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.     

Choices and constraints: individual perceptions of the voluntary redundancy experience

This article considers how voluntary redundancy influences individual perceptions of retrenchment. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with people who had taken voluntary redundancy from a range of Australian public and private sector organisations. The article argues that, although some employees may feel pressured into accepting voluntary redundancy, for most people it provides a better alternative to involuntary retrenchment, enabling them to maintain self‐esteem and reducing the negative psychological, physical and financial impacts normally associated with retrenchment. However, it also suggests that redundancy programmes need to be managed strategically to avoid creating a ‘package culture’ mentality in which turnover becomes contingent on receiving a redundancy package.     

Fitting the mould: the role of employer perceptions in immigrant recruitment decision-making

Human capital theory presumes that skill-accredited immigrant professionals can access positions in the labour market to match their skills and qualifications. It implies that employers have little power to influence the labour market outcomes of immigrant professionals. Using social identity theory, we examine the influence of similarity effect in recruitment decision-making involving immigrant information technology (IT) professionals in New South Wales, Australia. We assess how decision makers (N = 331) hiring IT professionals need to associate and identify with people that resemble themselves in some way more than those that do not, can influence their perception of the immigrant candidate's fit into their organisation. Particularly, we examine how the level of exposure to diversity, the decision maker's origin and the diversity of clientele can moderate the assessment of the candidate's fit to the organisation. We also assess how attire, name, accent and any overtly expressed religious affiliations influence employer perceptions. The findings indicate decision makers with lower levels of exposure to diversity or working in organisations with mostly Anglo clients tend to be more concerned of the fit regarding the Indians, South-east Asians and the Chinese. They were also more likely to be negatively influenced by the non-Anglo personal attributes.     

Exploring social media usage in the public sector: Public employees' perceptions of ICT's usefulness in delivering value added

The present paper explores the effectiveness of the implementation and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the public sector, with a specific focus on the role of social media in improving both public decision-making processes and the quality of public services. We sought to deepen knowledge on this issue by disseminating structured questionnaires to Italian public servants, questioning them about the potentialities and criticalities of social media use in the public sector. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the data.The paper has two main goals. First, we aim to explore public servants' evaluation of social media's impact on public decision-making processes. Second, we are interested in understanding the main socio-demographic variables affecting public servants' perceptions about the importance of social media in these processes. This paper enriches the literature on public sector use of ICT and advances topical discussion on organizational change and decision-making processes in public administrations. In so doing, the paper reveals interesting practical and policy implications by highlighting the key aspects affecting social media's effectiveness and usefulness in the decision-making process and its impact on the public services delivered to the citizenry.     

Fundraising in the usa and the united kingdom: Comparing today with directions for tomorrow

In 1995, residents of the United Kingdom — a population of 58 million — contributed £9.1bn ($14.56bn) to charities. During the same time period, $143.85bn was donated by the 265 million inhabitants in the United States. Going just by the numbers, the not-for-profit world often assumes Americans are the most philanthropic people on earth. But, a careful look at some actual indicators of charitability suggest this belief may, in fact, be more wishful thinking than reality. Here are the facts.     

Fundraising efficiency in Buddhist temples in Thailand: An application of the stochastic frontier analysis model

Nonprofit religious organizations play an important role in enhancing social welfare in Buddhist countries. In Thailand, people are typically involved in Buddhist temples at many levels ranging from personal to communal to social. As a result, Buddhist temples in Thailand can conduct fund‐raising activities from donations or merit‐making activities from Thai Buddhists. This study examines the fundraising efficiency of Buddhist temples in Thailand by applying the stochastic frontier analysis model. Our results show that fundraising efficiency of Buddhist temples in Thailand is relatively low. In addition, the results show that government grants have a negative impact (the so‐called the crowding‐out effect) on fundraising efficiency. On the other hand, the use of information and communication technology improves fundraising efficiency of Buddhist temples in Thailand.     

Improving media campaigns promoting physical activity: the underutilized role of gender

• As the obesity epidemic worsens in the United States and globally, resources are increasingly being allocated to address this public health threat.
• Media campaigns promoting physical activity are receiving funding from government and private sources, and some of these campaigns have achieved modest success. Still, more can be done to increase the effectiveness of these campaigns.
• Drawing on facets of consumer behavior, psychology, and public policy, this work represents a cross‐disciplinary theoretical analysis suggesting that the effectiveness of media‐based campaigns promoting physical activity could be enhanced by making use of gender‐specific advertising.
• Research is reviewed suggesting that gender differences in information processing styles and values lead to gender‐specific responses to media campaigns.
• Recommendations are made to help practitioners improve physical activity campaigns by crafting advertisements that specifically appeal to the unique preferences of each gender.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fundraising through the F2F: When the smile implies a rejection of the interaction

