000006515 001__ 6515 000006515 005__ 20240523045614.0 000006515 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.6082/uchicago.6515 000006515 041__ $$aen 000006515 245__ $$aThe Architecture of Grassroots-Oriented Corporate Philanthropy in China 000006515 260__ $$bThe University of Chicago 000006515 269__ $$a2023-06 000006515 336__ $$aDissertation 000006515 502__ $$bPh.D. 000006515 520__ $$aThis dissertation explores why and how firms partner with grassroots nonprofits—politically disadvantaged charitable foundations, social services organizations, and advocacy groups that are prone to government surveillance, predation, and repression. In the first chapter, I demonstrate that low political status of nonprofits helps turn corporate philanthropic initiatives into core business activities for the interest of corporate donors, in particular market risk mitigation, business networking, and product marketing. In the second chapter, I show that structural characteristics of locality-specific performance ratings—namely, evaluation frequency and ambiguity—condition capacity building and issue versatility of politically disadvantaged nonprofits, which have implications for their attractiveness in the eyes of potential corporate donors. In the third chapter, I document that breadth of corporate support that a nonprofit can possibly garner—which reflects resource mobilization base for social impact—varies according to the organization’s political status. Through an empirical investigation of grassroots nonprofits in contemporary China, on the basis of a mixed-methods design, this dissertation advances a nonprofit-centered political perspective on corporate social responsibility and points to the significance of political contestation and commerciality in firm-society collaborations. 000006515 542__ $$fUniversity of Chicago dissertations are covered by copyright. 000006515 650__ $$aSociology 000006515 650__ $$aManagement 000006515 653__ $$aChina 000006515 653__ $$aCorporate philanthropy 000006515 653__ $$aMarket strategy 000006515 653__ $$aNonprofit organizations 000006515 653__ $$aPolitical disadvantage 000006515 690__ $$aSocial Sciences Division 000006515 690__ $$aBooth School of Business 000006515 691__ $$aSociology 000006515 691__ $$aBusiness 000006515 691__ $$aBooth School of Business Dissertations 000006515 7001_ $$aZhuang, Yuhao$$uUniversity of Chicago 000006515 72012 $$aElisabeth S. Clemens 000006515 72012 $$aAmanda J. Sharkey 000006515 72014 $$aElisabeth S. Clemens 000006515 72014 $$aBrayden G. King 000006515 72014 $$aAmanda J. Sharkey 000006515 72014 $$aDingxin Zhao 000006515 8564_ $$9f81cfc2b-b715-4dee-80ef-533f8de1b024$$s1855973$$uhttps://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/6515/files/Zhuang_uchicago_0330D_16861.pdf$$eEmbargo (2025-06-12) 000006515 909CO $$ooai:uchicago.tind.io:6515$$pDissertations$$pGLOBAL_SET 000006515 983__ $$aDissertation