I give at the office: A review of workplace giving research,theory, and practice

Workplace giving is a widely used philanthropic tool. Although it may have great unmet potential, it is also facing a number of challenges, including competition from informal crowdfunding campaigns. In the face of such challenges, we take stock of the extant research to better understand the value and future of workplace giving, emphasizing employee actions and preferences in our review. Workplace giving studies can also augment knowledge about contextual giving or bounded settings for exploring basic philanthropic questions (e.g., donor control or gift elasticity). We use a three‐part conceptual framework to synthesize and discuss research on individual workplace giving in the context of broader giving behaviors. We address what researchers know, do not know, and need to know on the topic of workplace giving.     

Philanthropy and social capital in Mexico

• The aim of this paper is to examine the factors underlying philanthropic behavior in Mexico. In particular, we analyze the influence of social capital on two types of behavior: giving and volunteering. This research is based upon groundbreaking national public opinion surveys conducted in 2005 and 2008, the first of their kind in Mexico to focus on donations and volunteerism. We find that membership in associations (an important component of social capital) is strongly and positively associated with secular giving and volunteering. We also tested the role of three other aspects of social capital: participation in informal personal networks, a belief in the norm of reciprocity, and interpersonal trust, and our findings show that the former two have a consistently significant effect on our dependent variables but interpersonal trust does not. We discuss the implications of this for a society where trust in others is comparatively low. Differences between Mexico and the USA, for example, highlight the importance of context in philanthropic behavior. Mexicans' religiosity also stands out as an important variable, particularly when it comes to understanding religious forms of giving and volunteering in the country. The practical significance of our findings for the promotion of philanthropy is that Mexican nonprofits must compensate for being in a low‐trust culture by encouraging membership and a sense of group belonging.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The ecology of internal workplace giving at Indiana University: a case study of faculty and staff campus campaign communications and fundraising

• This collective case study examines university-specific philanthropic cultures, campus fundraising campaigns, and their impact on faculty and staff giving to the university. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data, the study documents fundraising strategies through interviews and materials analysis and assesses their results through quantitative data on characteristics of donors and their philanthropic gifts. Examination of fundraising methods reveals differences between demand and supply-side communication strategies with faculty and staff members as internal stakeholders and donors. Concentrating on the campuses of Indiana University, a large, highly diverse public institution in the American Midwest, this study includes analysis of the outcomes of the fundraising process across institutions of different sizes, demographics, and philanthropic cultures. The findings underscore the importance of exploring the characteristics that influence employee donation behaviors as context for the creation and enactment of fundraising campaigns and highlight the need for future research in the area of workplace giving.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Music to our ears”: understanding why Canadians donate to arts and cultural organizations

The contribution of donations and volunteer time to North American arts and cultural organizations is impressive. Growing economic uncertainty coupled with the increasingly competitive nature of philanthropic work and fluctuating volunteerism rates describe some of the challenges facing nonprofit managers in the arts and cultural field today. The intent of this study was to explain charitable giving to an arts and cultural organization in a Canadian context using variables supported in the literature related to philanthropic behavior. The variables included the norm of social responsibility, donor benefits, philanthropic behavior, and household income. Data (233 questionnaires) were collected at a renowned community symphony with revenue from various sources including over $1 million annually in private support. Multiple regression analysis determined two of the four hypotheses were supported and two were partially confirmed. While the norm of social responsibility and household income did confirm existing literature, philanthropic behavior seemed only defined by length of time as donor rather than by volunteering for arts and cultural organizations and donor benefits included tax incentives but not receiving a “gift” in exchange for a support. Research such as this, which contributes to our understanding of arts and cultural donors and the benefits they seek, continues to be important with the potential to inform nonprofit managers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two views on philanthropy: what does the future hold

What is the philanthropic outlook for the 1980's? Will giving be consistent with the decline of the dollar? How can non-profits deal with the skyrocketing costs of management and fund raising? These issues are surveyed in separate points of view from two leading philanthropic experts, drawn from their years of experience in the non-profit sector.     

