Different Drivers: Exploring Employee Involvement in Corporate Philanthropy
Journal of Business Ethics 165 (3):453-467 (2020)
Abstract
Corporate Philanthropy is multi-dimensional, differs between sectors and involves both individual and organisational decision-making to achieve business and social goals. However, the CP literature characteristically focuses on strategic decisions made by business leaders and ignores the role of employees, especially those in lower status and lower paid positions. To redress this imbalance, we conducted a qualitative study of employees’ involvement in CP processes in ten workplaces in the South East of England to identify whether and how they are involved in CP decision-making and to capture their perspective on the nature of CP and the benefits generated by such activities. We specifically chose to study workplaces where employees are involved in the actual execution of the CP strategy, prioritising companies with a visible presence on the high street. The results illustrate the benefits of involving employees in CP decision-making, which we argue derives in part from the ‘liminal-like states’ that typify CP activities organised by shop floor staff, involving the temporary overturning of hierarchies, humanising of workplaces and opportunities for lower level staff to prioritise their personal philanthropic preferences and signal their charitable identity to colleagues and customers. Whilst the data also suggest that CP decision-making remains predominantly top-down and driven by profit-oriented goals, we conclude that employees should be involved in choosing charitable causes as well as in designing and implementing workplace fundraising, in order to maximise the advantages of CP for the company and for wider society.My notes
Similar books and articles
Business for Good? An Investigation into the Strategies Firms Use to Maximize the Impact of Financial Corporate Philanthropy on Employee Attitudes.Emily S. Block, Ante Glavas, Michael J. Mannor & Laura Erskine - 2017 - Journal of Business Ethics 146 (1):167-183.
Exploring Employee Engagement with Social Responsibility: A Social Exchange Perspective on Organisational Participation.R. E. Slack, S. Corlett & R. Morris - 2015 - Journal of Business Ethics 127 (3):537-548.
The Relationship Between Norwegian and Swedish Employees’ Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility and Affective Commitment.Caroline Ditlev-Simonsen - 2015 - Business and Society 54 (2):229-253.
The Ethical Dimensions of Decision Processes of Employees.Irene Roozen, Patrick De Pelsmacker & Frank Bostyn - 2001 - Journal of Business Ethics 33 (2):87 - 99.
“It’s Like Hating Puppies!” Employee Disengagement and Corporate Social Responsibility.Kelsy Hejjas, Graham Miller & Caroline Scarles - 2019 - Journal of Business Ethics 157 (2):319-337.
Resonance tropes in corporate philanthropy discourse.Crawford Spence & Ian Thomson - 2009 - Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility 18 (4):372-388.
Resonance tropes in corporate philanthropy discourse.Ian Thomson Crawford Spence - 2009 - Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility 18 (4):372-388.
“Managing” Corporate Community Involvement.Judith M. van der Voort, Katherina Glac & Lucas C. P. M. Meijs - 2009 - Journal of Business Ethics 90 (3):311-329.
Company Support for Employee Volunteering: A National Survey of Companies in Canada. [REVIEW]Debra Z. Basil, Mary S. Runte, M. Easwaramoorthy & Cathy Barr - 2009 - Journal of Business Ethics 85 (2):387 - 398.
Motives for corporate philanthropy in el Salvador: Altruism and political legitimacy. [REVIEW]Carol M. Sánchez - 2000 - Journal of Business Ethics 27 (4):363 - 375.
Corporate Social Responsibility as a Dynamic Internal Organizational Process: A Case Study.Sharon C. Bolton, Rebecca Chung-hee Kim & Kevin D. O’Gorman - 2011 - Journal of Business Ethics 101 (1):61-74.
Employee Participation in Cause-Related Marketing Strategies: A Study of Management Perceptions from British Consumer Service Industries.Gordon Liu, Catherine Liston-Heyes & Wai-Wai Ko - 2010 - Journal of Business Ethics 92 (2):195-210.
Does corporate philanthropy exist?: business giving to the arts in the U.K.Lance Moir & Richard Taffler - 2004 - Journal of Business Ethics 54 (2):149-161.
The Influence of an Organisation’s Corporate Values on Employees Personal Buying Behaviour.Jesús Cambra-Fierro, Yolanda Polo-Redondo & Alan Wilson - 2008 - Journal of Business Ethics 81 (1):157 - 167.
Intragroup Transactions, Corporate Governance, and Corporate Philanthropy in Korean Business Groups.Won-Yong Oh, Young Kyun Chang, Gyeonghwan Lee & Jeongil Seo - 2018 - Journal of Business Ethics 153 (4):1031-1049.
Analytics
Added to PP
2018-12-20
Downloads
6 (#1,104,408)
6 months
1 (#449,220)
2018-12-20
Downloads
6 (#1,104,408)
6 months
1 (#449,220)
Historical graph of downloads
Citations of this work
What do we know about corporate philanthropy? A review and research directions.Wonsuk Cha & Ujvala Rajadhyaksha - forthcoming - Business Ethics: A European Review.
How Corporate Charitable Giving Reduces the Costs of Formal Controls.Bernhard E. Reichert & Matthias Sohn - 2022 - Journal of Business Ethics 176 (4):689-704.
The influence of diversity and employee relations on corporate philanthropy and performance.Ana Câmara & Oleg Petrenko - 2021 - Business and Society Review 126 (4):407-431.
References found in this work
Research on Corporate Philanthropy: A Review and Assessment.Arthur Gautier & Anne-Claire Pache - 2015 - Journal of Business Ethics 126 (3):343-369.
The relationship between perceptions of corporate citizenship and organizational commitment.Dane K. Peterson - 2004 - Business and Society 43 (3):296-319.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee–Company Identification.Hae-Ryong Kim, Moonkyu Lee, Hyoung-Tark Lee & Na-Min Kim - 2010 - Journal of Business Ethics 95 (4):557 - 569.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee–Company Identification.Hae-Ryong Kim, Moonkyu Lee, Hyoung-Tark Lee & Na-Min Kim - 2010 - Journal of Business Ethics 95 (4):557-569.
Scrooge Posing as Mother Teresa: How Hypocritical Social Responsibility Strategies Hurt Employees and Firms.Sabrina Scheidler, Laura Marie Edinger-Schons, Jelena Spanjol & Jan Wieseke - 2019 - Journal of Business Ethics 157 (2):339-358.