The Nature of Giving: A Theory of Planned Behavior Examination of Corporate Philanthropy

Scholars of social issues in management have consistently argued that corporate philanthropy is one key factor of a firm’s discretionary responsi-bilities. Several researchers have examined the links between philanthropy and such outcomes as financial profit and organizational reputation. It is interesting to note that the determinants of corporate philanthropy have been left largely unexamined; researchers have yet to fully understand why phil-anthropy takes place. In this manuscript, Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB) provides the theoretical foundation for the development of a model that will further our understanding of corporate philanthropic behaviors. The TPB has been used and validated in many different academic fields (such as psychology, exercise science, and management information systems) as a means to understand the determinants of behavior. The authors build on the TPB and examine empirically how altruistic and strategic forces, perceived behavioral control, self-identity, and slack influence philanthropic behaviors