Developing a children's rights approach to fundraising with children in primary schools and the ethics of cultivating philanthropic citizenship

Fundraising literature predominantly focuses on adult donors, with limited literature addressing younger donors, particularly children, and virtually no discussion on the normative ethics which inform fundraising with children. Addressing this gap, this article examines the ethical dilemmas posed by the mainstreaming of charity fundraising in primary schools. Regardless of high levels of participation, research with primary school pupils shows that children's engagement in fundraising activities is often passive, with little decision making afforded to children. First, we question the ethics of passively engaging children in the fundraising relationship. Second, we question the role of fundraising more broadly in helping to cultivate children's philanthropic citizenship, suggesting that current fundraising mechanisms in schools are counter-intuitive to fostering long-term philanthropic engagement. We argue that by critically engaging children in the process of giving, children develop a deeper understanding of the cause areas that matter to them, which cultivates a longer-term commitment to philanthropy. This is potentially a different goal than that of many organisations involving schools in fundraising, where the focus is on incentivising transactional fundraising efforts aiming to raise as much money as possible and thus raises particular ethical challenges which must be considered. In this paper we draw on previous research and established frameworks for understanding philanthropic behaviour to explore the ethical challenges of fundraising with children in schools and present a pathway towards a more child-led, children's rights approach to fundraising in primary schools.     

Transformational leadership behaviors,the empowering process,and organizational commitment: investigating the moderating role of organizational structure in Korea

Transformational leadership has received growing attention in leadership studies. However, open questions remain concerning its operationalization and its universal effectiveness. Drawing on transformational leadership theory and leadership contingency theory, this study explores these issues in an Asian context. Survey responses from 491 employees working for foreign subsidiaries in Korea were analyzed. Given their multi-dimensionality, transformational leadership behaviors were framed as a two-dimensional structure: organization-related behaviors (OBs) and person-related behaviors (PBs). Findings showed that both OBs and PBs were mediated by psychological empowerment to determine organizational commitment. More importantly, the findings indicated that the empowering process driven by both leadership behaviors is contingent on organizational structure. Specifically, centralization negatively moderated the empowering process of PBs. Formalization positively moderated the empowering process of OBs and negatively moderated that of PBs. These findings have noteworthy value by virtue of quantitatively revealing the organizational structure wherein the empowering process of transformational leadership behaviors is effectively induced in South Korea. Based on the results, significant theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Inclusion and education in European countries: methodological considerations

In this paper, the author intends to explain the comparative challenges of a research project and the methodological grounding and justification of the research conclusions. The research project regarded an assignment of the European Commission to assess inclusion measures in primary and secondary education in 10 European countries, i.e. France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK (Contract 2007-2094/001 TRA-TRSPO). National as well as comparative reports were submitted to the Commission in August 2009 and accepted for further publication in October 2009. The present paper will concentrate on the methodological issues and considerations. It will demonstrate that the conclusions were grounded and justified from a methodological perspective, applying an appropriate mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, notwithstanding serious limitations and restrictions.     

Fundraising for regional environmental issues: Public perceptions of who is financially responsible for the local environment

Environmental nonprofit organizations attract less than 5 % of total philanthropic giving. Given the seriousness of the environmental challenges facing the globe, it is imperative to identify barriers to and best practices in soliciting environmental giving. Past studies have identified the difficulty in soliciting funding for macro-level environmental concerns or for concerns considered to be public goods; however, little research has been conducted about giving to regional environmental concerns. Our research questions were as follows: (a) from what type of sources do residents believe environmental protection for regional environmental concerns should be funded?; (b) how willing are residents to contribute financially to regional environmental concerns?; and (c) to what extent do residents trust nonprofit organizations to address regional environmental concerns? We surveyed Florida residents (n = 548) about the conservation of the Ocklawaha River and the breaching of the Rodman Reservoir, an area with pressing environmental concerns and heavily frequented for economic and recreational use. Findings suggest that (a) participants believe government agencies, not nonprofits, should fund restoration projects, (b) participants trust nonprofits more than government to accomplish restoration goals, and (c) participants are more interested in contributing via taxes than via donations. Considerations for fundraising are discussed.     

What are the predictors of nonprofit association members' supportive behaviors?

