Innovation generation in charity promotional web sites

Purpose - This study aims to examine the influence on the intensity of web site innovation of the extent and depth of the relationship between a fundraising charitable organisation and its external web site developer, and to evaluate the factors that modify this relationship. Design/methodology/approach - Heads of fundraising in 166 UK charities known to employ the services of outside web site developers completed a questionnaire concerning,inter alia, the frequencies, durations, natures and degrees of closeness of their interactions with these firms, the characteristics of their charities' internal knowledge management systems, the levels of the user interface complexity of their organisations' web sites, and how they searched for fresh ideas for web site improvement. Responses to these queries were then linked to the intensities of the innovation generation activities of the sample organisations and hence to the extents of their satisfaction with their web sites' performances. Findings - The magnitude and depth of charity‐developer interactions significantly affected the intensity of web site innovation generation. This connection was significantly moderated by the importance of the charity as a client of the web site development firm. Certain other variables significantly influenced the intensity of innovation generation. Research limitations/implications - Less than a majority of the sampling frame (30 per cent) participated in the study. Further research is required to establish why a number of variables that previous literature in the general innovation generation field has found to impact on innovation intensity (user interface complexity, for example) failed to attain significance in the fundraising charity context. Practical implications - Charity fundraisers need to appreciate that the effective management of relationships with their web site developers is crucial for facilitating web site innovation and performance. Originality/value - This research is the first to investigate the determinants of the web site innovation activities of charitable organisations, and to compare the conclusions of prior studies of general innovation generation with outcomes pertaining specifically to web site innovation.