Corporate Foundations: Their Role for Corporate Social Responsibility

According to their statutes and published objectives, many foundations focus on the solution of social problems and on responding to unmet social needs. They aim at social value creation and serve as an 'antenna' or 'sensor' for societal needs and expectations. If the work of the foundation is coordinated with that of the founding corporation and knowledge is flowing between these organizational entities, corporations can profit from the foundation's activities and insights. However, since corporate foundations by their legal nature and very statutes are independent entities that are to exclusively pursue public-benefit purposes, this relationship is not free of potential conflicts of interest. Through expert interviews with representatives of five major corporate foundations in Germany and their founding corporations, the practices of this cooperation were explored and implications for its improvement were discussed.