To Pay or Not to Pay: An Empirical Examination of the Effect of Injunctive Norms on Charitable Donations

CHARITABLE ENDEAVORS OFTEN FACE RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS AND RELY ON ALTRUISM FOR MONETARY DONATIONS NECESSARY TO PURSUE MISSION-DRIVEN OPERATIONS. IMPLEMENTATION OF AN HONOR-BASED PAYMENT SYSTEM TO ATTRACT DONATIONS ATTEMPTS TO ELIMINATE SOME PORTION OF THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY. HOWEVER, HONOR-BASED SYSTEMS ARE NOT MONITORED AND, THEREFORE, SUSCEPTIBLE TO UNDERPAYMENT AND THEFT. THIS STUDY EXAMINES HOW POSTING A MESSAGE COMMUNICATING A NEGATIVE INJUNCTIVE NORM AFFECTS CHARITABLE DONATIONS RESULTING FROM PROVISION OF A SNACK BOX USING AN HONOR-BASED PAYMENT SYSTEM. THE STUDY FINDS THAT PRESENTATION OF AN INJUNCTIVE NORM DISSUADES CONTRIBUTIONS FROM DONORS INCLINED TOWARD SLIGHT UNDERPAYMENT BUT DOES NOT DETER GROSS UNDERPAYMENT OR THEFT. THE OVERALL EFFECT IS A DECLINE IN DONATIONS. THE STUDY CONCLUDES BY IDENTIFYING INSIGHTS LIKELY TO IMPROVE THE PROBABILITY OF SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF AN HONOR-BASED SNACK BOX INTENDED FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES