Abstract :
[en] At the junction of private and public spheres, philanthropy is a social phenomenon open to controversies. That which constitutes giving private resources for public purposes evolves alongside societal developments. Philanthropy can be regarded as an issue field – that is, forming around the contested issue of what giving means and how to give. Given this issue-based nature and following digital evolutions, platform-based newcomers (i.e., social crowdfunding, -timing, and -sourcing platforms) have emerged at the fringes of philanthropy. This dissertation explores the configuration of philanthropy in this age of social-mission platforms. It focuses on the Belgian field of philanthropy. One feature of Belgian philanthropy is its fragmented infrastructure. The field lacks the meaning, operational and relational mechanisms to guide philanthropic organizations’ action and interaction. As a result, when facing newcomers, incumbent organizations did not offer a united front. This phenomenon is investigated through three papers. Considering the field infrastructure, the first paper documents field-structuring strategies and the unique role of “field-structuring actor”. Using a case-based approach, the second paper develops a typology of social-mission platforms. Finally, the third paper examines the relationship between incumbents and newcomers, and emphasizes in- population heterogeneity in boundary strategies. Overall, the dissertation contributes to both institutional theory, by explaining how divergent boundary work leads to a process of persistent, purposeful, and productive fragmented structuration, as well as to philanthropy studies, by documenting the heterogeneity of philanthropic organizations and the development of social-mission platforms.
