Nonprofit organization (NPO) marketers are now increasingly turning online to recognize donors, with little understanding as to how online donor appreciation influences behavior. A scenario-based research design using an online survey was administered to a random sample of voluntary blood donors (n = 356). The findings contribute to identity theory by demonstrating that online recognition (digital badge shared to Facebook) can strengthen subjective impressions of identity-related behavior above a private thank-you email alone. Furthermore, outcomes of a positive identity appraisal (accountability and emotional value) were found to differentially drive NPO-benefiting activities (positive electronic word-of-mouth and donation intentions) depending on donation experience. The results strategically inform online donor appreciation activities to improve donor retention.
AnikL.NortonM.ArielyD. (2014). Contingent match incentives increase donations. Journal of Marketing Research, 51(6), 790–801. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.13.0432
2.
AsencioE. K. (2013). Self-esteem, reflected appraisals and self-views: Examining criminal and worker identities. Social Psychology Quarterly, 76(4), 291–313. https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272513504222
3.
BatorR. J.CialdiniR. B. (2000). The application of persuasion theory to the development of effective proenvironmental public service announcements. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 527–541.
4.
BekkersR. (2010). Who gives what and when? A scenario study of intentions to give time and money. Social Science Research, 39(3), 369–381.
5.
BennettR. (2007). Giving to the giver: Can charities use premium incentives to stimulate donations?Journal of Promotion Management, 13(3–4), 267–280.
BhatiA.McDonnellD. (2020). Success in an online giving day: The role of social media in fundraising. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 49(1), 74–92.
8.
BinghamF.QuigleyC.MurrayK. B. (2003). An investigation of the influence acknowledgement programs have on alumni giving behavior: Implications for marketing strategy. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 12(2), 1–14.
9.
BoneS. A.MowenJ. C. (2006). Identifying the traits of aggressive and distracted drivers: A hierarchical trait model approach. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 5(5), 454–464.
10.
ByrneB. (2004). Testing for multigroup invariance using AMOS Graphics: A road less traveled. Structural Equation Modeling, 11(2), 272–300.
11.
ChapmanC. M.MasserB. M.LouisW. R. (2019). The champion effect in peer-to-peer giving: Successful campaigns highlight fundraisers more than causes. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 48(3), 572–592.
12.
ChariS.ChristodoulidesG.PresiC.WenholdJ.CasalettoJ. (2016). Consumer trust in user-generated brand recommendations on Facebook. Psychology and Marketing, 33(12), 1071–1081.
13.
CharngH.PiliavinJ.CalleroP. (1988). Role identity and reasoned action in the prediction of repeated behaviour. Social Psychology Quarterly, 51(4), 303–317.
ChellK.MortimerG. (2014). Investigating online recognition for blood donor retention: An experiential donor value perspective. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 19(2), 143–163.
16.
ChellK.Russell-BennettR.MortimerG. (2020). Exploring psychological determinants of sharing donor recognition on social networking sites. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 25(3), Article e1666.
17.
ChmielewskiD.BoveL.LeiJ.NevilleB.NagpalA. (2012). A new perspective on the incentive–blood donation relationship: Partnership, congruency, and affirmation of competence. Transfusion, 52(9), 1889–1900.
18.
CorreaT.HinsleyA.de ZunigaH. (2010). Who interacts on the web? The intersection of users’ personality and social media use. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(1), 247–253.
19.
CotterillS.JohnP.RichardsonL. (2013). The impact of a pledge request and the promise of publicity: A randomised controlled trial of charitable donations. Social Science Quarterly, 94(1), 200–216.
20.
CroftR. (2013). Blessed are the geeks: An ethnographic study of consumer networks in social media, 2006-2012. Journal of Marketing Management, 29(5–6), 545–561.
21.
CummingsL. L.AntonR. J. (1990). The logical and appreciative dimensions of accountability. In SrivastvaS.CooperriderD. (Eds.), Appreciative management and leadership (pp. 257–286). Jossey-Bass.
22.
DaggerT.O’BrienT. (2010). Does experience matter? Differences in relationship benefits, satisfaction, trust, commitment and loyalty for novice and experienced service users. European Journal of Marketing, 44(9–10), 1528–1552.
23.
