Dr. XU Ruiqian, faculty member of the Department of Business Administration at the School, has published a research paper titled The Swaying Power of Business: Inconsistent Social Actions and Mitigating Mechanisms in Corporate Foundations as the first author and corresponding author. The paper was co-authored with Professor Eric Yanfei ZHAO from the University of Oxford and Professor YANG Dongning from Peking University.
Focusing on corporate foundations, a distinctive organizational form with both commercial roots and philanthropic missions, this study adopts a resource dependence perspective to uncover the dynamic link between the continuity of their philanthropic portfolios and the strategic priorities of their sponsoring firms, as well as the mitigating mechanisms at play. The findings reveal that, situated in an unequal power structure between upstream corporations and downstream beneficiaries, corporate foundations’ philanthropic activities are vulnerable to shifts in corporate strategic needs, which undermines the persistence and stability of their social initiatives.
Accordingly, this paper identifies two interconnected buffering mechanisms within the asymmetric resource dependence structure. First, integrating actors with non-profit backgrounds into the foundation’s governance structure introduces evaluation criteria and accountability logics centered on long-term social value, shaping how the organization exercises discretionary power over resource allocation and project adaptation under external pressures. Second, the study proposes a strategic compartmentalization mechanism in philanthropic portfolios to reduce conflict costs when addressing heterogeneous demands. Specifically, corporate foundations classify their social activities into a core mission zone and a strategic flexibility zone based on alignment with their organizational mission: the former sustains long-term social issues requiring consistent investment, while the latter provides flexibility to adapt to evolving societal needs and corporate strategic adjustments.
The research demonstrates that the interplay of these two mechanisms enables corporate foundations to retain and exercise a degree of autonomy within unequal resource-power dynamics. This allows them to preserve the stability of their core philanthropic mission while responsively aligning with corporate strategic priorities, thereby ensuring sustainable resource access. The study offers novel theoretical insights and practical implications for understanding how corporate foundations balance strategic philanthropy and philanthropic autonomy.
Dr. XU Ruiqian is a faculty member of the Department of Business Administration, School of Business, East China University of Science and Technology. His research interests include institutional complexity, strategic management, and sustainable business.
Paper information:
Xu, R., Zhao, E. Y., & Yang, D. (2026). The Swaying Power of Business: Inconsistent Social Actions and Mitigating Mechanisms in Corporate Foundations. Journal of Management.
Accses to the paper:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01492063261442445