Why Audiences Donate Money to Content Creators? A Uses and Gratifications Perspective

Abstract

In the “We Media” era, any online user could act as a content creator, by uploading self-made texts, photos, audios and videos. In order to motivate the content creators’ contribution, many online platforms allow audiences to support content creators with cash donation or virtual currency donation. This study aims to explore the antecedents of consumers’ donation to content creators. Drawing on Uses and Gratifications theory, this study identifies and empirically investigates the impact of six antecedents on audiences’ intention to donate, including enjoyment, escapism, social interaction, social identity, content quality, and content quantity. Data were collected from 133 respondents and analyzed with SmartPLS 3.2.9. The results indicate that enjoyment, social interaction, content quality, and content quantity positively affect users’ intention to donate money, while escapism and social identity have no significant impact on donation intention. Potential theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.