Higher Education Sponsoring is mostly seen as a traditional instrument of Communication, it is found, however, also in the context of Corporate Citizenship research. Thus, it can be understood as the first strategic step of companies to assume responsibility for the society and therefore touches and influences the Corporate value system. This dissertation examines the possibility of integrating Sponsoring of Higher Education Institutions into Corporate Citizenship concepts in Germany and the U.S.

Through an approach that is theory-based but also includes empirical research, it was found that a different understanding of Sponsorship as Cause Related Sponsoring and a more dominant role of the private sector in the U.S. Education system leads to concepts, that will become relevant for Germany as well, as the public support for universities will continue to decline and requires more and more companies to assume responsibility. Based on this, a set of initial guidelines for a strategic framework, approaches to communication and organizational issues is developed and discussed.