IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/expeco/v27y2024i5d10.1007_s10683-024-09845-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

I swear, I would like to donate later

Author

Listed:
  • Jianbiao Li

    (Shandong University)

  • Ruqian Zang

    (Shandong University)

  • Xiaofei Niu

    (Shandong University)

Abstract

Pledges are ubiquitous in charitable giving, but they are often reneged upon. To investigate whether adding the phrase “I swear” to pledge language can reduce pledge reneging, we conduct a series of experiments in the context of online fundraising. We find that including “I swear” at the beginning of the pledge language significantly increases immediate giving and pledge fulfillment, with more individuals switching from pledging to giving immediately. We also observe individual heterogeneity in moral identity: Our findings are present among individuals with low moral identity, but not among those with high moral identity. Our paper presents a simple and no-cost strategy for increasing the effectiveness of pledges in online fundraising.

Suggested Citation

  • Jianbiao Li & Ruqian Zang & Xiaofei Niu, 2024. "I swear, I would like to donate later," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 27(5), pages 1158-1183, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:expeco:v:27:y:2024:i:5:d:10.1007_s10683-024-09845-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10683-024-09845-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10683-024-09845-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10683-024-09845-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Charitable giving; Pledge; I swear; Online fundraising;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:expeco:v:27:y:2024:i:5:d:10.1007_s10683-024-09845-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.