DalsgaardS. (2007). I do it for the chocolate: An anthropological study of blood donation in Denmark. Distinktion: Journal of Social Theory, 8(1), 101–117.
24.
de MatosC.RossiC. (2008). Word-of-mouth communications in marketing: A meta-analytic review of the antecedents and moderators. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36(4), 578–596.
25.
DobeleA.SmithG.JohnsonN.Russell-BennettR. (2014, July16–18). Facebook wall posts: What sort achieves the most interaction? [Paper presentation]. International Social Marketing Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
26.
EllingsenT.JohannessonM. (2011). Conspicuous generosity. Journal of Public Economics, 95(9–10), 1131–1143.
27.
FaulknerM.RomaniukJ.SternP. (2016). New versus frequent donors: Exploring the behaviour of the most desirable donors. Australasian Marketing Journal, 24(3), 198–204.
28.
FelsonR. B. (1985). Reflected appraisal and the development of the self. Social Psychology Quarterly, 48(1), 71–78.
29.
FergusonE.FarrellK.LawrenceC. (2008). Blood donation is an act of benevolence rather than altruism. Journal of Healthy Psychology, 27(3), 327–336.
30.
FergusonE.LawrenceC. (2016). Blood donation and altruism: The mechanisms of altruism approach. ISBT Science Series, 11(Suppl. 1), 148–157.
31.
FernandesT.CalamoteA. (2015). Unfairness in consumer services: Outcomes of differential treatment of new and existing clients. Journal of Retail and Consumer Services, 28(1), 36–44.
32.
FinkelsteinM.PennerL.BrannickM. (2005). Motive, role identity and prosocial personality as predictors of volunteer activity. Social Behavior and Personality, 33(4), 403–418.
33.
FisherR.AckermanD. (1998). The effects of recognition and group need on volunteerism: A social norm perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 25(3), 262–275.
34.
FornellC.LarckerD. F. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: Algebra and statistics. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(3), 382–388.
35.
FothM.SatchellC.SeeburgerJ.Russell-BennettR. (2013, June29–July2). Social and mobile interaction design to increase the loyalty rates of young blood donors [Paper presentation]. ACM and the European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies (EUSSET), Munich, Germany.
36.
FrinkD. D.FerrisG. R. (1998). Accountability, impression management and goal setting in the performance evaluation process. Human Relations, 51(10), 1259–1283.
37.
FrinkD. D.KlimoskiR. J. (2004). Advancing accountability theory and practice: Introduction to the human resource management review special edition. Human Resource Management Review, 14(1), 1–17.
38.
GodinG.ConnerM.SheeranP.Belanger-GravelA.GermainM. (2007). Determinants of repeated blood donation among new and experienced blood donors. Transfusion, 47(9), 1607–1615.
39.
HaH. (2004). Factors influencing consumer perceptions of brand trust online. The Journal of Product and Brand Management, 13(5), 329–342.
40.
HitlinS. (2003). Values at the core of personal identity: Drawing links between two theories of self. Social Psychology Quarterly, 66(2), 118–137.
41.
HolbrookM. (2006). Consumption experience, customer value, and subjective personal introspection: An illustrative photographic essay. Journal of Business Research, 59(6), 714–725.
IacobucciD. (2010). Structural equations modeling: Fit Indices, sample size, and advanced topics. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20(1), 90–98.
44.
KarandeK.MagniniV.TamL. (2007). Recovery voice and satisfaction after service failure: An experimental investigation of mediating and moderating factors. Journal of Service Research, 10(2), 187–203.
45.
KatariaM.RegnerT. (2015). Honestly, why are you donating money to charity? An experimental study about self-awareness in status-seeking behavior. Theory and Decision, 79(3), 493–515.
46.
KimD.JangS.AdlerJ. (2015). What drives café customers to spread eWOM? Examining self-relevant value, quality value, and opinion leadership. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(2), 261–282.
47.
KimJ. H.JangS. (2014). A scenario-based experiment and a field study: A comparative examination for service failure and recovery. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 41(1), 125–132.
48.
KimS.UmN. (2016). Recognition in social media for supporting a cause: Involvement and self-efficacy as moderators. Social Behavior and Personality, 44(11), 1863–1878.
49.
KleineR.KleineS.KernanJ. (1993). Mundane consumption and the self: A social identity perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 2(3), 209–235.
50.
LacetaraN.MacisM. (2010). Social image concerns and prosocial behaviour: Field evidence from a nonlinear incentive scheme. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 76(1), 225–237.
51.
LaverieD.KleineR.KleineS. (2002). Re-examination and extension of Kleine, Kleine and Kernan’s social identity model of mundane consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 28(4), 659–669.
52.
LaverieD.McDonaldR. (2007). Volunteer dedication: Understanding the role of identity importance on participation frequency. Journal of Macromarketing, 27(3), 274–288.
53.
LeeL.PiliavinJ.CallV. (1999). Giving time, money and blood: Similarities and differences. Social Psychology Quarterly, 62(3), 276–290.
54.
LeeY.-j. (2020). Facebooking alone? Millennials’ use of social network sites and volunteering. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 49(1), 203–217.
55.
LinJ. S.SungY. (2014). Nothing can tear us apart: The effect of brand identity fusion in consumer-brand relationships. Psychology and Marketing, 31(1), 54–69.
56.
LowN.ButtS.PaineA.SmithJ. (2007). Helping out: A national survey of volunteering and charitable giving. Cabinet Office.
57.
Lowenberg-DeBoerK.AkdereM. (2018). Integrated review of volunteer retention and implications for training. International Journal of Volunteer Administration, 33(2), 19–38.
58.
MacDonnellR.WhiteK. (2015). How construals of money versus time impact consumer charitable giving. Journal of Consumer Research, 42(4), 551–563.
59.
MasonD. (2013). Putting charity to the test: A case for field experiments on giving time and money in the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 42(1), 193–202.
60.
MasserB.BednallT.WhiteK.TerryD. (2012). Predicting the retention of first-time donors using an extended theory of planned behaviour. Transfusion, 52(6), 1303–1310.
61.
MasserB.WrightS.GermainM.GrégoireY.GoldmanM.O’BrienS. F.KamelH.BravoM.MerzE-M.van den HurkK.PrinszeF.TakanashiM.WilderZ.ShazB. H. (2020). The impact of age and sex on first-time donor return behavior. Transfusion, 60(1), 84–93.
62.
MayoJ.TinsleyC. (2009). Warm glow and charitable giving: Why the wealthy do not give more to charity?Journal of Economic Psychology, 30(3), 490–499.
63.
McGrathS. (1997). Giving donors good reason to give again. Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 2(2), 125–135.
64.
MerchantA.FordJ.SargeantA. (2010). ‘Don’t forget to say thank you’: The effect of an acknowledgement on donor relationships. Journal of Marketing Management, 26(7–8), 593–611.
65.
MisjeA.BosnesV.HeierH. (2008). Recruiting and retaining young people as voluntary blood donors. Vox Sanguinis, 94(2), 119–124.
66.
MulcahyR. F.RiedelA. S. (2020). ‘Touch it, swipe it, shake it’: Does the emergence of haptic touch in mobile retailing advertising improve its effectiveness?Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 54, 101613.
67.
NorthR.SwannW. (2009). Self-verification 360°: Illuminating the light and dark sides. Self and Identity, 8(2–3), 131–146.
68.
NoskoA.WoodE.MolemaS. (2010). All about me: Disclosure in online social networking profiles: The case of Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(3), 406–418.
69.
OkadaE. M.HochS. J. (2004). Spending time versus spending money. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(2), 313–323.
70.
Oleldorf-HirschA.SundarS. (2015). Posting, commenting and tagging: Effects of sharing news stories on Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 44(1), 240–249.
71.
OlinskiM.SzamrowskiP. (2020). Using websites to cultivate online relationships: The application of the stewardship concept in public benefit organizations. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/10495142.2020.1798853
72.
Prado-GascóV.Calabuig MorenoF.Añó SanzV.Núñez-PomarJ.Crespo HervásJ. (2017). To post or not to post: Social media sharing and sporting event performance. Psychology and Marketing, 34(11), 995–1003.
73.
PreviteJ.Russell-BennettR.MulcahyR.HartelC. (2019). The role of emotional value for reading and giving eWOM in altruistic services. Journal of Business Research, 99(1), 157–166.
