The Psychology of Financial Giving: Values Congruence and Normative Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Alumni Monetary Donations to Higher Education
Many universities around the world depend on financial donations to maintain and enhance their operations. We propose that donating money to an organization is a specific form of organizational citizenship behavior. We theorize that perceived values congruence between alumni and their colleges/unive...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Societies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/4/118 |
| _version_ | 1797407958843260928 |
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| author | Donald G. Gardner Jon L. Pierce |
| author_facet | Donald G. Gardner Jon L. Pierce |
| author_sort | Donald G. Gardner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many universities around the world depend on financial donations to maintain and enhance their operations. We propose that donating money to an organization is a specific form of organizational citizenship behavior. We theorize that perceived values congruence between alumni and their colleges/universities and normative organizational commitment each provide motivation for people to donate money. We tested our hypotheses using alumni from a private college in the USA, measuring both the amount as well as the frequency of their donations to the college. We also measured alumni self-reports of values congruence and normative organizational commitment. We found empirical support for a positive relationship between values congruence and commitment and between commitment and financial giving. Values congruence, however, was not related to giving behavior; normative organizational commitment fully mediated the relationship between values congruence, and the alumnus’ financial giving behaviors. Higher education organizations that depend on donations from members to sustain their operations might focus advancement efforts on developing a perception of values congruence in potential donors, and/or by stimulating a sense of obligation to give back to the colleges from which they have previously derived benefits. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:50:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-40b1a5347834427d8681a6ae8e0687a1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4698 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:50:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Societies |
| spelling | doaj.art-40b1a5347834427d8681a6ae8e0687a12023-12-03T14:28:22ZengMDPI AGSocieties2075-46982022-08-0112411810.3390/soc12040118The Psychology of Financial Giving: Values Congruence and Normative Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Alumni Monetary Donations to Higher EducationDonald G. Gardner0Jon L. Pierce1College of Business, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USALabovitz School of Business, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USAMany universities around the world depend on financial donations to maintain and enhance their operations. We propose that donating money to an organization is a specific form of organizational citizenship behavior. We theorize that perceived values congruence between alumni and their colleges/universities and normative organizational commitment each provide motivation for people to donate money. We tested our hypotheses using alumni from a private college in the USA, measuring both the amount as well as the frequency of their donations to the college. We also measured alumni self-reports of values congruence and normative organizational commitment. We found empirical support for a positive relationship between values congruence and commitment and between commitment and financial giving. Values congruence, however, was not related to giving behavior; normative organizational commitment fully mediated the relationship between values congruence, and the alumnus’ financial giving behaviors. Higher education organizations that depend on donations from members to sustain their operations might focus advancement efforts on developing a perception of values congruence in potential donors, and/or by stimulating a sense of obligation to give back to the colleges from which they have previously derived benefits.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/4/118financial givingvalues congruenceorganizational commitmenthigher educationsocial exchange |
| spellingShingle | Donald G. Gardner Jon L. Pierce The Psychology of Financial Giving: Values Congruence and Normative Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Alumni Monetary Donations to Higher Education Societies financial giving values congruence organizational commitment higher education social exchange |
| title | The Psychology of Financial Giving: Values Congruence and Normative Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Alumni Monetary Donations to Higher Education |
| title_full | The Psychology of Financial Giving: Values Congruence and Normative Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Alumni Monetary Donations to Higher Education |
| title_fullStr | The Psychology of Financial Giving: Values Congruence and Normative Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Alumni Monetary Donations to Higher Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Psychology of Financial Giving: Values Congruence and Normative Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Alumni Monetary Donations to Higher Education |
| title_short | The Psychology of Financial Giving: Values Congruence and Normative Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Alumni Monetary Donations to Higher Education |
| title_sort | psychology of financial giving values congruence and normative organizational commitment as predictors of alumni monetary donations to higher education |
| topic | financial giving values congruence organizational commitment higher education social exchange |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/4/118 |
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