EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - City and Enterprise: Corporate Community Involvement in European and US Cities

City and Enterprise: Corporate Community Involvement in European and US Cities

Introduction

What are the implications of corporate community involvement for the sustainable development of cities and the creation of cross-sector partnerships?

Description

This publication is based on the notion that the motives for corporate community involvement have changed. It is argued that in the past corporate community involvement was mainly considered some form of philanthropy. Nowadays, to companies corporate community involvement is no longer only a matter of ethics, but also a matter of self-interest. This changed notion has some intriguing consequences for both companies and government at all levels: as companies recognise their interest in the welfare of the city, they will be inclined to actively invest in the city’s welfare. Companies have to adopt a strategic approach to community involvement. This will open up new opportunities for public-private partnerships

Methodology

What are the implications of corporate community involvement for the sustainable development of cities and the creation of cross-sector partnerships? Four sub-questions are identified:

To what extent do companies show their community involvement, and in what way?
What is the relation between the type of company and its social activities?
To what degree do companies cooperate with other organisations – local government in particular – to give evidence of their social responsibilities and self-interest in an attractive city?
What are the factors of failure and success in the development of cross-sector partnerships ensuing from corporate community involvement?

Conclusions

To provide these questions with an answer, eight cases are studied. The selected cases include The Hague, Amsterdam, Chicago, Leeds, London, Munich, New York, Seattle and St Louis. For each case the community involvement of certain locally based multinational companies is analysed in the following fields:

education;
employment;
safety;
affordable housing;
the living environment.

The last chapter gives a synthesis of the described cases. This chapter lists the challenges for cities and companies in organising corporate community involvement.

Contact info

European Institute for Comparative Urban Research (EURICUR)
Leo van den Berg, tel. +31 10 408 1186

Publication date

09/06/2005

Links

This publication can be ordered through Ashgate EURICUR

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration

Keywords

Community development