ABSTRACT

Several accountability clubs and watchdogs issue charity labels for stimulating charitable giving, but research on the impact of such seals of approval built on certification systems is still narrow and contradictory. Based on signaling theory and theory of perceived risk, we develop a framework matching means of signaling trustworthiness by charities and of risk reducing by donors. Additionally, we present results of a study exploring the influence of the Austrian charity label “OSGS” on the donation behavior of 192 survey participants and investigate whether donors are more willing to support charities participating in this self-regulatory program. Our study provides insights into the benefits and constraints of voluntary accountability initiatives and enhances understanding of individuals’ motivations for giving. Findings indicate that expectations toward the OSGS are high and partly exaggerated. Nevertheless, we found that generally the OSGS is not crucial for charity choice but mainly beneficial for nonprofits not widely known.

摘要

一些问责俱乐部和监管机构发布慈善标签来刺激慈善捐赠，但对这种建立在认证体系之上的批准印章的影响的研究仍然狭窄且矛盾。基于信号理论和感知风险理论，我们开发了一个框架匹配手段，用于慈善机构的可信度信号和捐助者的风险降低。此外，我们还展示了一项研究结果，该研究探讨了奥地利慈善机构标签“OSGS”对 192 名调查参与者的捐赠行为的影响，并调查捐赠者是否更愿意支持参与该自律计划的慈善机构。我们的研究提供了对自愿问责计划的好处和限制的见解，并增强了对个人捐赠动机的理解。调查结果表明，人们对 OSGS 的期望很高，而且有些夸大其词。尽管如此，我们发现，一般来说，OSGS 对于慈善机构的选择并不重要，但主要对不广为人知的非营利组织有利。