Does giving make us prosperous?

Nonprofit economists have always assumed that income is a precursor to giving. In contrast, many philosophical and religious teachings have asserted that it is giving that leads to prosperity. This article seeks to test the non-economic hypothesis, using data from the 2000 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey. It identifies strong evidence that money giving does, in fact, influence income. This is consistent with extant psychology research which clearly shows that volunteering leads to positive mental and physical health outcomes. The implication of these findings for researchers and managers is that the value of charity is not limited to those who receive the services that giving makes possible. On the contrary, charity unleashes substantial benefits to the givers themselves.     

Online travel information value and its influence on the continuance usage intention of social media

This study tests an empirical model formulated by extending the Triandis model to examine the structural relationships among online travel information value (OTIV), near- and long-term consequences, affect, social factors, facilitating conditions, affective community commitment (ACC), current usage, and continuance usage intention (CUI) among travel-related social media users in Korea. Data were collected through an online survey using the national panel system. A total of 403 respondents were selected based on whether they had traveled at least once within the last 12 months and used at least one social media daily. Eight hypothesized relationships out of eleven were supported. Specifically, as an antecedent of the Triandis model, OTIV had a strong effect on near- and long-term consequences and affect. In addition, the effect of ACC on CUI was stronger than that for current usage. We presented theoretical and practical implications and proposed avenues for future research.