When and why the pursuit of meaning increases charitable giving: the role of social connectivity

Purpose Nonprofit organizations rely greatly on the contributions of individual consumers, making understanding the ways in which consumers can be drawn to donate more an important area of marketing. This paper aims to test a simple yet novel way in which consumers may be encouraged to give more: by having them focus on the pursuit of meaning when donating. Design/methodology/approach Four experimental studies test the hypotheses. In these studies, participants either focus on the pursuit of living a meaningful life, the pursuit of living a pleasurable life or nothing (i.e. a control condition). They then indicate how much they would donate to a charitable organization. Some studies include a mediator measure or a manipulation to test authors’ proposed psychological process. Findings When consumers focus on the pursuit of meaning while making donations, they give more. Specifically, consumers focused on the pursuit of living a meaningful life (vs the pursuit of pleasure or control) make larger donations. This occurs because consumers have a higher desire to feel connected to others when pursuing meaning in life, leading them to give more. Research limitations/implications This research used online samples from Western cultures, relatively small donation amounts and manipulations that may not be easily implemented by marketers. Future research could address these limitations. Practical implications Nonprofits depend heavily on the charitable contributions of consumers. Thus, identifying a simple way in which consumers can be encouraged to donate more – as the authors do – has great value for charitable organizations. Originality/value While much prior work has explored the ways in which consumers can be drawn to contribute more to charitable causes, the authors’ research documents a straightforward and novel way this can be accomplished – by focusing consumers on the pursuit of meaning. Moreover, the authors add to the meaning pursuit and charitable giving literatures by showing how these two constructs are linked by an enhanced desire to feel connected with others.