The effect of others’ participation on charitable behavior: Moderating role of recipient resource scarcity

Abstract

Charitable campaigns sometimes display information about others’ participation to influence the behavior of prospective donors. This research shows that the effect of others’ participation on charitable behavior is moderated by recipient resource scarcity, i.e., the extent to which campaign recipients are perceived to lack financial and material resources. Results indicate that others’ participation has a positive effect on charitable behavior when recipient resource scarcity is high but a negative effect on charitable behavior when recipient resource scarcity is low. Results also provide evidence for an underlying psychological mechanism based on activation of agencycommunion motives in prospective donors. This research contributes to the literature by identifying recipient resource scarcity as a moderator and activation of agencycommunion motives as a mechanism underlying the effect of others’ participation on charitable behavior.