When Corruption Scandals Reshape Business-Nonprofit Partnerships

This study examines how Brazil's 2014 "Operation Carwash" corruption scandal, which exposed bribery between state-owned companies and politicians, transformed the landscape of partnerships between corporations and nonprofits. Analyzing eight years of data covering all publicly-listed Brazilian firms and over 820,000 registered nonprofits, the researchers found that such partnerships became significantly more common after the scandal, as public trust shifted away from government and toward the nonprofit sector. 

However, not all organizations benefited equally from this shift. Firms directly implicated in the scandal — or indirectly tainted through state ownership or politically connected boards — found it harder to form new nonprofit partnerships. Meanwhile, nonprofits with close ties to either business (trade associations) or government (education and research organizations, or those with strong political connections) became noticeably more cautious about partnering with companies. 

The research shows how nonprofits actively resist being used as tools for corporate image repair or political influence during moments of institutional crisis.

Cross-Sector Relational Realignments After An Institutional Crisis: Checking The Instrumentalization Of Corporate-Nonprofit Partnerships
Authors: Marina Gama and Aline Gatignon
Published: 2025, Academy of Management Journal