74.
ReedA.AquinoK.LevyE. (2007). Moral identity and judgements of charitable behaviors. Journal of Marketing, 71(1), 178–193.
75.
RegeM.TelleK. (2004). The impact of social approval and framing on cooperation in public good situations. Journal of Public Economics, 88(7), 1625–1644.
76.
RichardA. J.TrevinoR. A.BakerM.ValdezJ. (2010). Negative reflected appraisal, negative self-perception, and drug use intentions in a sample of suburban high school students. Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 19(3), 193–209.
77.
SargeantA.LeeS. (2004). Trust and relationship commitment in the United Kingdom voluntary sector: Determinants of donor behavior. Psychology and Marketing, 21(8), 613–635.
78.
SargeantA.ShangJ. (2012). How we make donors feel: The relationship between premium benefit level and donor identity esteem. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 17(3), 157–171.
79.
SargeantA.WoodliffeL. (2007). Building donor loyalty: The antecedents and role of commitment in the context of charity giving. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 18(2), 47–68.
80.
SchimelJ.ArndtJ.PyszczynskiT.GreenbergJ. (2001). Being accepted for who we are: Evidence that social validation of the intrinsic self reduces general defensiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(1), 35–52.
ShaoW.RossM. (2015). Testing a conceptual model of Facebook brand page communities. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 9(3), 239–258.
83.
SongD.Hoo KimD. (2020). “I’ll donate money today and time tomorrow”: The moderating role of attitude toward nonprofit organizations on donation intention. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 25(3), Article e1659.
84.
SteffesE.BurgeeL. (2009). Social ties and online word of mouth. Internet Research, 19(1), 42–59.
85.
StetsJ.CarterM. (2011). The moral self: Applying identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 74(2), 192–215.
86.
TaylorJ.FergusonJ.EllenP. (2015). From trait to state: Understanding privacy concerns. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 32(2), 99–112.
87.
ThoitsP. (2012). Role-identity salience, purpose and meaning in life, and well-being among volunteers. Social Psychology Quarterly, 75(4), 360–384.
88.
ThorpeR.MasserB.JensenK.Van DykeN.DavisonT. (2020). The role of identity in how whole-blood donors reflect on and construct their future as a plasma donor. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 30(1), 73–84.
89.
ThorpeR.MasserB. M.NguyenL.DavisonT. E. (2019). Understanding donation frequency: Insights from current plasma donors. Vox Sanguinis, 115(2), 174–181.
90.
TiceD. (1992). Self-concept change and self-presentation: The looking glass self is also a magnifying glass. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(3), 435–451.
91.
TiltayM. A.TorlakÖ. (2020). Similarities and differences of motivations of giving time and money: Giving to individuals versus humanitarian organizations in an emerging market. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 25(1), Article e1649.
92.
van DongenA. (2015). Easy come, easy go. Retention of blood donors. Transfusion Medicine, 35(4), 227–233.
93.
VeldhuizenI. (2010). ‘Thank you! please visit us again’. Reflecting on the donor retention literature—Implications for retention practices. ISBT Science Series, 5(n1), 196–200.
94.
VeldhuizenI.FergusonE.de KortW.DondersR.AtsmaF. (2011). Exploring the dynamics of the theory of planned behavior in the context of blood donation: Does donation experience make a difference?Transfusion, 51(11), 2425–2437.
WeversA.WigboldusD.van den HurkK.van BaarenR.VeldhuizenI. (2015). Increasing first-time blood donation of newly registered donors using implementation intentions and explicit commitment techniques. Vox Sanguinis, 108, 18–26.
97.
WhiteK.PoulsenB.HydeM. (2017). Identity and personality influences on donating money, time, and blood. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 46(2), 372–394.
98.
WinterichK. P.MittalV.AquinoK. (2013). When does recognition increase charitable behavior? Toward a moral identity-based model. Journal of Marketing, 77(3), 121–134.
99.
XuW.SaxtonG. D. (2018). Does stakeholder engagement pay off on social media? A social capital perspective. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 48(1), 28–49.
100.
ZhaoS.GrasmuckS.MartinJ. (2008). Identity construction on Facebook: Digital empowerment in anchored relationships. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 1816–1836.
