Strategic Philanthropy Research Articles

Strategic philanthropy of athletes after transgression: examining the congruence effect of pre-transgression and transgression issues

PurposeThis study comprehensively explains how sports consumers evaluate athletes’ post-transgression philanthropic activities. We specifically focus on the congruence effect between the pre-transgression philanthropic endeavors and the transgression issue, shedding light on the effectiveness of these strategies in reinstating the positive image of athletes and associated entities.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a rigorous research design, replicating two studies using sports-related (n = 409) and non-sports-related (n = 404) transgression cases. Data were collected by the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform. A series of experimental studies aimed to investigate the congruence mechanism underlying athletes’ post-transgression philanthropic efforts.FindingsWhen the post-transgression philanthropic initiative is related to the transgression, sport consumers are less likely to view it skeptically and are more inclined to positively evaluate the brand attitude and purchase intention, especially when the transgression is unrelated to the pre-transgression philanthropic efforts.Research limitations/implicationsAs is the case with most research, this study has a limitation. This study used a fictitious athlete name to prevent any prior biases or preconceived notions about the athletes and to avoid any unforeseen influences of personal attitudes toward the athlete. However, designing this study around a fictitious athlete may pose construct validity issues because it may not reflect real-life interactions with the athletes. To increase the validity of findings, future research should aim to replicate the current findings using the names of actual athletes.Originality/valueThis unique approach provides valuable insights and equips sports marketers and brand managers with effective strategies to restore the positive image of athletes and associated entities after a transgression has been made public, empowering them to make informed decisions in challenging situations.

Research on Critical Factors in University-Corporation Social Responsibility

Abstract This study investigated three factors of strategic philanthropy, social impact, and social participation in university-corporation joint implementation of social responsibility. This study employed Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to systematically analyze complex issues of social responsibility. The participants included enterprise and university staff who used to carry out social responsibility projects, and 20 valid questionnaires were collected. Synthesized critical factors from literature included policy benefit, social impact, and community participation, which were further divided into five sub-phases, including fifteen criteria in total. Finally, based on the importance, factors that influenced university and corporate joint implementation of social responsibility were ranked and discussed on their priority. This study expects to provide practical suggestions to university and corporate joint implementation of social responsibility projects. Keywords: Strategic philanthropy, Social impact, Community participation, University social responsibility, Corporate social responsibility.

Motivations for Establishing a Corporate Foundation in Australia

ABSTRACT Similar to other countries, Australian firms are increasingly using corporate foundations (CFs) to manage their philanthropic giving. While research has explored the global expansion of CFs, there has been limited understanding on why they are established. This study involving 16 Australian CF managers used qualitative thematic analysis to identify the following four motivational factors that most influence organizational establishment of CFs: 1) centralizing corporate giving; 2) stakeholder influences; 3) financial advantages of foundation structure; and 4) strategic benefits to the establishing firm. The results suggest most Australian firms establish CFs to undertake strategic philanthropy, assisting those in need while capitalizing on the legitimizing social benefits. Many also use it to market activities to their staff, thereby enhancing internal engagement and retention. Yet despite such positive benefits, there is rarely a reduction in principal-agency costs when using a structured CF controlled by corporate executives rather than ad-hoc corporate giving. Furthermore, the decision to establish a CF is often based on normative isomorphism (copying competitors). Additionally, no CFs were established for direct taxation benefits, rather most were focused on the tax benefits associated with employee giving and donations from the general public. The uniqueness of these results, compared with other research, suggests there could be differing motivations to establish CFs based on the organization and the environment of the country where it is located.

Coevolution Analysis of the Sustainable Development Systems of Energy Firms From a Strategic Philanthropy Perspective

As the objectives of the “dual carbon goal”—reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060—continue to be promoted, the fulfilment of social responsibilities is critical in enabling energy firms to achieve sustainable development goals. However, due to the frequent occurrence of nonstrategic charitable behaviors, energy firms cannot effectively manage the outcomes of charity. This affects the sustainable development processes of energy firms. While previous studies have mainly focused on the assessment of the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of the static evaluation of sustainable development, few studies focus on the coevolution analysis of the triple combination. To explore the coevolution of the sustainable development systems of energy firms from the perspective of strategic philanthropy, based on triangular fuzzy numbers, a multiattribute evaluation system has been used. This system integrates strategy features, sustainability features, adaptability features, and matching degrees. It has been used to improve the traditional Belousov–Zhabotinsky (B-Z) reaction model, otherwise known as complex system theory. The coevolution model of sustainable development systems stemmed from the perspective of strategic philanthropy. The feasibility of the dynamic model was verified using data from Chinese energy enterprises (Firm-G and Firm-S) gathered between 2011 and 2020. The improved “B-Z” model proposed in this study is able to dynamically simulate the sustainable coevolution track of energy firms and the action mechanism of strategic philanthropy, which provides new decision-making ideas and methods to enable energy firms to effectively manage the behaviors and effects of strategic philanthropy.

