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Charitable organizations' storytelling influence on donors' emotions and intentions

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  • Merchant, Altaf
  • Ford, John B.
  • Sargeant, Adrian

Abstract

The stories told by charitable organizations are typically designed to take the consumer through different emotional stages. This research probes the view that following exposure to the inciting incident or problem statement in the appeal for a particular charity, the consumer feels negative emotions. These feelings convert into anticipated positive emotions when the consumer is given the opportunity to help the person in need through a donation. Feedback that donors receive from the charitable organization will help to strengthen the emotional pay-off and enhances future donation intentions. The research utilizes an experimental design and data from 319 undergraduate students in a large U.S. university to confirm these hypotheses. Theoretical and managerial implications are then presented.

Suggested Citation

  • Merchant, Altaf & Ford, John B. & Sargeant, Adrian, 2010. "Charitable organizations' storytelling influence on donors' emotions and intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(7), pages 754-762, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:63:y:2010:i:7:p:754-762
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    1. Björn Vollan & Karla Henning & Deniza Staewa, 2017. "Do campaigns featuring impact evaluations increase donations? Evidence from a survey experiment," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 500-518, October.
    2. Ana C. Martinez-Levy & Dario Rossi & Giulia Cartocci & Marco Mancini & Gianluca Flumeri & Arianna Trettel & Fabio Babiloni & Patrizia Cherubino, 2022. "Message framing, non-conscious perception and effectiveness in non-profit advertising. Contribution by neuromarketing research," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 19(1), pages 53-75, March.
    3. Abela, Andrew V., 2014. "Appealing to the imagination: Effective and ethical marketing of religion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 50-58.
    4. Stenstrom, Eric P. & Saad, Gad & Hingston, Sean T., 2018. "Menstrual cycle effects on prosocial orientation, gift giving, and charitable giving," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 82-88.
    5. van Rijn, Jordan & Barham, Bradford & Sundaram-Stukel, Reka, 2016. "An Experimental Approach to Comparing Similarity- and Guilt-Based Charitable Appeals," Staff Paper Series 584, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    6. van Rijn, Jordan & Barham, Bradford & Sundaram-Stukel, Reka, 2017. "An experimental approach to comparing similarity- and guilt-based charitable appeals," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 25-40.
    7. Merchant, Altaf & Ford, John B. & Rose, Gregory, 2011. "How personal nostalgia influences giving to charity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(6), pages 610-616, June.
    8. Michel, Géraldine & Rieunier, Sophie, 2012. "Nonprofit brand image and typicality influences on charitable giving," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(5), pages 701-707.
    9. Yong You Nie & Austin Rong Da Liang & Dun Ji Chen, 2017. "Assessing the effect of organic-food short storytelling on consumer response," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(15-16), pages 968-985, December.
    10. Catherine A. Roster, 2015. "“Help, I Have Too Much Stuff!”: Extreme Possession Attachment and Professional Organizers," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(2), pages 303-327, July.
    11. Anh Dang & Trung Nguyen, 2021. "Valuation Effect of Emotionality in Corporate Philanthropy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 47-67, September.
    12. Vonțea Andreea-Angela, 2018. "Determinants of the Individuals’ Willingness to Support Nonprofit Organizations – An Integrative Theoretical Perspective," International Conference on Marketing and Business Development Journal, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(2), pages 84-91, December.
    13. Keel, Astrid L. & Tran, An T.K., 2023. "Increasing small nonprofits’ influence through strategic storytelling," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 359-370.
    14. Hamby, Anne & Orazi, Davide & Moreau, Patrick, 2024. "Whose story is this? Source reveal as a communication tactic to increase consumers’ advocacy for social causes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    15. Merchant, Altaf & Rose, Gregory & Martin, Drew & Choi, Sunmee & Gour, Mohit, 2017. "Cross-cultural folk-tale-elicitation research on the perceived power, humanistic and religious symbolisms, and use of money," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 113-119.
    16. van Rijn, Jordan & Quinones, Esteban J. & Barham, Bradford L., 2017. "An Experimental Test of Gender Differences in Charitable Giving: Empathy Is at the Heart of the Matter," Staff Paper Series 586, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    17. Karolina Kaczorowska & Jodie Conduit & Steven Goodman, 2024. "Engaging through storytelling: the interplay of engagement with a story, cause, and charity," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 31(3), pages 265-292, May.
    18. Philippe Odou & Marie Schill, 2020. "How anticipated emotions shape behavioral intentions to fight climate change," Post-Print hal-02929920, HAL.
    19. Beatriz Casais & Sara Santos, 2018. "Corporate Propensity for Long-Term Donations to Non-Profit Organisations: An Exploratory Study in Portugal," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, December.
    20. Odou, Philippe & Schill, Marie, 2020. "How anticipated emotions shape behavioral intentions to fight climate change," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 243-253.
    21. Yi-Min Li, 2014. "Effects of Story Marketing and Travel Involvement on Tourist Behavioral Intention in the Tourism Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(12), pages 1-11, December.
    22. Filo, Kevin & Fechner, David & Inoue, Yuhei, 2020. "Charity sport event participants and fundraising: An examination of constraints and negotiation strategies," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 387-400.

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