The Dichotomy of Business and Society through the Lens of Strategic Philanthropy: Mapping the Influences of Socio-Cultural Context

Problem of the research is mapping the social context and identifying how a set of determining sociocultural factors determine managerial solutions in favour of transectorial dimension of strategic philanthropy? What socio-cultural factors play the most important role in transectorial managerial decisions in different parts of the world? Is strategic philanthropy, as a constituent of CSR, equally acknowledged across the global business community? Main findings of this research reveal a correlation between multiple factors of the social environment, stemming from its cultural context, and managers' philanthropic choices, related to strategic objectives of organizations and society. A theoretical framework for managerial decisions in favour of transectorial strategic philanthropy, developed through this research suggests a set of solutions, capable to evaluate the strength of each factor and to mitigate the influence of the negative ones. This framework proposes new possible avenues for research of relationships between business and society, moving managers and decision makers beyond the intrinsic assessment of cost benefit ratio of the overall company revenue and encourages scholars to further investigate how transectorial managerial decisions- which can be justly taken for strategic philanthropy contribute to the betterment of society and at the same time ensure sustainable development of the company itself.