IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jmgtco/v28y2017i3d10.1007_s00187-017-0252-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The benefits of doing good: a meta-analysis of corporate philanthropy business outcomes and its implications for management control

Author

Listed:
  • Frederik Plewnia

    (Technische Universitaet Dresden)

  • Edeltraud Guenther

    (Technische Universitaet Dresden)

Abstract

Numerous studies have investigated the business benefits of corporate philanthropy (CP), which can be considered as part of a company’s belief systems. However, it remains unclear under which conditions and to what extent philanthropic activities are associated with corporate financial performance (CFP). This study sets out to shed light on the relationship between CP and CFP by means of a meta-analysis. A total of 183 effect sizes from 45 empirical studies are statistically integrated and analyzed within several subgroups. Particular attention is paid to time-lagged variable measurements that allow interpretation for causality. The general relationship between CP and CFP is found to be significantly positive. Furthermore, results reveal that CP is positively related to subsequent CFP across a wide range of different study designs, including different operationalizations of CFP and CP, different sample criteria, and the control for moderating variables. This paper goes beyond the question of if CP affects CFP and provides a status quo for a more detailed discussion on how and when CP influences CFP. Consequently, integrating research on mediating variables and adding perspectives of management control literature to the CP research field are suggested as promising avenues for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Frederik Plewnia & Edeltraud Guenther, 2017. "The benefits of doing good: a meta-analysis of corporate philanthropy business outcomes and its implications for management control," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 347-376, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jmgtco:v:28:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s00187-017-0252-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s00187-017-0252-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00187-017-0252-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00187-017-0252-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gao, Fox & Faff, Robert & Navissi, Farshid, 2012. "Corporate philanthropy: Insights from the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 363-377.
    2. Navarro, Peter, 1988. "Why Do Corporations Give to Charity?," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(1), pages 65-93, January.
    3. Louis Amato & Christie Amato, 2007. "The Effects of Firm Size and Industry on Corporate Giving," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 229-241, May.
    4. Ming Jia & Zhe Zhang, 2013. "Critical Mass of Women on BODs, Multiple Identities, and Corporate Philanthropic Disaster Response: Evidence from Privately Owned Chinese Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 303-317, December.
    5. Chen, Donghua & Jiang, Dequan & Yu, Xin, 2015. "Corporate philanthropy and bank loans in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 402-424.
    6. Van der Stede, Wim A., 2014. "A manipulationist view of causality in cross-sectional survey research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 567-574.
    7. Alexander Dahlsrud, 2008. "How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    8. Carroll, Archie B., 1991. "The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 39-48.
    9. Cowan, Adrian & Huang, Chia-Hsing & Padmanabhan, Prasad & Wang, Chi-Hui, 2013. "The determinants of foreign giving: An exploratory empirical investigation of US manufacturing firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 407-420.
    10. Abagail McWilliams & Donald Siegel, 2000. "Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: correlation or misspecification?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 603-609, May.
    11. James G. Combs & David J. Ketchen, Jr & T. Russell Crook & Philip L. Roth, 2011. "Assessing Cumulative Evidence within ‘Macro’ Research: Why Meta‐Analysis Should be Preferred Over Vote Counting," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 178-197, January.
    12. Diane-Laure Arjaliès & Julia Mundy, 2013. "The use of management control systems to manage CSR strategy: A levers of control perspective," Post-Print hal-00980329, HAL.
    13. Gao, Yongqiang, 2011. "Philanthropic disaster relief giving as a response to institutional pressure: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 1377-1382.
    14. Jia, Ming & Zhang, Zhe, 2013. "The CEO's Representation of Demands and the Corporation's Response to External Pressures: Do Politically Affiliated Firms Donate More?," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 87-114, March.
    15. Louis Amato & Christie Amato, 2012. "Retail Philanthropy: Firm Size, Industry, and Business Cycle," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(4), pages 435-448, June.
    16. Kangtao Ye & Ran Zhang, 2011. "Do Lenders Value Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 197-206, December.
