Can corporate philanthropy change consumers’ perceptions of Japanese multinationals and reduce animosity toward them?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate how corporate philanthropy (CP) can affect consumer perceptions of Japanese multinationals, for which there exists strong animosity in Asia, and how this animosity can be attenuated. Design/methodology/approach: The study first examines Japanese firms in China (Study 1) and then Japanese, European and local firms in Korea (Study 2). Findings: The results suggest that CP activities can have a positive effect on the consumer recognition of company localness and they can also attenuate company animosity for foreign multinationals. In addition, the findings suggest that Japanese multinationals can benefit greatly from CP activities in Asia than for domestic and other foreign firms. Research limitations/implications: The study found that consumers do not have ethnocentric attribution biases in evaluations of CP activities by foreign multinationals, as suggested by attribution theory (Hewstone, 1990; Nisbett, 1971). Originality/value: There is limited evidence supporting the effects of CP activities by foreign multinationals from a country of origin for which there exists strong animosity.