This study investigates the factors of members' supportive behavioral intentions to donate and recommend membership to others in the context of engineering professional membership associations. Using data collected from 3,464 members across three engineering professional membership associations, this study found that age, past donation experience, personal and professional benefits, gender, income, and longevity in the field were significant factors to determine giving intention, while personal benefits, professional benefits, past behaviors (donation and volunteering), and longevity in the field were predictors of membership recommendation intentions of engineering professionals.     

Print media portrayals of giving: exploring national ‘cultures of philanthropy’

In their 2010 study drawing on 500 empirical philanthropy studies, Bekkers and Wiepking identified eight consistently significant giving mechanisms. The pilot study reported here extends what is known about one mechanism, values, as a giving driver, in particular considering how national cultural values apply to giving. Personal values are not formed in a vacuum. They are influenced by the wider culture and society: thus values have a socio-cultural dimension. Accordingly, this pilot research draws on media theory and cultural studies work on national ethos to explore how these national cultural values interact with giving. A directed qualitative content analysis has been undertaken to compare US and Australian print media coverage about philanthropy. The two nations share an Anglo–Saxon orientation but differ significantly in national character and philanthropic activity. This study posits that a nation's media coverage about giving will reflect its national cultural ethos. This coverage can also shape personal values, thus implications exist for theory about the antecedents of personal giving values. Wider national values may drive or stifle giving, so this wider view of values as a driver has implications also for philanthropy promotion and fundraising. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MNE regional head offices and their affiliates: talent management practices and challenges in the Asia Pacific

The paper explores the processes and challenges involved in multinational enterprise (MNE) establishing and operating regional headquaters (RHQs) as bridges between the parent HQ and their subsidiaries within a region. The role of regional structures has been neglected in research on international management, and, until recently, especially in research on HRM and talent management (TM). We know little about how MNEs develop, introduce and adapt TM (global TM (GTM) in this context) to accommodate local/country/regional contexts and challenges. The paper addresses these lacunae by reviewing the literature on GTM, MNE regional structures and GTM in the Asia Pacific region, and by presenting our findings from a study of the recent establishment by a multinational vehicle manufacturer of a regional headquarters in the Asia Pacific region. Four main challenges were identified: setting up the regional headquarters, legitimacy and contribution issues relating to the role of the RHQ, specific regional TM matters and centralisation versus decentralisation within the region.     

Corporate giving: Targeting the likely donor

Recent years have seen a major change in corporate attitudes to giving. There are many accounts in the literature of a move away from a purely philanthropic motive for charity support, to an opportunity-based paradigm where companies seek some tangible benefits in exchange for their donations. This paper reports the findings of a detailed survey of corporate givers undertaken in the county of Devon. The aim of the research was to determine the primary motivations for giving among the business community and the criteria most commonly used to select charities for support. The results clearly indicate that the primary motivation for giving remains a purely philanthropic one. The majority of businesses presently do not look for any gain to accrue from their charitable support and therefore do not monitor the success of their relationships with the charity sector.     

Institutional environment for entrepreneurship in rapidly emerging major economies: the case of Brazil,China, India,and Korea

The country institutional profile (CIP) construct has become the most widely used conceptualization of institutional environment for entrepreneurship. This construct is frequently employed to study institutional forces influencing entrepreneurial activity at the national level. However, relatively little is known about the cross-national equivalence of the construct. Moreover, the institutional environment for entrepreneurship in emerging economies remains largely under-explored. To address these issues, in the current study, we used the most frequently utilized CIP scale to collect data from 809 young adults in four rapidly emerging countries: Brazil, China, India, and South Korea. We examined the invariance of the CIP construct and unraveled differences in perceived institutional profiles among these rapidly emerging economies. Results support the CIP construct as largely invariant in the four REME countries and revealed important differences in specific aspects of institutional environments in these countries. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

The political dimension of intercultural research - the Australian experience

Australia's linguistic, ethnic and racial diversity presents many interesting and important methodological challenges to social science research. A much neglected or even officially unacknowledged dimension of intercultural research endeavours are the political and ideological power structures which not only focus and direct research projects, but also influence, if not determine, methodological approaches. This paper examines some aspects of the various power relations and power structures that have, and continue to have, a significant impact on methodological issues and hence on the validity and reliability of research findings. Since much of the debate about immigration (past, present and future) about settlement practices, service and welfare provisions etc. in Australia centers and relies on cross-cultural studies, methodological issues, and the enhancement of a projects validity and reliability should be of paramount importance. Available evidence suggests that this is not necessarily or always the case.     

