Misgivings about corporate giving

WHEN companies provide cash and assistance in the wake of a natural disaster, make grants to charitable organisations or set up a foundation of their own, the first question on many people's minds usually is: What's in it for the company?

We question the sincerity of corporate philanthropy (an often perceived oxymoron) because we expect greed and rugged individualism from business executives and managers, rather than "the love of mankind". As Professor R Edward Freeman puts it, we are still trapped in "the old narrative of business as anything-goes capitalism".

Academic research reflects this perspective, as about half of published articles are concerned with a single question: Is corporate philanthropy altruistic or self-interested? Scholars are intrigued by the true motivations of business executives, either relying on agency theory insights to conclude that they use "slack resources" for their own benefit, or seeing corporate philanthropy as a way for businesses to buy goodwill and reputation.