The objective of this study is to explore the effect of the intentional smile on social rejection in the F2F communication strategy of NGOs. Two studies analyze the effect of smiling on passerby conduct, as well as related influence mechanisms. First, 1,298 passersby were approached by two fundraisers, one male and one female; in half of their attempts to engage the passersby, the fundraisers approached with a friendly smile, whereas in the other half, they did not smile. Data were collected on the frequency of rejections and acceptances of contact with the fundraiser. Second, 1,157 approaches were made to analyze the effect of smiling on types of rejection. Results suggest that the likelihood of the interaction being accepted is greater with a smiling than a non‐smiling approach. Hostile rejections appear to be an effect of the positive impression smiling gives in a self‐interested setting. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Buyer perceptions of supply disruption risk: A behavioral view and empirical assessment

As supply chains become more complex, firms face increasing risks of supply disruptions. The process through which buyers make decisions in the face of these risks, however, has not been explored. Despite research highlighting the importance of behavioral approaches to risk, there is limited research that applies these views of risk in the supply chain literature. This paper addresses this gap by drawing on behavioral risk theory to investigate the causal relationships amongst situation, representations of risk, and decision-making within the purchasing domain. We operationalize and explore the relationship between three representations of supply disruption risk: magnitude of supply disruption, probability of supply disruption, and overall supply disruption risk. Additionally, we draw on exchange theories to identify product and market factors that impact buyers’ perceptions of the probability and magnitude of supply disruption. Finally, we look at how representations of risk affect the decision to seek alternative sources of supply. We test our model using data collected from 223 purchasing managers and buyers of direct materials. Our results show that both the probability and the magnitude of supply disruption are important to buyers’ overall perceptions of supply disruption risk. We also find that product and market situational factors impact perceptions of risk, but they are best understood through their impact on perceptions of probability and magnitude. Finally, we find that decisions are based on assessments of overall risk. These findings provide insight into the decision-making process and show that all three representations of risk are necessary for fully understanding risky decision-making with respect to supply disruptions.     

The impact of stakeholder heterogeneity on risk perceptions in technological innovation

Managing risk has been widely acknowledged as a crucial managerial task in the development of new technology. More recently, the acceptance of new technologies has increasingly been influenced by secondary stakeholders, some of which are difficult to identify, or whose concerns are not easily reconciled. This paper develops a conceptual framework based on the management of technology and research & development literature, stakeholder theory, risk and social judgment to describe how traditional approaches based on reducing uncertainties through estimating probabilities may not work for social uncertainties; different heuristics are needed to understand and resolve such heterogeneous stakeholder perspectives. We contribute to the discourse by describing how risk perceptions among stakeholders vary, and how this may change over time. The framework suggests that the perception of primary stakeholder towards a specific innovation is ‘Standard’ when information is well known, but becomes riskier when information is unclear. For secondary stakeholders, when there is a low degree of imperfect information, the stakeholder relationship is an ‘Irritant’ but becomes increasingly ‘Dangerous’ when information becomes ambiguous. We conclude with implications for management and future research.     

Relationship between perceptions of corporate social responsibility and organizational cynicism: the role of employee volunteering

This study explores the role of positive corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions of employees in reducing cynicism toward the organization. As employee involvement in CSR activities through volunteering could influence the perceptions of CSR among employees, the moderating impact of employee volunteering on the relationship between CSR perceptions and cynicism is also tested. Considering that managers and non-managers can have different perceptions of CSR and organizational realities, the relationship between CSR and organizational cynicism is compared among managerial and non-managerial staff working in large organizations. The analysis of 348 questionnaires collected from 191 managers and 157 non-managers showed that positive perceptions of CSR were negatively correlated with organizational cynicism for both managers and non-managers, with significantly stronger negative correlations among managers. Employee volunteering did not significantly moderate the relationship between CSR and organizational cynicism in both groups. The implications of these results on human resource management theory and practice are discussed.     

Fundraising as organisational knowing in practice: Evidence from the arts and higher education in the UK

This paper argues for the centrality of organisational practices in occupational learning with a case study of fundraising in the non-profit UK's arts and higher education sectors. Despite the need to increase charitable giving to non-profit organisations, little is known about the work, fundraisers must do in order to carry out their jobs. We argue that fundraisers develop strategic understandings and competences within organisational environments, which they put into practice in their relationships with stakeholders within and outside the organisations where they work. Our findings suggest that one of the main ways in which fundraisers learn is by negotiating and surmounting obstacles both internally, within their organisational environments and externally, around the perception of fundraising as a profession. We thus argue for the importance of establishing a “fundraising culture” within organisational environments; a shared organisational competence where fundraising is practiced as a legitimate and strategic type of practice.     

