Sharing: The Social Consumer

As the number of nonprofit organizations increases and consumer donations reach record levels, an understanding of the multitude of factors influencing donors\u27 sharing behavior is critical. This dissertation is the first step in investigating the role of perceived interpersonal closeness (IC) on donation allocations and the influence of word-of-mouth (WOM) request type on likelihood of sharing. These goals are addressed in two essays. The first essay (Chapter Two) focuses on the role of donor\u27s IC with a victim on allocation to nonprofit activities addressing care or cure. Specifically, this essay explores how those who perceive greater IC with a victim are more likely than those with low IC to allocate donations to cure due to a greater degree of hope for the future. The second essay of this dissertation (Chapter Three) investigates the influence of WOM type, specifically donor- or charity-focused, on donors\u27 likelihood to share. Drawing on literature from psychology, this essay demonstrates that requests for donor-focused WOM reduce the likelihood of sharing relative to charity-focused WOM requests due to lower perceived persuasive efficacy. In sum, the two essays included in this dissertation advance the knowledge of factors that will influence consumer behavior, adding to the theoretical understanding of prosocial behavior, donation allocations, and WOM, while providing implications for nonprofit marketing managers and increased consumer well-being