Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

We can fix this! Donor activism for nonprofit supply generation

  • Original Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Nonprofit organizations play a critical role in society. To fulfill their missions, they require sufficient supply to meet demand. In addressing how nonprofits can work towards meeting the needed demand through donors, the marketing literature focuses primarily on leveraging individual differences, message characteristics, motives, or social norms to secure donor time, talent, or treasure. Other ways in which donors make impactful contributions, however, are less studied. One of these less examined cases is donor activism, a social mechanism by which donors act to increase supply for nonprofits. Through an ethnographic study of donors organizing a Guinness World Records attempt for the most living organ donors gathered together, we investigate the mechanisms underlying donor efforts to positively influence the supply of living donors. Our findings suggest that donation behaviors that increase supply may lead to varying degrees of activism. Managerial implications of these findings are presented with specific suggestions for how donors and nonprofit organizations may interact within consumer movements to support supply generation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adjei, M. T., Noble, S. M., & Noble, C. H. (2010). The influence of C2c communications in online brand communities on customer purchase behavior. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(5), 634–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aknin, L. B., Dunn, E. W., Whillans, A. V., Grant, A. M., & Norton, M. I. (2013). Making a difference matters: Impact unlocks the emotional benefits of Prosocial spending. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 88, 90–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnould, E. J., & Wallendorf, M. (1994). Market-oriented ethnography: Interpretation building and marketing strategy formulation. Journal of Marketing Research, 31(4), 484–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bajde, D. (2009). Rethinking the social and cultural dimensions of charitable giving. Consumption, Markets & Culture, 12(1), 65–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, M. (2018). Algonquin woman at the helm of Guinness world record for organ transplant donors. Barrington: Courier-Review.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batson, C. D. (2011). Altruism in humans. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belk, R. W., Wallendorf, M., Sherry, J. F., & Jr. (1989). The sacred and the profane in consumer behavior: Theodicy on the odyssey. Journal of Consumer Research, 16(1), 1–38.

  • Bendapudi, N., Singh, S. N., & Bendapudi, V. (1996). Enhancing helping behavior: An integrative framework for promotion planning. Journal of Marketing, 60(3), 33–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benford, R. D., & Snow, D. A. (2000). Framing processes and social movements: An overview and assessment. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 611–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, T. W. (2009). Intergenerationally gifted asset dispositions. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(1), 93–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, T. W. (2013). From twins to strangers: Considerations of paired kidney donation across gift and market economies. In J. F. Sherry Jr. & P. E. Murphy (Eds.), Marketing and the common good: Essays from Notre Dame on societal impact (pp. 253–266). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, T. W. (2015). Beyond fungible: Transforming money into moral and social resources. Journal of Marketing, 79(2), 79–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, T. W. (2019). Are we a perfect match? Roles for market mediators in defining perfect gifts. In Y. Minowa & R. Belk (Eds.), Gifts, romance, and consumer culture (pp. 19–36). Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, T. W., & Boyd, N. W. (2020). Help me help you! Employing the marketing mix to alleviate experiences of donor sacrifice. Journal of Marketing, 84, 68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, T. W., & Lee, A. Y. (2011). Matching the ask to the donor: The role of self-construal in charitable gifting. In S. Ng & A. Y. Lee (Eds.), Handbook of culture and consumer behavior (pp. 135–149). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, T. W., Grier, S. A., & Henderson, G. R. (2017). Weight loss through virtual support communities: A role for identity-based motivation in public commitment. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 40, 9–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buechler, S. M. (2000). Social movements in advanced capitalism: The political economy and cultural construction of social activism. New York: Oxford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, C., & Schau, H. J. (2019). Let’s make a “Deal”: How Deal collectives coproduce unintended value from sales promotions. Journal of Marketing, 83(6), 43–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho, P. S., Saidi, R. F., Cutie, C. J., & Ko, D. S. C. (2015). Competitive market analysis of transplant centers and discrepancy of wait-listing of recipients for kidney transplantation. International Journal of Organ Transplantation Medicine, 6(4), 141–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dew, M. A., Switzer, G. E., DiMartini, A. F., Myaskovsky, L., & Crowley-Matoka, M. (2007). Psychosocial aspects of living donation. In H. P. Tan, A. Marcos, & R. Shapiro (Eds.), Living donor transplantation (pp. 7–26). New York: Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fajardo, T. M., Townsend, C., & Bolander, W. (2018). Toward an optimal donation solicitation: Evidence from the field of the differential influence of donor-related and organization-related information on donation choice and amount. Journal of Marketing, 82(2), 142–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, E., Farrell, K., & Lawrence, C. (2008). Blood donation is an act of benevolence rather than altruism. Health Psychology, 27(3), 327–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, Eileen, Brenda Gainer, and Stephen J. Arnold (1996). Gift-giving and charitable donating: How (dis)similar are they?. In Cele Otnes and Richard Beltramine (eds.), Gift-giving: A research anthology, 175–194. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

