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Revisiting the Political Nature of Corporate Philanthropic Foundations: The Case of Sweden

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Handbook on Corporate Foundations

Part of the book series: Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies ((NCSS))

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Abstract

Almost a decade ago, it was argued that scholarly knowledge largely overlooked the political nature of foundations in favor of issues related to legislation, board composition, management, and societal contributions. As this argument still seems to apply, the aim of this chapter is to explore the political nature of corporate foundations (CFs). To meet this aim, this chapter draws out the contours of an emergent social imaginary concerning welfare provision from the outlook of CFs. The analysis builds on both survey data regarding CFs in Sweden and interviews with representatives from four different Swedish CFs, concerning the interlock between organizational visions and perceived contributions to welfare in this national context. A main conclusion in the chapter relates to the intermediary position of these organizations as they straddle the boundaries of corporate contexts and a public welfare system where they have a potential to influence both these worlds simultaneously, by carrying norms, values, and practices between them. It is also here that parts of the political significance of CFs can be found—both as expressions and containers of an emergent political vision of welfare in society.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Instead of the term “corporate philanthropic foundation,” we will henceforth use the term “corporate foundation” (CF) to be congruent with the other chapters in this edited volume. However, we will restrain our discussion to corporate foundations acting as providers of welfare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, Stockholm, Sweden

    Johan Hvenmark & Johan von Essen

Authors
  1. Johan Hvenmark
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  2. Johan von Essen
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Correspondence to Johan von Essen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands

    Lonneke Roza  & Lucas Meijs  & 

  2. Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS), University of Basel, Basel, Basel Stadt, Switzerland

    Steffen Bethmann  & Georg von Schnurbein  & 

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Hvenmark, J., von Essen, J. (2020). Revisiting the Political Nature of Corporate Philanthropic Foundations: The Case of Sweden. In: Roza, L., Bethmann, S., Meijs, L., von Schnurbein, G. (eds) Handbook on Corporate Foundations. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25759-0_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25759-0_13

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-25758-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-25759-0

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