It's Better to Give than to Receive

Newswise — A study by Professor Robert Fisher proves that it's better to give rather than to receive, at least for donors to some of the most popular televised fundraising appeals. Robert's research, titled An Empathy-Helping Perspective on Consumers' Responses to Fundraising Appeals was done in conjunction with Mark Vandenbosch and Kersi Antia. They found that calls to stations during appeals decreased when benefits to viewers was emphasized.

"Selfish" benefits to viewers could be special recognition for donors, higher quality programming or very tangible items such as CDs, DVDs or cookbooks in return for donations. In fact, donors in the study preferred to give without getting a return for their investment.

"The appeals that were most effective were those that emphasized the benefits to others such as the station, the community, or disadvantaged groups," said Robert. "Appeals of this type might reference how budget cuts would affect the station, how the station needed to meet financial targets, or how the station's programming contributed to the community."

The research provides important insights into the underlying reasons why people help organizations that provide public goods (i.e., goods that can be consumed for free, such as blood from the Red Cross, public television and radio, and community-based volunteer services). The study has been approved for publication in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, from the University of Chicago Press.

The findings suggest that viewers donated because they felt an obligation — people expect self- or social censure if they don't help a needy person or organization they care about. "Failing to help under these conditions leads to shame, which is a powerful negative emotion that is experienced when there is an inconsistency between a person's actual and desired self," said Robert.

The results were not congruent with theories suggesting that viewers donated to alleviate the distress they felt because the station needed their help, or to experience a positive emotion such as joy or pride. The research findings were based on a study of four televised fundraising drives by a public television station over a two-year period. The researchers examined 584 pledge breaks that contained 4,868 individual appeals. Using the scripts employed by the on-air hosts, the researchers coded all aspects of what was said or done on the air, and related these variables to the number of telephone calls that were made to the station in response to each pledge break.

Additional findings relate to the length and timing of pledge breaks, the characteristics of the hosts, and the size and gender composition of the viewing audience.

Robert Fisher's research in managerial and consumer decision making, and new product development success has been published in leading journals. An international executive trainer and consultant, Robert worked at University of Southern California for seven years and the Richard Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario. He earned his PhD at the University of Colorado.

Robert's expertise and research in consumer behaviour will continue to build the momentum of the newly formed School of Retailing within the School of Business, which has been ranked 35th globally for research output by the Financial Times of London. The FT international ranking is the leading indicator of research excellence. Related links:http://www.business.ualberta.ca/rfisher/http://www.business.ualberta.ca/http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/