The relationship between family ownership, governance structure and corporate philanthropy

Purpose Family ownership and corporate governance play a crucial role in influencing the philanthropic activities within firms, prompting their commitment to community engagement and social responsibility. This study aims to analyze the impact of family ownership and governance mechanisms on corporate philanthropy. Design/methodology/approach The authors use panel data of 745 listed nonfinancial firms operating in Asian emerging economies covering the time period from 2010 to 2024 to analyze the results. The authors use fixed effect as the primary approach model, whereas GMM technique is applied for robustness check. Findings The authors find that family ownership and family control have significant and positive impacts on corporate philanthropy. However, the authors further find that board size, board independence, board effectiveness as measured by board meetings and gender diversity significantly increase corporate philanthropic activities. Originality/value The present study contributes to the body of knowledge while evaluating the effects of family ownership including family control and corporate governance on corporate philanthropy. Furthermore, family members involved in both management and ownership can provide a stronger commitment in promoting social aspects together with corporate philanthropy.