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Corporate philanthropy implies direct nonrefundable donations of company's money, goods, and time to support philanthropic causes. Corporate philanthropy has a very long history in practice. However, various authors have conflicting views as to its feasibility in terms of its impact on business results. On the one hand, there are authors who claim that any expenditure of money on matters which does not maximize profit is unjustified. On the other hand, other authors believe that companies are citizens of society and that their moral obligation is to organize their business in a manner which improves the community. In recent years there has been a growing number of papers which explain that the voluntary commitment of companies to promote society can in turn help them improve their competitiveness. A number of empirical studies have shown that there is a positive relationship between corporate philanthropy and competitiveness. However, the dilemma of whether corporate philanthropy is just "an expense without coverage" or a means of improving competitive advantage is still present as those studies contain significant methodological limitations. The starting assumption of this paper is that corporate philanthropy can help improve the competitiveness of companies, but only if it is implemented strategically in accordance with the company's business goals and strategy. This assumption will be examined and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]