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Business for Good? An Investigation into the Strategies Firms Use to Maximize the Impact of Financial Corporate Philanthropy on Employee Attitudes

Author

Listed:
  • Emily S. Block

    (Notre Dame University)

  • Ante Glavas

    (Kedge Business School)

  • Michael J. Mannor

    (Notre Dame University)

  • Laura Erskine

    (University of California Los Angeles)

Abstract

Most research on the corporate philanthropy of organizations has focused on the external benefits of such initiatives for firms, such as benefits for firm reputation and opportunities. However, many firms justify their giving, in part, due to the positive impact it has on their employees. Little is known about the effectiveness of such efforts, or how they can be managed strategically to maximize impact. We hypothesize a main effect of office-level corporate philanthropy on average employee attitudes in that office, but also investigate three strategies that offices may use to enhance this impact. Testing our hypotheses with 3 years of data on attitudes of an average of 14,577 employees in 53 offices we find support for the main effect, but mixed support for the specific strategies used to enhance impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Emily S. Block & Ante Glavas & Michael J. Mannor & Laura Erskine, 2017. "Business for Good? An Investigation into the Strategies Firms Use to Maximize the Impact of Financial Corporate Philanthropy on Employee Attitudes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 167-183, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:146:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2930-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2930-8
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    Cited by:

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    2. Kubickova Klara, 2021. "Drivers of Strategic Approach to Philanthropy in the Czech Republic," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 29(3), pages 86-113, September.
    3. Bernhard E. Reichert & Matthias Sohn, 2022. "How Corporate Charitable Giving Reduces the Costs of Formal Controls," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(4), pages 689-704, April.
    4. Mingchuan Yu & Han Lin & Greg G. Wang & Yuan Liu & Xiaotao Zheng, 2022. "Is too much as bad as too little? The S-curve relationship between corporate philanthropy and employee performance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 1511-1534, December.
    5. Lourdes Arco-Castro & Maria Victoria López-Pérez & Maria Carmen Pérez-López & Lázaro Rodríguez-Ariza, 2020. "Corporate philanthropy and employee engagement," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 705-725, August.
    6. Liu, Yaosong & Zhang, Min & Ye, Tingting & Zhang, Yue, 2019. "Does giving always lead to getting? Evidence from the collapse of charity credibility in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    7. Luu Thi Nguyen & Shouming Chen & Ho Kwong Kwan, 2021. "CEO Temporal Focus and Corporate Philanthropy: The Moderating Role of Ownership," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440211, March.
    8. Chih-Hai Yang, 2022. "Corporate philanthropy and employee wellbeing: do types of corporate philanthropy matter?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 12(4), pages 803-828, December.
    9. Thomas Clauss & Peter Harengel & Marianne Hock, 2019. "The perception of value of platform-based business models in the sharing economy: determining the drivers of user loyalty," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 605-634, June.
    10. Zhengwen Lu & Yujie Zhang & Yuanxu Li, 2022. "Strategic Charitable Giving and R&D Innovation of High-Tech Enterprises: A Dynamic Perspective Based on the Corporate Life Cycle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-20, December.

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