Marital Role Reversal and Family Business Philanthropy: Evidence From China

Corporate philanthropy not only serves as a critical component of a family business's reputation but also signifies a strategic commitment to sustainable development. Investigating the drivers of philanthropic engagement within family businesses through the lens of marital role reversal in the allocation of management rights offers valuable insights. Using a sample of publicly listed couple‐controlled family businesses in China, this study empirically examines the impact of marital role reversals on philanthropic activities in these enterprises. This study finds that marital role reversal can lead to an increase in philanthropy by exerting resource and reputation effects. Meanwhile, the positive impact of marital role reversal on philanthropy is more significant for family businesses with higher non‐family shareholding and family businesses located in areas with weak traditional ethical culture and high institutional efficiency. Furthermore, marital culture, offspring situation and relative executives all affect the relationship between marital role reversal and philanthropy. In addition, marital role reversal more effectively improves philanthropy when the control rights are allocated more to the wife than to the husband. Finally, the analysis of economic consequences indicates that philanthropic incentives stemming from marital role reversal align with sustainable investment motivations rather than strategic self‐interest considerations.