A spirit of generosity: philanthropy in the Scotch whisky industry

MacKenzie, N. G. , Gordon, J. and Gannon, M. J. (2019) A spirit of generosity: philanthropy in the Scotch whisky industry. Business History Review, 93(3), pp. 529-552. (doi: 10.1017/S000768051900093X)

Abstract

Recent literature on philanthropy and business has focused on the returns to businesses and entrepreneurs from giving. In this article, we show how historical context impacts the motivations and organizational forms created over time in philanthropic giving that effect and affect such returns. We do this through the prism of the changing ownership structures in the Scotch whisky industry in the twentieth century using an institutional theory lens. In doing so, we capture the story of three sisters who inherited a Scotch whisky business in the 1940s and transformed it into a hybrid philanthropic-commercial vehicle that remains in operation today. We present an extended theoretical model illustrating the interplay of context, motivation, and organizational structure over time on exchanges of capital in entrepreneurial philanthropy.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mackenzie, Professor Niall and Gordon, Professor Jillian
• Authors: MacKenzie, N. G., Gordon, J., and Gannon, M. J.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Journal Name: Business History Review
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 0007-6805
• ISSN (Online): 2044-768X
• Published Online: 14 August 2019
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
• First Published: First published in Business History Review 93(3): 529-552
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy