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I'm Moral, but I Won't Help You: The Distinct Roles of Empathy and Justice in Donations

Author

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  • Saerom Lee
  • Karen Page Winterich
  • William T. Ross Jr.

Abstract

Donating to charitable causes is generally perceived as a moral, prosocial behavior, but this may not always be the case. Although moral identity tends to have a positive effect on prosocial behavior, moral identity does not unconditionally enhance charitable giving. Four studies demonstrate that moral identity decreases donations when recipients are responsible for their plight. Mediation analysis reveals that empathy and justice underlie these effects such that moral identity increases donations for recipients with low plight responsibility through increased empathy, but moral identity decreases donations to recipients with high plight responsibility due to perceptions of justice. Importantly, donations to recipients who are responsible for their plight can be enhanced when donors' immorality is made salient, evoking empathy for recipients, particularly among donors with high moral identity. This research makes theoretical contributions in addition to providing implications for nonprofit organizations whose recipients may be perceived as responsible for their plight.

Suggested Citation

  • Saerom Lee & Karen Page Winterich & William T. Ross Jr., 2014. "I'm Moral, but I Won't Help You: The Distinct Roles of Empathy and Justice in Donations," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(3), pages 678-696.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/677226
    DOI: 10.1086/677226
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    Cited by:

    1. Ghi-Feng Yen & Hsin-Ti Yang, 2018. "Does Consumer Empathy Influence Consumer Responses to Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility? The Dual Mediation of Moral Identity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Grinstein, Amir & Hagtvedt, Henrik & Kronrod, Ann, 2019. "Aesthetically (dis)pleasing visuals: A dual pathway to empathy and prosocial behavior," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 83-99.
    3. Kirk Kristofferson & Michelle E. Daniels & Andrea C. Morales, 2022. "Using virtual reality to increase charitable donations," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 75-87, March.
    4. Wang, Xia & Tong, Luqiong, 2015. "Hide the light or let it shine? Examining the factors influencing the effect of publicizing donations on donors’ happiness," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 418-424.
    5. Arvid Erlandsson, 2021. "Seven (weak and strong) helping effects systematically tested in separate evaluation, joint evaluation and forced choice," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 16(5), pages 1113-1154, September.
    6. Christina Schamp & Mark Heitmann & Robin Katzenstein, 2019. "Consideration of ethical attributes along the consumer decision-making journey," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 328-348, March.
    7. Eun Young Park & Jin Hwa Rhee, 2019. "Who Clicks on Online Donation? Understanding the Characteristics of SNS Users during Participation in Online Campaigns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-15, July.
    8. Septianto, Felix & Kemper, Joya A., 2021. "The effects of age cues on preferences for organic food: The moderating role of message claim," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    9. Jin, Fei & Zhu, Huawei & Tu, Ping, 2020. "How recipient group membership affects the effect of power states on prosocial behaviors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 307-315.
    10. Bhatti, Zeeshan Ahmed & Arain, Ghulam Ali & Akram, Muhammad Shakaib & Fang, Yu-Hui & Yasin, Hina Mahboob, 2020. "Constructive voice behavior for social change on social networking sites: A reflection of moral identity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    11. Ganegoda, Deshani B. & Shukla, Jigyashu & Shapiro, Debra L., 2024. "Garnering support for social justice: When and why is “yes” likelier for “allies” versus “disadvantaged group advocates”?," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    12. Ryoo, Yuhosua & Kim, WooJin, 2023. "Price-ethicality association: When price discounts inhibit ethical purchasing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    13. Maxwell-Smith, Matthew A. & Barnett White, Tiffany & Loyd, Denise Lewin, 2020. "Does perceived treatment of unfamiliar employees affect consumer brand attitudes? Social dominance ideologies reveal who cares the most and why," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 461-471.
    14. Septianto, Felix & Tjiptono, Fandy & Kusumasondjaja, Sony, 2020. "Anger punishes, compassion forgives: How discrete emotions mitigate double standards in consumer ethical judgment," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    15. Ernan Haruvy & Peter Popkowski Leszczyc & Greg Allenby & Russell Belk & Catherine Eckel & Robert Fisher & Sherry Xin Li & John A. List & Yu Ma & Yu Wang, 2020. "Fundraising design: key issues, unifying framework, and open puzzles," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 371-380, December.
    16. Saerom Lee & Lisa E Bolton & Karen Page Winterich & Vicki MorwitzEditor & Lauren BlockAssociate Editor, 2017. "To Profit or Not to Profit? The Role of Greed Perceptions in Consumer Support for Social Ventures," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(4), pages 853-876.
    17. Mendini, Monica & Peter, Paula C. & Gibbert, Michael, 2018. "The dual-process model of similarity in cause-related marketing: How taxonomic versus thematic partnerships reduce skepticism and increase purchase willingness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 195-204.
    18. Zeng, Tian & Botella-Carrubi, Dolores, 2023. "Improving societal benefit through transformative consumer research: A descriptive review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    19. Mukherjee, Ashesh & Lee, Seung Yun & Burnham, Thomas, 2020. "The effect of others’ participation on charitable behavior: Moderating role of recipient resource scarcity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 213-228.
    20. Hyunkyu Jang, 2022. "Cuteness mediates the effect of happy facial expressions on empathy and charitable donations," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 19(4), pages 675-689, December.
    21. Nhat Quang Le & Magne Supphellen & Richard P. Bagozzi, 2021. "Effects of negative social information on the willingness to support charities: the moderating role of regulatory focus," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 111-122, March.
    22. Dao, Hung M. & Theotokis, Aristeidis, 2021. "Self-Service Technology Recovery: The Effect of Recovery Initiation and Locus of Responsibility," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 25-39.
    23. repec:cup:judgdm:v:16:y:2021:i:5:p:1113-1154 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Minton, Elizabeth A. & Johnson, Kathryn A. & Liu, Richie L., 2019. "Religiosity and special food consumption: The explanatory effects of moral priorities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 442-454.

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