The influence of volunteering on Chinese firm reputation

Abstract

Purpose

This study empirically explores how firms configure the strength and the temporal and spatial features of corporate volunteering (CV) events to promote corporate reputation (CR).

Design/methodology/approach

Using event system theory as a framework and applying fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to 385 firms and 2,783 public respondents, this study explores the configurational effects of five elements of CV events—employee engagement, customer engagement, meagre incentive, duration and scope of influence—on two types of CR: capability reputation (CAR) and character reputation (CHR).

Findings

The results indicate that (1) the impact of volunteering on CR is not only configurational in nature, but also characterised by equifinality (i.e. the presence of multiple paths to success); (2) with meagre incentive and in the absence of scope-of-influence support, long-term employee and customer engagement in CV is sufficient to achieve high CAR; (3) adequate and diverse incentives, high employee engagement and a sufficiently broad scope of influence work well with either high customer engagement or long duration to achieve high CAR and CHR, respectively; (4) there are identical configurations that can achieve high CAR and CHR.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the CV and CR literature by extending the application of event system theory to proactive events.

Citation

Yu, J., Liu, J. and Xu, Q. (2023), "The influence of volunteering on Chinese firm reputation", Management Decision, Vol. 61 No. 10, pp. 3195-3214. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-10-2022-1392