe their firms are becoming increasingly strategic in their philanthropic activities. The findings also indicate that institutional-, firm-, and individual-level influences combine to precipitate strategic philanthropy. These findings lend support to the belief that the nature of corporate philanthropy is evolving to fit a more competitive marketplace.

The Relationship Between Norwegian and Swedish Employees’ Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility and Affective Commitment

“…The unclear relevance of gender and age calls for including these variables into the model. NGO interaction is by many perceived as a key element of CSR (Carroll, 1999;Porter & Kramer, 2002;Saiia, Carroll, & Buchholtz, 2003). A study conducted in Norway found that there is a greater chance that women can name the NGO the company is cooperating with or donating to (Ditlev-Simonsen, 2010).…”

Exploring the Motive and Effect between Altruistic and Strategic Corporate Giving: An Experimental Design Study

“…Philanthropy in business is in many ways a compromise of two seemingly contradictory perspectives: Corporations may take altruistic actions, but they do so under profit constraints (e.g., Gas, 2006). Regardless, businesses doing non-business social works, known as strategic giving, is demonstrated beneficial to a firm's strategic position and ultimately its outcome (e.g., Saiia, Carroll, & Buchholtz, 2003). Mostly, companies believe philanthropy or corporate giving is strategy-oriented, because the causes can help them with strategic assets such as reputational capital, employee commitment, trust, and eventually consumers' recognition of their brands and products (Porter & Kramer, 2002).…”

Giving From the Heart: The Emotion Management of Volunteering Employees

“…Whereas the corporate philanthropy born in the Industrial Age was characterized by altruistic giving for charitable purposes aside from the utilitarian business considerations, since the 1980s businesses have begun to view philanthropy as strategic risk management and a business tool, while realizing social goals (Liu, Eng, & Ko, 2013;Ricks & Peters, 2013;Saiia, Carroll, & Buchholtz, 2003;Seitanidi & Ryan, 2007;Smith, 1994).…”