Impact of Social Context on Strategic Philanthropy: Theoretical Insight

Although the construct of corporate social responsibility has been on the agenda of academic research for more than five decades, it is obvious that with global challenges putting pressure on organizations to modify their modus operandi, interest in this domain is apt to grow. Organizations are pushed to shift from the formal CSR model to implementation of strategies, aimed at specific social targets and expectations. For many years the debate between society and business has had an antagonistic character, at the same time economic and social objectives were regarded as competing. However, in the modern world this perspective has been qualified as a false dichotomy, and the correlation between corporate goals and values, and societal achievements has been acknowledged. With legions of studies and theories in the field, the academic society is stuck in omnium-gatherum of terms, concepts, definitions and classifications. In this article we present an overview of the achievements of recent researches in the field, focusing on the influences of social context on managerial decisions in favour or against strategic philanthropy. We lay special emphasis on distinguishing between philanthropic activities and strategic philanthropy.