    17. Heli Wang & Jaepil Choi & Jiatao Li, 2008. "Too Little or Too Much? Untangling the Relationship Between Corporate Philanthropy and Firm Financial Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(1), pages 143-159, February.
    18. Chenhall, Robert H., 2003. "Management control systems design within its organizational context: findings from contingency-based research and directions for the future," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 127-168.
    19. Alan Muller & Roman Kräussl, 2011. "The Value of Corporate Philanthropy During Times of Crisis: The Sensegiving Effect of Employee Involvement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(2), pages 203-220, October.
    20. Brown, William O. & Helland, Eric & Smith, Janet Kiholm, 2006. "Corporate philanthropic practices," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 855-877, December.
    21. Kellie Liket & Ana Simaens, 2015. "Battling the Devolution in the Research on Corporate Philanthropy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 285-308, January.
    22. Dennis Patten, 2008. "Does the Market Value Corporate Philanthropy? Evidence from the Response to the 2004 Tsunami Relief Effort," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(3), pages 599-607, September.
    23. Stephen Brammer & Andrew Millington, 2005. "Profit maximisation vs. agency: an analysis of charitable giving by UK firms," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 29(4), pages 517-534, July.
    24. Xiaodong Qiu, 2013. "Corporate Philanthropic Disaster Response And Post Performance: Evidence From China," International Journal of Management and Marketing Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 6(2), pages 39-51.
    25. Iatridis, George Emmanuel, 2015. "Corporate philanthropy in the US stock market: Evidence on corporate governance, value relevance and earnings manipulation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 113-126.
    26. Andreas Bausch & Frithjof Pils, 2009. "Product diversification strategy and financial performance: meta-analytic evidence on causality and construct multidimensionality," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 157-190, November.
    27. R. A. Schwartz, 1968. "Corporate Philanthropic Contributions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(3), pages 479-497, June.
    28. Jun Su & Jia He, 2010. "Does Giving Lead to Getting? Evidence from Chinese Private Enterprises," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 73-90, April.
    29. Arthur Gautier & Anne-Claire Pache, 2015. "Research on Corporate Philanthropy: A Review and Assessment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 343-369, February.
    30. Stephen Brammer & Andrew Millington, 2008. "Does it pay to be different? An analysis of the relationship between corporate social and financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(12), pages 1325-1343, December.
    31. Ran Zhang & Zabihollah Rezaee & Jigao Zhu, 2010. "Corporate Philanthropic Disaster Response and Ownership Type: Evidence from Chinese Firms’ Response to the Sichuan Earthquake," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(1), pages 51-63, January.
    32. Azlan Bin Amran & Lim Lynn Ling & Yahya Sofri, 2007. "A Study of Corporate Philanthropic Traits among Major Malaysian Corporations," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 3(4), pages 21-30, November.
    33. Mike Adams & Philip Hardwick, 1998. "An Analysis of Corporate Donations: United Kingdom Evidence," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(5), pages 641-654, September.
    34. Robert J. David & Shin‐Kap Han, 2004. "A systematic assessment of the empirical support for transaction cost economics," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 39-58, January.
    35. José Allouche & Patrice Laroche, 2005. "A Meta-analytical investigation of the relationship between corporate social and financial performance," Post-Print hal-00923906, HAL.
    36. Ming Jia & Zhe Zhang, 2014. "Donating Money to Get Money: The Role of Corporate Philanthropy in Stakeholder Reactions to IPOs," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(7), pages 1118-1152, November.
    37. Baruch Lev & Christine Petrovits & Suresh Radhakrishnan, 2010. "Is doing good good for you? how corporate charitable contributions enhance revenue growth," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 182-200, February.
    38. Stephen Brammer & Andrew Millington, 2004. "The Development of Corporate Charitable Contributions in the UK: A Stakeholder Analysis," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(8), pages 1411-1434, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Patrick Velte, 2022. "Meta-analyses on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): a literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 627-675, September.
    2. Shuxia Zhang & Liping Xu & Ning Liu, 2022. "Crowding‐in and crowding‐out effects of corporate philanthropy on R&D investment," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 1835-1849, September.
    3. Peter Kotzian, 2023. "Carrots or sticks? Inferring motives of corporate CSR Engagement from empirical data," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(8), pages 2921-2943, November.
    4. Shuxia Zhang & Deyue Kong & Liping Xu & Ruiyu Xu, 2023. "Dual effects of corporate philanthropy on firm value: Evidence from China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(4), pages 2314-2327, June.
    5. Gianecchini, Martina, 2020. "Strategies and determinants of corporate support to the arts: Insights from the Italian context," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 308-318.
    6. Jan Endrikat & Frank Hartmann & Philipp Schreck, 2017. "Social and ethical issues in management accounting and control: an editorial," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 245-249, October.
    7. Wenwen Zhao & Zhe Zhang, 2020. "How and When Does Corporate Giving Lead to Getting? An Investigation of the Relationship Between Corporate Philanthropy and Relative Competitive Performance from a Micro-process Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(2), pages 425-440, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hanwen Chen & Siyi Liu & Xin Liu & Daoguang Yang, 2022. "Adversity Tries Friends: A Multilevel Analysis of Corporate Philanthropic Response to the Local Spread of COVID-19 in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(3), pages 585-612, May.
    2. Lei Xu & Xiaoning Guo & Yan Liu & Xiaochen Sun & Jie Ji, 2022. "How Does Corporate Charitable Giving Affect Enterprise Innovation? A Literature Review and Research Directions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, November.
    3. Arthur Gautier & Anne-Claire Pache, 2015. "Research on Corporate Philanthropy: A Review and Assessment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 343-369, February.
    4. Jun Chen & Wang Dong & Jamie Tong & Feida Zhang, 2018. "Corporate Philanthropy and Tunneling: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 135-157, June.
    5. Leon Zolotoy & Don O’Sullivan & Jill Klein, 2019. "Character Cues and Contracting Costs: The Relationship Between Philanthropy and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 497-515, January.
    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. Kellie Liket & Ana Simaens, 2015. "Battling the Devolution in the Research on Corporate Philanthropy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 285-308, January.
    8. Keling Wang & Yaqiong Miao & Ching-Hui (Joan) Su & Ming-Hsiang Chen & Zhongjun Wu & Tie Wang, 2019. "Does Corporate Charitable Giving Help Sustain Corporate Performance in China?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, March.
    9. Min Zhang & Lijun Ma & Jun Su & Wen Zhang, 2014. "Do Suppliers Applaud Corporate Social Performance?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(4), pages 543-557, June.
    10. Ateeq ur Rehman Irshad & Nabeel Safdar & Wajiha Manzoor, 2023. "Predicting Efficiency of Innovative Disaster Response Practices: Case Study of China’s Corporate Philanthropy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-15, January.
    11. Heng Liu & Jin-hui Luo & Victor Cui, 2018. "The Impact of Internationalization on Home Country Charitable Donation: Evidence from Chinese Firms," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 313-335, April.
    12. Chen, Donghua & Jiang, Dequan & Yu, Xin, 2015. "Corporate philanthropy and bank loans in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 402-424.
    13. Xueyan Dong & Jingyu Gao & Sunny Li Sun & Kangtao Ye, 2021. "Doing extreme by doing good," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 291-315, March.
    14. Wei, Jiuchang & Ouyang, Zhe & Chen, Haipeng (Allan), 2018. "CEO characteristics and corporate philanthropic giving in an emerging market: The case of China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1-11.
    15. Uzma Bashir, 2017. "Determinants of Corporate Philanthropy: A Case of Karachi Stock Exchange," International Econometric Review (IER), Econometric Research Association, vol. 9(1), pages 19-36, April.
    16. Uzma Bashir, 2017. "Determinants of Corporate Philanthropy: A Case of Karachi Stock Exchange," International Econometric Review (IER), Econometric Research Association, vol. 9(1), pages 21-38, April.
    17. Won-Yong Oh & Young Kyun Chang & Gyeonghwan Lee & Jeongil Seo, 2018. "Intragroup Transactions, Corporate Governance, and Corporate Philanthropy in Korean Business Groups," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 1031-1049, December.
    18. Yongqiang Gao & Haibin Yang & Taïeb Hafsi, 2019. "Corporate giving and corporate financial performance: the S-curve relationship," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 687-713, September.
    19. Jun Xie & Junyi Chen, 2021. "Corporate philanthropy, public awareness, and the cost of equity capital: Evidence from China," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 22(1), pages 153-194, May.
    20. Ran Zhang & Jigao Zhu & Heng Yue & Chunyan Zhu, 2010. "Corporate Philanthropic Giving, Advertising Intensity, and Industry Competition Level," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(1), pages 39-52, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate philanthropy; Corporate financial performance; Corporate giving; Corporate social responsibility; Corporate social performance; Meta-analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jmgtco:v:28:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s00187-017-0252-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.