Social Assistance by Corporations in Pandemic Era: Between Obligations or Culture?

Gotong royong is the cultural root of Indonesian society. The attitude of gotong royong is manifested in togetherness and kinship as integration of Indonesian people. The Pandemic of the new coronavirus has extensively tested the course of gotong royong values. In the context of corporate’s philanthropy activities, it aims to provide social benefits, the current trend shows there is a new corporate philanthropy paradigm, namely strategic philanthropy that can provide social benefits while increasing long-term profits such as spread the existence of the product name, and foster partnerships between business units. This study analyze the trends, motives, and moral directions of the corporate's philanthropic activities after introducing pandemic restrictions on national culture (gotong royong). The research method used in this research is normative with a conceptual approach. This study uses secondary data through primary legal materials and secondary legal materials. The data collected will be analyzed using a qualitative approach and stated descriptively. The final results of those research that there are a considerable effect of corporate morality strongly influences the motives and motivation of corporations in carrying out social activities. Corporate morale is influenced by stakeholder backgrounds, goals, and corporates business strategies. So in order to maintain the unity and stability of the corporations and the surrounding community, multi-stakeholder collaboration with the principle of gotong royong through national clusters to overcome the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic is urgently needed.

Shareholder reaction to corporate philanthropy after a natural disaster: an empirical exploration of the “signaling financial prospects” explanation

Corporate response to natural disaster in the forms of cash and/or in-kind donations (corporate philanthropic disaster response, or CPDR) is a growing form of corporate philanthropy. Through an event study methodology based on 1,775 firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, we analyze shareholder reaction to CPDR announcements after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes in Japan. Controlling for the possibility that the most common explanations (buying goodwill and corporate governance) are at play, our results provide an empirical test of a little-explored explanation for the positive shareholder reaction to CPDR: namely, that corporate philanthropy is a market signal to outside investors of the firm’s future financial prospects. We find this explanation to be significant. Of note are also the facts that shareholder reaction is only significantly positive in the case of cash donation (as opposed to in-kind), and is more positive when announced early. Overall, our results align with the “strategic philanthropy” view grounded in resource-dependence theory. But instead of the typical focus on non-financial stakeholders, we argue that philanthropic donations can be used to directly influence investors.

Conceptualizing responsible exits in conservation philanthropy

AbstractConservation philanthropy has grown significantly in the past decade. As the number of philanthropic‐supported conservation initiatives increases, so too will the frequency of exits—the ending of funding relationships. A trend toward “strategic philanthropy,” where foundations fund time‐limited grants, is already contributing to near‐constant exits. We draw attention to exits as a critical and ubiquitous—yet understudied—part of conservation grantmaking processes that can have tremendous impacts on the people and places foundations invest in. This paper begins to address this research gap with the first empirical study of exit processes in the context of ocean conservation philanthropy. We draw on an analysis of interviews and a knowledge co‐production workshop with donors representing 36 foundations investing in ocean conservation globally to: (1) develop a conceptual framework that broadens and clarifies definitions of exits and provides a common language to characterize exits along varied dimensions, and (2) derive best practices for exiting responsibly. This paper provides timely guidance for environmental philanthropy broadly, including the need to think about exits early and often as an integral part of the grantmaking strategy. Responsible giving must include responsible exits.

Philanthropy to the fore [research - innovation

“LABOUR, CAPITAL, and ability are a three-legged stool... They are equal members of the great triple alliance which moves the industrial world,” said famous philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who was the wealthiest man in the world at the beginning of the 20th century. He established the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1911 dedicated to the principles of `scientific philanthropy', but now his do-gooding baton has been passed to other billionaire entrepreneurs who might agree with Carnegie's notion that “the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced”. This new generation includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who recently announced he will give away most of his $124bn fortune to help causes including fighting the climate crisis, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to tackle inequalities. The notion of philanthropy - a form of altruism that consists of private initiatives, for the public good - can stir up controversy for those who think that it is the role of the state to invest and to provide for its citizens, or for others who believe that individual philanthropists can exert too much power and influence through the causes that they support. Politics aside, it provides much-needed money to fund research, innovation and technology designed to solve Earth's most pressing problems, from pandemics to climate change. "Philanthropy is about taking a long-term systemic and entrepreneurial approach to driving system change. As such it is absolutely potentially a huge driver of innovation,” says Clare Woodcraft, a fellow at the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy at Cambridge Judge Business School. As risk capital, it fills `market gaps' where there are no incentives to operate, such as radical ideas. “Philanthropy can provide patient capital so that social change makers, social entrepreneurs and practitioners interested in addressing the world's entrenched socio-economic challenges differently, have the support, the funding and the time to test new solutions,” she says. There are two main approaches favoured by philanthropists looking for new ways to improve the lives of others: collaboration and competition.

