Corporate Philanthropy: A Management Mechanism between Interest, Passions and Politics
The aim of this paper is to rely on A. O. Hirschman’s work in order to clarify the concept of corporate philanthropy. We consider that this subject has been scarcely studied in French management research, and when it has been studied, corporate philanthropy has been considered to be a communication tool. This article relies on a research done on French organizations in their specific contexts. It shows that corporate philanthropy motivations are various, and that corporate philanthropists have to arbitrate between their care for general and economic interest. This illustrates the fact that corporate philanthropy is able to create and make sense for organizations and stakeholders. Moreover, it has been understood in this way in order to go beyond a merely instrumental comprehension and it reflects, at the same time, political choices that go beyond technical approaches.