Paving the way for children: Family firm succession and corporate philanthropy in China

We investigate whether internal succession in family firms motivates founders to engage in corporate philanthropy. We argue that founders who intend to pass control of the firm to their children are likely to prepare for the internal succession by building up family assets such as reputation and political connections through corporate philanthropy. Supporting our argument, we find that both the likelihood and the amount of philanthropic donations increase when listed family firms in China are in the internal succession process. The effect of successions on philanthropic donations is stronger for family firms that have political connections or are located in areas with stronger government influence in the local economy. The effect concentrates on family firms when heirs are young and inexperienced. When heirs are established, family firms actually make fewer philanthropic donations. Our results remain robust after addressing endogeneity issues.     

Corporate philanthropy in a politically uncertain environment: does it bring tangible benefits to a firm? Evidence from China

We examine the impact of political uncertainty on a firm’s corporate philanthropy (CP) contribution and the associated direct tangible benefits of CP to a firm. Specifically, we examine two testable hypotheses. (1) When facing political uncertainty, a firm makes more CP, and (2) after a firm makes CP contributions during a period of uncertainty, it will obtain future tangible benefits. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms, we document that a firm, on average, increases its CP significantly during a period of political uncertainty (e.g. when there is a new local communist party secretary or mayor). In addition, we report that, on average, a firm’s donation in year t is positively correlated with its amount of government subsidies, corporate income tax reduction, and short- and long-term bank loan amounts in year t?+?1. The findings are robust compared to those of placebo tests and fixed effect models, as well as when using an alternative measure of political uncertainty. We observe that the results are more pronounced among non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) than those among SOEs, corroborating the notion that during a period of political uncertainty, non-SOEs are more willing to build political connections with new city leaders through CP than are SOEs.     

Getting Attention Through Corporate Philanthropy

This study investigates whether firm donations will attract attention for firms without analyst coverage. We find that: (1) the donations from firms without analyst coverage attract more attention from analysts, (2) donations from firms without analyst coverage improve stock liquidity and institutional holdings at least in the short run, and (3) donations from firms without analyst coverage are positively and significantly related to the future performance of firms compared with those from firms covered by analysts. This study contributes to the understanding of the influence of analysts on firms and the strategic motivations of corporate philanthropy.     

企业慈善捐赠带来价值回报吗——以利益相关者满足程度为调节变量的上市公司实证研究

慈善捐赠与企业价值之间的关系是企业社会责任研究关注的热点问题。本文就利益相关者满足程度对慈善捐赠影响企业价值的调节作用,进行了理论分析和实证检验。利用中国A股上市公司2002—2008年慈善捐赠的面板数据,研究发现,慈善捐赠价值效应以利益相关者满足程度为条件,即利益相关者满足程度越高时,慈善捐赠提升企业价值的效果才会越明显。进一步的研究表明,企业资源与董事会治理水平以及市场化程度,分别弱化和强化了利益相关者满足程度在慈善捐赠价值效应中的调节作用。本研究为评价慈善捐赠对企业价值的影响提供了更深层次的思考,对企业更好地履行慈善捐赠责任亦有重要启示。     

企业慈善对员工态度与行为影响的跨案例研究

慈善是企业履行社会责任的最高级形式。随着战略慈善理念的兴起,慈善对企业自身的价值创造路径逐渐受到学者的青睐。针对现有研究主要从外部视角展开的局限性,本文另辟蹊径探究企业慈善对内部员工态度与行为的影响,运用跨案例研究方法,通过深度访谈和问卷调查4家慈善积极型企业和2家慈善消极型企业,比较后发现,企业慈善对员工工作投入、工作满意度、组织承诺、组织公民行为具有重要的促进作用,对员工的反生产行为具有抑制作用。相比之下,企业内部慈善比外部慈善更能够对员工发挥积极的影响作用。建议企业重视慈善的战略价值,在做好外部慈善的同时不应忽视内部慈善。     

