Georg von Schnurbein, Peter Seele and Irina Lock
The purpose of this paper is to add to a better understanding of relationship of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate philanthropy. The authors argue that corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to add to a better understanding of relationship of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate philanthropy. The authors argue that corporate philanthropy is exclusive to CSR because of their different characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a profound literature review and discusses the relationship of CSR and corporate philanthropy from a theoretical point of view. By conceptually combining the CSR pyramid and the triple bottom line approach, the authors show that corporate philanthropy has a special role outside of the classical CSR concept.
Findings
Four fundaments of corporate philanthropy – economic, motivational, creative and moral – are described that illustrate the importance and outstanding role of corporate philanthropy for today’s businesses. Based on these, the authors formulate three new forms of corporate giving, volunteering and foundations, which the authors subsume under the novel notion of “exclusive corporate philanthropy”.
Research limitations/implications
The main contribution of this paper for future research is to regard corporate philanthropy as exclusive to CSR. Future studies might, therefore, consider the different characteristics of corporate philanthropy and engage in an empirical investigation of this new type.
Practical implications
The model of exclusive corporate philanthropy presented in this paper provides practitioners with a better understanding of how corporate philanthropy can be rolled out today.
Originality/value
This paper offers a new perspective on the relationship of CSR and corporate philanthropy. Based on the economic, motivational, creative and moral characteristics of corporate philanthropy, the authors establish a clear distinction between the two concepts.
Details
Keywords
Georg von Schnurbein and Sabrina Stöckli
Purpose – During the last decade, several nonprofit governance codes have emerged in Germany and Switzerland. In contrast to the corporate sector, where one code exists in each…
Abstract
Purpose – During the last decade, several nonprofit governance codes have emerged in Germany and Switzerland. In contrast to the corporate sector, where one code exists in each country, the nonprofit sector has not unified its initiatives on governance guidelines. This research study searches for reasons of this heterogeneity by analyzing the content of the governance codes.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a comparative content analysis of 15 governance codes from Germany and Switzerland, this survey gives some insight about the different range of issues and levels of detail.Findings – The findings report a great variety among the nonprofit governance codes. Three different clusters are defined in order to classify the governance codes regarding their information detailedness. Some codes present the basic principles, others give detailed information on focused subjects, and some others function as soft law with a large scope. Additionally, the kind of the producers does have an influence on the content of nonprofit governance codes.Research limitations/implications – The survey is limited because of its geographically focus. However, several implications for further research can be drawn, that are of international relevance. Better knowledge is necessary about the implementation of the governance codes. Additionally, further influence factors on the content of governance besides the kind of the producers have to be analyzed. Finally, it would be interesting to test the acceptance of the codes and the participation process of development among a larger group of organizations that complies with a governance code.Originality/value – For the first time, a complete list of all nonprofit governance codes in the two countries was conducted as a basis for this study. Former studies used a smaller sample of governance codes without clarifying the reasons for the selection.