The Effect of Social Network Endorsement Type on Subsequent Endorsement Likelihood of Nonprofits and For-Profit Companies: An Abstract

Abstract

Does seeing a friend supporting a non-profit organization on social media affect one’s subsequent behaviour on social media? How is it different from seeing a friend supporting a luxury or utilitarian company on social media? These questions are particularly important for non-profit organizations as social media platforms have provided enormous opportunity for community outreach and strengthening relationship with fundraisers. In three experiments, we answer these questions by examining the differential influences of social network endorsement types (i.e., Facebook vs. offline social engagement) on one’s subsequent social behaviour on Facebook. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 show that for a non-profit organization, peer-influence is more beneficial when encountered in an offline social engagement (e.g., wearing a cause pin as a result of donation) than viewed on Facebook. However, for-profit companies displayed no difference or the opposite effect of peer-influence when endorsing that company. Specifically, for a utilitarian company, peer-influence is more beneficial when happens on Facebook than offline social engagement. For luxury companies, there is no differential effect of peer-influence on Facebook or face-to-face. Drawing on costly signalling theory, Experiment 2 demonstrates that perceived altruism is the underlying mechanism for the positive effect of offline social engagement for non-profit organizations. Experiment 3 introduces the self-company connection as the boundary condition and shows that the positive effect of prior exposure to social offline engagement for non-profits (and Facebook endorsement for utilitarian companies) only emerges when the self-company connection to the non-profits is low. When personal connection to a non-profit organization is high, individuals support the non-profit regardless of the way their peers endorse the organization.