The Promise of a Managerial Values Approach to Corporate Philanthropy

This article presents an alternative rationale for corporate philanthropy based on managerial values of benevolence and integrity. On the one hand, top managers with benevolence and integrity values are more likely to spread their intrinsic concern for others into the wider society in the form of corporate philanthropy. On the other hand, top managers high in benevolence and integrity are likely to contribute to improved managerial credibility and trusting firm-stakeholder relationships, thereby improving corporate financial performance. Therefore, the article makes the argument that both corporate philanthropy and corporate financial performance can better be interpreted as resulting from managers’ benevolence and integrity values. Jaepil Choi is an Assistant Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research is focused on organizational justice perceptions, leadership, work-family interface issues, and corporate social performance. He has published in Academy of Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Leadership Quarterly, Administration & Society, and Management and Organization Review. Heli Wang is currently an Assistant Professor in strategic management at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Her areas of interests are in the resource-based view of the firm, stakeholder incentives, risk management and social performance. She has previously published in Academy of Management Review, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Long Range Planning.     

Consumer behavior change at the base of the pyramid: Bridging the gap between for‐profit and social responsibility strategies

This longitudinal field experiment compares two different for‐profit market entry strategies with a philanthropic strategy in terms of how each influences consumer behavior in base‐of‐the‐pyramid communities. We analyze reactions to a water purification product offered at three price points (moderate discount, deep discount, and free) in rural Malawi. We find that those who paid the deeply discounted price remain more likely to re‐obtain and use the product than do those who paid the moderate price or who took it for free. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Andrew Carnegie and the foundations of contemporary entrepreneurial philanthropy

This paper focuses upon the relationship between the business and philanthropic endeavours of world-making entrepreneurs; asking why, how and to what ends these individuals seek to extend their reach in society beyond business. It presents an original model of entrepreneurial philanthropy which demonstrates how investment in philanthropic projects can yield positive returns in cultural, social and symbolic capital, which in turn may lead to growth in economic capital. The model is applied to interpret and make sense of the career of Andrew Carnegie, whose story, far from reducing to one of making a fortune then giving it away, is revealed as more complex and more unified. His philanthropy raised his stock within the field of power, helping convert surplus funds into social networks, high social standing and intellectual currency, enabling him to engage in world making on a grand scale.     

Hoping to Enhance a Local Funding Relationship: Exploring Private Sector Business Preferences When Contributing to Nonprofit Organizations

ABSTRACT

Nonprofit organizations want relationships with private sector businesses because nonprofits rely on fundraising to generate income, a portion of which is provided through the charitable giving of the private sector. Who the private sector contributes to, why they give, and what variables positively influence more giving, are all questions nonprofit organizations continuously want answers to. The answers though are often arbitrary, reflecting subjective criteria based on individual business preferences, the economic status of the marketplace, the community context, and the credibility of the nonprofit program. Because the relationship is dynamic and the answers may continue to change, nonprofits must continue to ask.

This article discusses an exploratory effort to identify the funding attitudes and behaviors of private sector businesses who contribute to their local nonprofit organizations.

The results showed the majority of private sector businesses who responded said they support their local nonprofits primarily with cash contributions, and identified altruism as a key motivation for giving. Results also revealed that their funding choices are somewhat arbitrary with little formalized process for decision-making. Dollars are contributed primarily by direction of individual managers or owners who prefer informal relationships with their local nonprofit organizations, but expect funding requests to clearly explain how the dollars will be used. The findings, although limited, provide results that further examine this complex relationship, and perhaps provide insight into how the relationship could be enhanced for the ultimate benefit of both organizations' needs.     

From solicitation to search: a study of monitoring costs as a driver of donor giving behavior in online portal websites

This study focuses on market contexts, in particular online giving portals, where donors are able to search and select organizations to contribute to instead of responding to solicitations. To understand donor behavior in this context, we construct and test a two-stage donor search model. A relationship between the behavior of the donor and that of the charitable organization is sought along two dimensions: how organizational behavior involving the reduction of monitoring costs affects the amount that a donor gives and the likelihood that donors will make a subsequent contribution. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.