  • Fox, R. C., & Swazey, J. P. (2002). The courage to fail: A social view of organ transplants and dialysis. New Bruswick: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilly, M. C., Graham, J. L., Wolfinbarger, M. F., & Yale, L. J. (1998). A dyadic study of interpersonal information search. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 26(2), 83–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godelier, M. (1999). The enigma of the gift. Great Britain: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handelman, J. M., & Arnold, S. J. (1999). The role of marketing actions with a social dimension: Appeals to the institutional environment. Journal of Marketing, 63(3), 33–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harmeling, C. M., Moffett, J. W., Arnold, M. J., & Carlson, B. D. (2017). Toward a theory of customer engagement marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45(3), 312–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, J. W. (1990). Benefit segmentation for fund raisers. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 18(1), 77–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Healy, K. (2004). Altruism as an organizational problem: The case of organ procurement. American Sociological Review, 69(3), 387–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Healy, K. (2006). Last best gifts: Altruism and the market for human blood and other organs. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hung, I., & Wyer, R., Jr. (2009). Differences in perspective and the influence of charitable appeals: When imagining oneself as the victim is not beneficial. Journal of Marketing Research, 46(3), 421–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, L. (1979). The gift: Imagination and the erotic life of property. New York: Vintage Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. S., & Lowe, B. (2015). Emotional support, perceived corporate ownership and skepticism toward out-groups in virtual communities. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 29, 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joy, A. (2001). Gift giving in Hong Kong and the continuum of social ties. Journal of Consumer Research, 28(2), 239–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelemen, M., Mangan, A., & Moffat, S. (2017). More than a ‘little act of kindness’? Towards a typology of volunteering as unpaid work. Sociology, 51(6), 1239–1256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, B. G., & Pearce, N. A. (2010). The contentiousness of markets: Politics, social movements, and institutional change in markets. Annual Review of Sociology, 36(1), 249–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kjeldgaard, D., Askegaard, S., Rasmussen, J. Ø., & Østergaard, P. (2017). Consumers’ collective action in market system dynamics: A case of beer. Marketing Theory, 17(1), 51–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, J. G., Craig Smith, N., & John, A. (2004). Why we Boycott: Consumer motivations for Boycott participation. Journal of Marketing, 68(3), 92–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kozinets, R. V. (1999). E-tribalized marketing?: The strategic implications of virtual communities of consumption. European Management Journal, 17(3), 252–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kozinets, R. V. (2010). Netnography: Doing ethnographic research online. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kozinets, R. V., & Handelman, J. M. (2004). Adversaries of consumption: Consumer movements, activism, and ideology. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(3), 691–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kozinets, R. V., de Valck, K., Wojnicki, A. C., & Wilner, S. J. S. (2010). Networked narratives: Understanding word-of-mouth marketing in online communities. Journal of Marketing, 74(2), 71–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, A. Y., & Bradford, T. W. (2015). The effects of self-construal fit on motivation, attitudes, and charitable giving. In S. Ng & A. Y. Lee (Eds.), Handbook of culture and consumer behavior (pp. 135–149). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, W., & Aaker, J. (2008). The happiness of giving: The time-ask effect. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(3), 543–557.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lwin, M. O., Williams, J. D., & Lan, L. L. (2002). Social marketing initiatives: National Kidney Foundation’s organ donation programs in Singapore. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 21(1), 66–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, D. M., & Schouten, J. W. (2014). Consumption-driven market emergence. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(5), 855–870.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathwick, C., Wiertz, C., & de Ruyter, K. (2008). Social capital production in a virtual P3 community. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(6), 832–849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAdam, D., & Paulsen, R. (1993). Specifying the relationship between social ties and activism. American Journal of Sociology, 99(3), 640–667.

  • McKeever, Brice (2018). The nonprofit sector in brief 2018. hhttps://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/oak-park/ct-oak-shoutout-wyatt-taira-tl-0510-story.html.