Poverty Reduction through Corporate Social Responsibility: Case Study of Peruvian Rural Families

Poverty remains one of this millennium’s main problems, which why the first objective of sustainable development is poverty reduction. Multiple actors are working on this issue: states, multilateral organisms, civil societies, and—perhaps less boldly—the private sector, through social responsibility programs. In this research, the aim was to understand how rural families perceive the contribution of CSR programs, in respect to the decrease in rural poverty. A total of 20 rural families, who were beneficiaries from CSR programs belonging to two extractive companies, were interviewed; furthermore, they were no longer poor and were currently dwelling within the highlands and jungles of Perú. The results show that the CSR strategies used by the companies directly and indirectly contribute toward a reduction in rural poverty, and particularly those more specifically related to capacity development, access to markets, and strategic philanthropy. In this study, it was also found that families mostly use the strategy of informal entrepreneurship, which is not directly linked to the companies’ actions; as such, this could serve as a basis for the future implementation of CSR actions.

The Capital Market Reaction of Medical Enterprises’ Philanthropic Donation during COVID-19 Pandemic

Based on the medical enterprises’ donation data during COVID-19 pandemic, using the event study method, this paper tested the capital market reactions of corporate donation announcements, taking the Yatai Group and Northeast Pharm as examples. The conclusions show that the economic consequences of corporate philanthropy is very different. The stock prices of Yatai Group increased after the donation, while Northeast Pharma’s donation did not bring positive effects. Further, we analyzed the influencing factors of such a difference and put forward suggestions for corporate strategic philanthropy.

A variation on Empedocles’ Sphere—values, interests, knowledge and resource in strategic philanthropy and the impact of oscillating forces of harm and duty

Abstract There are a variety of legal and technical considerations when establishing and maintaining philanthropic structures for internationally mobile individuals and their families. Alignment of structures with the philanthropist and their family requires an understanding of their values, interests, knowledge and resources. Borrowing from the Greek Philosopher and Poet, Empedocles, and passing via Sesame Street, set out below is a framework for practitioners and advisers to ensure that philanthropic action, philanthropist and structure are aligned from the outset and throughout irrespective of jurisdiction, philanthropic aims or motivations.

Can small and medium businesses endure the COVID-19 crisis through strategic philanthropy?

PurposeSmall 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/approachA 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.FindingsThrough 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/implicationsPrior empirical attempts are subsequently required to inquiry about the proposed conceptualization from different perspectives.Practical implicationsThe 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 implicationsIn 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/valueTo 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.

Do Companies Really Care? Strategic Philanthropy and Imagine Canada’s Caring Company Program

First launched in 1988, Imagine Canada’s Caring Company program recognizes Canadian companies that contribute at least one percent of their pre-tax profit to nonprofit organizations within their employees’ communities. Broadly speaking, the program sets a standard for corporate strategic philanthropy. However, the program is vulnerable to the same tensions that underlie the broader practice of strategic philanthropy; namely, a blurring of the line between profit-seeking activity and addressing social need.

Corporate social responsibility and comparative capitalism frameworks: Evidence from the United States, Poland, and Italy

AbstractUsing the varieties of capitalism perspective and institutional theory as frameworks, we analyze cross‐cultural differences between firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) approaches. We investigate three countries with different institutional settings: the United States, representing a liberal market economy; Italy, representing a coordinated market economy; and Poland, an example of a dependent market economy. We examine the differences in their CSR stances, operationalized through Porter and Kramer's concept of the four CSR categories: good citizenship, mitigating harm from the value chain, transforming value chain activities, and strategic philanthropy, based on data from 269 questionnaires administered to managers attending executive seminars at the authors' universities. Focusing on stakeholder engagement activities (SEAs) across the three economies, we show that companies in all three countries engage in the four categories of CSR activities. However, using a series of tests and rankings on means and standard deviations, followed by the subsequent analysis of variance, we argue that SEAs are emphasized more in American than in Polish and Italian companies, with the latter two countries showing more subtle differences despite some institutional similarities. Our results shed light on how different capitalistic models are associated with different CSR approaches, allowing policy‐makers and practitioners to better tackle CSR objectives in different countries.

The continuum of strategic philanthropy: Rationalizing the context for philanthropy in business and society

AbstractIn order to further enhance our understanding of strategic philanthropy within business and society, our paper proceeds as follows. First, we discuss the process driving evolutionary change in philanthropy. Next, we discuss the actual development of strategic philanthropy. This includes a brief US history of salient events in corporate giving, with attention paid to the regulatory, business, and social contexts related to corporate giving. Finally, in the discussion section, we present a modified continuum of corporate giving, based on previous research and our analysis, extending from a focus on bettering society, on the one hand ‐ to that of advancing the firm's interests, on the other.

Personal Responsibility as a Problem of Development of Postmodern Society

Considering entrepreneurial activity from the psychological perspective, primarily it is worth to give an answer to the question of what fundamental, ultimate purpose of entrepreneurship is. In the conceptual and theoretical aspect, two opposite points of view are distinguished: the first recognizes focusing of the entrepreneurship mainly on profit subject to obeying existing laws, the second considers business entities as members of society, who bear personal responsibility to society for their behaviour. However, since laws cannot cover all life events, entrepreneurs are obliged to comply with the requirements of the rules of socially responsible behaviour in order to maintain a society based on order and legality. Scientists identify a number of stages that the company goes through before realizing: corporate social responsibility is a tool for creating new value. The first step to the introduction of strategic innovations in companies is to harmonize compliance with the law. Actually, a social company should do this by definition. The second step is when companies begin to realize the need to engage in strategic philanthropy. Thus, corporate funds are established. The third stage is to create mechanisms of self-regulation based on values. The next stage is the direct material benefits from strategic innovations. This is most often the result of increased efficiency. At the last stage, conceptually new products are created, new markets are opened. It is important that strategic innovations through social responsibility are mostly aimed at creating new products and services and are a source of income.

What is holding customers back? Assessing the moderating roles of personal and social norms on CSR’S routes to Airbnb repurchase intention in the COVID-19 era

Despite Airbnb's disruption of the hotel industry, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation markets to a standstill. During the pandemic, Airbnb elevated their engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the quest to regain trust and develop an attractive brand identity. However, the effectiveness of CSR in engendering favorable behavioral outcomes in times of crisis remains inconclusive. Drawing upon the theoretical lens of the stakeholder theory, the norm activation model, and the theory of planned behavior, this study proposes a conceptual model to test the influence of Airbnb's CSR on repurchase/rebook intention through the mediation of customer trust and customer identification with the company (C-C identification). This study also examines the moderating effects of personal and social norms on the CSR–repurchase intention routes. Findings yielded by a survey of 528 Airbnb users in the US show that the strategic philanthropy component carries the most weight in determining customers' assessments of CSR. This is followed by the environmental, economic, and ethical components. Perceived CSR does not affect repurchase intention directly but does so indirectly through the mediation of C-C identification. Personal norms weaken the effects of perceived CSR and customer trust on repurchase intention. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.

Doing Philanthropy at the Time of the Sustainable Development Goals: The Case of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo

This article outlines how strategic philanthropy can align its mission with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by describing the experience of the most important foundation of banking origin in Italy. Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo marked a milestone in 2020 in aligning with the Agenda, applying the Sustainable Development Goals as a rigorous, internationally shared methodological framework and restructuring its operations to focus on three programmatic efforts — Planet, People, and Culture — aligned with those goals.

Drivers of Strategic Approach to Philanthropy in the Czech Republic

Purpose: This study aims to provide an empirical study of the factors that influence how companies engage in strategic philanthropy and philanthropic strategy. Methodology: A target group of Czech companies engaged in corporate philanthropy was contacted with an e-mail containing a hyperlink to an online questionnaire. In total, 296 companies participated in the study. Secondary data was collected from the Albertina database, Anopress IT database, and 2016–2018 annual reports. Logistic regression and likelihood-ratio tests were used to analyze the data. Findings: The results imply that company size, ownership, industry, slack resources, and visibility are predictors of philanthropic strategy. Company size and headquarters’ location are predictors of strategic philanthropy. The legitimacy strategy and slack resource theory may explain engagement in philanthropic strategy, but not in strategic philanthropy. Originality: This study contributes to scarce research addressing the drivers of the strategic approach to philanthropy. It provides a comprehensive empirical study of the factors influencing strategic philanthropic practices in the Czech Republic.

Planned illegality, permanent temporariness, and strategic philanthropy: tenement towns under extended urbanisation of postmetropolitan Delhi

This paper examines the planned externalisation of affordable workers housing under Delhi’s ongoing extended urbanisation. Drawing upon recent literature on planned illegalities, subaltern urbanisation, and agro-urban transformations in India and specifically in the Delhi region, the paper proposes tenement towns as a relational settlement category to understand the planned externalisation of housing. It examines three manufacturing clusters spread over an extensive territory in the DMIC urban corridor running out of Delhi. Finding evidence for how the workers housing is externalised into spaces marked as ‘rural outsides’ in the masterplanning documents. It examines the role of parallel agrarian institutions and social structures in enabling the illegal growth of the tenement towns. Finally, the paper critically examines the role such settlements play in maintaining a permanently temporary surplus workforce crucial for cheap global manufacturing. Through introducing tenement towns as a relational category, the paper attempts to contribute towards a global housing studies that transcends space-time and north-south boundaries.