Abstract: Corporate philanthropy is one way for enterprises to support public wellbeing in society by providing monetary and/or material resources， or by participating. It is an important issue for a corporation to voluntarily undertake social responsibilities. Through comparing the philanthropic conducts by international corporations and domestic enterprises， we found significant differences in their philosophies， strategies and mechanisms in decision making related to corporate philanthropy. The philanthropic philosophy of international corporations is to practice “corporate citizenship，” whereas domestic enterprises’ philanthropy is “to pay back to society” or for the sake of “charity.” This paper analyzes the sociocultural reasons behind these differences. Global corporations and domestic enterprises are at different developmental stages； in addition， there are differences in societal development， traditional cultures， and the understanding of the business-society relationships between China and the Western world. All these differences have created different patterns in corporate philanthropy.

Key words: corporate philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship