The adverse effects of mobile devices on willingness to donate and online fundraising outcomes

Abstract

Over the last few years, online donations have dramatically increased, and digital devices have become new channels for raising donations, replacing traditional paper forms. To better understand the effectiveness of these new digital channels, we investigate whether different device types influence donation outcomes. Overall, the results of three experimental studies consistently show a negative effect of mobile devices on willingness to donate (WTD) and donation amounts. For charitable donations, donors on a mobile (vs. non-mobile) device display less positive moods, which then lowers their WTD, resulting in lower donation amounts, suggesting a negative serial-mediation effect. Moreover, the moderated serial-mediation analysis reveals that the negative serial-mediation effect becomes stronger in a socially-distant (vs. socially-close) situation; however, for non-charitable donations (political fundraising), the mediating role of moods is attenuated while WTD still mediates the device-type effect on donation amounts. This study is the first to introduce device type as a digital medium that influences online donation outcomes and offers novel findings that the adverse effects vary not only by donors’ device type but also by social distance from their donation target. These findings help both business and non-profit organizations better understand online donors’ device usage to improve their fundraising outcomes.