An Empathy‐Helping Perspective on Consumers’ Responses to Fund‐Raising Appeals
The research examines viewers’ actual responses to four televised fund‐raising drives by a public television station over a 2‐year period. The 584 pledge breaks we studied contain 4,868 individual appeals that were decomposed into two underlying dimensions based on the empathy‐helping hypothesis: th...
| Veröffentlicht in: | Journal of Consumer Research. - University of Chicago Press. - 35(2008), 3, Seite 519-531 |
|---|---|
| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Weitere Verfasser: | , |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2008
|
| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | Journal of Consumer Research |
| Schlagworte: | Advertising Charity and Gift Giving Economic Theories and Analysis Panel Data Analysis (Scanner, Diary, etc.) Behavioral sciences Economics Business Social sciences Robert J. |
| Zusammenfassung: | The research examines viewers’ actual responses to four televised fund‐raising drives by a public television station over a 2‐year period. The 584 pledge breaks we studied contain 4,868 individual appeals that were decomposed into two underlying dimensions based on the empathy‐helping hypothesis: the appeal beneficiary (self versus other) and emotional valence (positive versus negative). We find that the most effective fund‐raising appeals communicate the benefits to others rather than to the self and evoke negative rather than positive emotions. Appeals that emphasize benefits to the self significantly reduce the number of calls to the station, particularly when they have a positive emotional valence. |
|---|---|
| Beschreibung: | * Robert J. Fisher is professor of marketing, University of Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2R6 ( robert.fisherualberta.ca ). Mark Vandenbosch is Magna International Inc. Chair in Business Administration, Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7 ( mvandenbosch@ivey.uwo.ca ). Kersi D. Antia is assistant professor of marketing, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706 ( kantia@bus.wisc.edu ). Correspondence: Robert Fisher. The researchers were supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Richard Ivey School of Business. We thank Rajesh K. Chandy, Eric Dolansky, Bharat Sud, and Chuck Weinberg for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript and Fiona Fisher and Diana Lee for their assistance. The authors acknowledge the constructive input of the editor, associate editor, and three reviewers. |
| ISSN: | 15375277 |
| DOI: | 10.1086/586909 |