The role of the museum shop in extending the visitor experience

• The aim of the research is to assess the role of the museum shop in extending the learning experience in the museum. The research is situated in the theoretical framework of museum experiences and learning. It acknowledges environmental influences on learning, and of consumption sites that synthesise leisure and consumption and create memorable sensory experiences that engage customers.
• The exploratory approach uses mixed methods to examine visitors' knowledge and experience of museums and their shops. The first phase of the research was undertaken with in-depth interviews to scope the experience of museum shops and their contribution to learning. The second phase was undertaken with visitors to the Imperial War Museum (IMW) in London through a convenience sample which elicited 150 responses to a semi-structured questionnaire. The research demonstrates the significance of the museum shop as a destination for museum visitors, and its role in creating experiences that can supplement the museum's educational priorities and a return to the everyday world of familiar objects.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cross-sectional earnings risk and occupational sorting: The role of risk attitudes

This paper investigates to what extent individuals' risk preferences are correlated with the cross-sectional earnings risk of their occupation. We exploit data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, which contains a direct survey question about willingness to take risks that has been shown to be a behaviorally valid measure of risk aversion. As a measure of earnings risk, we use the cross-sectional variation in earnings that is left unexplained by human capital variables in Mincerian wage regressions. Our evidence shows that individuals with low willingness to take risks are more likely to work in occupations with low earnings risk. This pattern is found regardless of the level of occupation categories, region, gender and labor market experience.     

Rethinking the role of private capital in infrastructure PPPs: the experience of Ontario,Canada

Private capital has become a significant feature of infrastructure public–private partnerships (PPPs) on the premise that it incentivizes diligent risk management among private partners. This paper evaluates this claim by examining the PPP programme in Ontario, Canada, where the amount of long-term private capital in PPPs has been reduced. The paper shows that decreasing the amount of private capital after construction does not undermine performance, while producing cost savings for governments. This was achieved by deploying sophisticated procurement and monitoring strategies. These findings suggest that private capital is one of several tools available to achieve positive value for money in PPPs.     

The relationship between gender,personal experience,and perceptions of sexual harassment in the workplace

In this study 352 working men and women responded to a questionnaire about their perceptions of what constituted sexual harassment. It was hypothesized that females, compared to males, would view ambiguous sexually oriented work behavior as more harassing. It was also hypothesized that those who had been a target of sexual harassment, compared to those who had not been a target, would view ambiguous sexually oriented work behavior as more harassing. Both hypotheses were supported. Additionally, after taking into account the effect of having been a target of sexual harassment, the effect of gender on perceptions of sexual harassment was found to be spurious. Implications for management and future research are discussed. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1993 Southern Management Association meeting in New Orleans.     

Fundraising and public relations: a comparison of programme concepts and characteristics

This study compares characteristics of successful academic unit fundraising programmes and successful public relations programmes. Using interviews and surveys it explores whether academic unit fundraisers value the roles and responsibilities that align with identified strategic‐managerial and historical‐technical characteristics in public relations, whether demographic differences affect the role perception of the fundraisers, and whether the universities provide support for programme excellence. The results indicate that the fundraising programmes exhibit most of the characteristics of successful public relations programmes and that the academic units in which these fundraisers work provide support for them to do excellent fundraising. Demographics do not affect the results significantly. The data lead to questions for further study, including: How should fundraisers balance the benefit of having donors involved in programmes they support, with the university's need to retain autonomy and set its own priorities? Do excellent fundraising programmes strengthen relationships between alumni and universities? Do alumni with stronger relationships with the university contribute more, or more often, than those with less strong relationships? Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Herding behavior in the cryptocurrency market during COVID-19 pandemic: The role of media coverage

This paper examines herding behavior in the cryptocurrency market during the COVID-19 pandemic using daily data and based on static and regime-switching models. Furthermore, we investigate whether herding behavior is affected by the coronavirus media coverage. Based on a sample of the top-43 cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization between 2013 and 2020, we find significant evidence of herding for the entire sample period only during high volatility state. Moreover, during the COVID-19 crisis, results suggest that investors in the cryptocurrency market follow the consensus. Finally, the impact of coronavirus media coverage is significant on herding among investors, explaining such behavior in the cryptocurrency market during the COVID-19 crisis. Our findings explain herding determinants that may help investors avoid such comportment, mainly during the crisis.