Developing a scale to measure liabilities and assets of newness after start-up

New ventures can simultaneously face survival challenges and benefit from distinct advantages based on their newness. Despite the importance of these issues, extant entrepreneurship studies, with limited exception, have often employed only rudimentary measures (e.g., venture age) to investigate important issues related to organizational newness. Accordingly, we develop and refine a scale to measure critical dimensions of newness that stakeholders perceive after NV start-up. We first discuss the theoretical background and previous research related to various newness dimensions. We then introduce a new construct, organizational energy, that heretofore has received scant attention in NV research. Next, we present results from an inductive study conducted to generate various dimensions of newness as well as two empirical investigations that further refine these dimensions into a reliable scale for measuring different newness dimensions. We conclude by discussing our empirical findings, the study’s limitations, and potential future research directions.     

The paradox of growth and giving: Critical case sampling to illuminate the catalytic potential of an underresearched phenomenon

The paradox of growth and giving is that, for a philanthropic gift to be of maximum use, both the donor and the nonprofit client must grow. The client's growth is frequently measured through program outcomes. The donor's growth is rarely addressed, but it can be measured by the cognitive complexity with which the donor approaches the problem. This qualitative study used constructive developmental theory and critical case sampling to identify and describe the three possible patterns in cognitive complexity: meaning making more complex in work than in philanthropy, equal in both domains, or more complex in philanthropy than in work. For each participant, we identified a developmental growth edge that, if pursued, would improve their philanthropic impact. Findings suggest that donors' cognitive complexity structures how they approach philanthropy and can be variable (context dependent). Participants were not aware of the extent to which philanthropy could also be a growth opportunity for themselves. This lack of awareness impedes their own growth potential and, thus, the potential of their philanthropic gifts. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for philanthropy.     

Indirect Reciprocity and Corporate Philanthropic Giving: How Visiting Officials Influence Investment in Privately Owned Chinese Firms

This study examines how privately owned firms that are listed on Chinese stock exchanges and often surrounded by Buddhist or Taoist temples use money to bind themselves to officials who can mitigate their underinvestment problems. Philanthropic giving is a traditional way of achieving this task. Based on social‐exchange theory, we consider the potential for indirect reciprocity, in which visiting officials do favours for local businesses that do favours for other social actors. We analyse whether China’s Buddhist and Taoist cultures influence how philanthropic giving induces visiting officials to do favors. We also examine temple locations and the behaviours of privately owned firms listed on Chinese stock exchanges from 2001 to 2012 in an empirical study that provides strong support for our arguments. Results show that philanthropic giving initiates and amplifies indirect reciprocity between visiting officials and local businesses, thereby increasing corporate investment. The magnitudes of these effects depend on the magnitude of religious norms. Our study thus illuminates the influence of visiting officials on corporate investment.     

Critical challenges of inventory management in service parts supply: A Delphi study

The primary purpose of the study is to determine the critical challenges facing service parts managers and to help bridge the gap between research and practice. In order to accomplish this, a series of semi-structured interviews with 18 senior service parts managers from a variety of industries frequently dealing with service parts inventory issues was used as the basis of input for a web-based Delphi study. The results of the study include 18 commonly identified potential service parts inventory issues and ten key challenges for the service parts supply industry. The identified challenges should serve as a guide for both researchers seeking to contribute to the service parts body of knowledge and practitioners who are regularly faced with service parts inventory issues.     

The Methodological and Ethical Issues of Conducting Management Research in the Voluntary Sector

This article discusses the methodological and ethical issues involved in conducting research in the voluntary sector. By outlining a proposed research strategy the authors highlight the challenges and issues that voluntary sector researchers face. The article concludes that the nature of the voluntary sector and the unique characteristics of voluntary organizations not only impact on the development of voluntary sector management theory but also on the research design, ethics and practices adopted for empirical studies into voluntary organizations.