  • Mullen, Caitlin (2018), Shout out: Shannon Wyatt and Maryjo Taira, living organ donors. Chicago Tribune, May 2. https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/oak-park/ct-oak-shoutout-wyatt-taira-tl-0510-story.html.

  • Muñiz, A. M., Jr., & O’Guinn, T. C. (2001). Brand community. Journal of Consumer Research, 27(4), 412–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed, A., Aquino, K., & Levy, E. (2007). Moral identity and judgments of charitable behaviors. Journal of Marketing, 71(1), 178–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reese, Madelyn (2018). Las Vegas woman to join in Chicago gathering of organ donors. Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 18. https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/las-vegas-woman-to-join-inchicago-gathering-of-organ-donors/.

  • Scaraboto, Daiane and Eileen Fischer (2013). Frustrated Fatshionistas: An institutional theory perspective on consumer quests for greater choice in mainstream markets. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(6), 1234–1257. https://doi.org/10.1086/668298.

  • Schau, H. J., Muñiz, A. M., & Arnould, E. (2009). How Brand Community practices create value. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 30–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, L. A. (2007). Bodies, commodities, & biotechnologies: Death, mourning & scientific desire in the realm of human organ transfer. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherry, J. F., Jr. (1983). Gift giving in anthropological perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 10(2), 157–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, D. A., Burke Rochford, E., Jr., Worden, S. K., & Benford, R. D. (1986). Frame alignment processes, micromobilization, and movement participation. American Sociological Review, 51(4), 464–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strathern, M. (1997). Partners and consumers: Making relations visible. In A. D. Schrift (Ed.), The logic of the gift (pp. 292–311). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strathern, M. (2012). Gifts money cannot buy. Social Anthropology, 20(4), 397–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, C. J. (1997). Interpreting consumers: A hermeneutical framework for deriving marketing insights from the texts of Consumers’ consumption stories. Journal of Marketing Research, 34, 438–455.

    Google Scholar 

  • Titmuss, R. M. (1997). The gift relationship: From human blood to social policy. New York: The New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Touraine, A. (1977). The self-production of society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • USA, Giving (2019). Giving USA 2019: The annual report on philanthropy for the year 2018. www.givingusa.org.

  • Waldby, C., & Mitchell, R. (2006). Tissue economies: Blood, organs, and cell lines in late capitalism. Durham: Duke University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, K., Heinze, K. L., & DeSoucey, M. (2008). Forage for thought: Mobilizing codes in the movement for grass-fed meat and dairy products. Administrative Science Quarterly, 53(3), 529–567.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weijo, H. A., Martin, D. M., & Arnould, E. J. (2018). Consumer movements and collective creativity: The case of restaurant day. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(2), 251–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, K., & Peloza, J. (2009). Self-benefit versus other-benefit marketing appeals: Their effectiveness in generating charitable support. Journal of Marketing, 73(July), 109–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, Tonya P., Angela Y. Lee (2006), Benjamin my friend or my money: Wealth and subjective well-being, in Association for consumer research, Vol. 33, ed. Cornelia Pechmann, Linda Price, Duluth: Association for Consumer Research, 218–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. (2000). Volunteering. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 215–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winterich, K. P., Mittal, V., & Aquino, K. (2013). When does recognition increase charitable behavior? Toward a moral identity-based model. Journal of Marketing, 77(3), 121–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfinbarger, M. F. (1990). Motivations and symbolism in gift-giving behavior. In M. Goldberg, G. Gorn, & R. W. Pollay (Eds.), Advances in consumer research (Vol. 17, pp. 699–706). Provo: Association for Consumer Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • www.UNOS.org (2019). United network for organ sharing. www.UNOS.org.

  • Yavas, U., & Riecken, G. (1985). Can volunteers be targeted? Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 13(2), 218–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author expresses appreciation to Mary Gilly, Sharon Koppman, Gerardo Okhuysen, Maritza Salazar, John F. Sherry Jr., and Alladi Venkatesh for comments on earlier versions of this paper. In addition, the author extends gratitude to donors engaged in activism to support this incredible gift economy.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, 92697, USA

    Tonya Williams Bradford

Authors
  1. Tonya Williams Bradford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tonya Williams Bradford.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Manjit Yadav served as Area Editor for this article.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 17983 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bradford, T.W. We can fix this! Donor activism for nonprofit supply generation. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 49, 397–417 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-020-00742-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-020-00742-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation