Institution and Corporate Philanthropy: Evidence from Chinese Private Firms

• In Event: 571 - Section on Economic Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 07. Institutions and Fields in the Business World

Abstract

Our paper adopts quantified institutional indexes to explore how the variation of provincial institutions impact private corporate philanthropy in China. The findings suggest that the improvement of government-market relationship and legal environment have negative impacts on corporate philanthropy, the relationship between the development of non-state sector and corporate philanthropy is inversely U shaped. Our paper further reveals the economic development at provincial level is positively associated with private corporate giving. We also find that both industry and association play important roles in determining the level of charitable contribution by private firms. Lastly, our paper discusses the nuanced mechanism for each institutional factor in driving private corporate philanthropy and proposes that coercive isomorphism predominates in organizational discourse in China.

Author

• Zongshi Chen, Zhejiang University