Social capital as a resource for prosocial donation behavior? Quantitative evidence on the dark side of strategic networking

Theory suggests that selfless prosocial behaviors originate from motives grounded in tangible, motivational, and psychological resources, which can be activated to stimulate volunteering and charitable giving. This study investigates how individuals’ social capital may serve as such a resource; it e...

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Main Authors: Sarah Kisliuk, Kristina S. Weißmüller
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-01-01
Series:Social Sciences and Humanities Open
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259029112300178X
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author Sarah Kisliuk
Kristina S. Weißmüller
author_facet Sarah Kisliuk
Kristina S. Weißmüller
author_sort Sarah Kisliuk
collection DOAJ
description Theory suggests that selfless prosocial behaviors originate from motives grounded in tangible, motivational, and psychological resources, which can be activated to stimulate volunteering and charitable giving. This study investigates how individuals’ social capital may serve as such a resource; it explores the peculiar role of the strategic pursuit of relationships to predict individuals’ likelihood of engaging in prosocial behavior. Based on survey responses by n = 779 German citizens actively engaged in nonprofit hobbyist communities, we find that individuals with higher social capital are more likely to donate their incentive for study participation to charity. However, individuals who maintain relationships for strategic reasons are significantly less likely to donate. These results enhance our understanding of social capital as a conditional resource for prosocial behavior, highlighting practical implications for fundraising, and help practitioners better understand donor motivation and the relevance of networks and social capital for charity.
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spelling doaj.art-6f54ade1c66c45ef9ce0f1467ac938a82023-12-28T05:18:59ZengElsevierSocial Sciences and Humanities Open2590-29112023-01-0181100573Social capital as a resource for prosocial donation behavior? Quantitative evidence on the dark side of strategic networkingSarah Kisliuk0Kristina S. Weißmüller1Independent Researcher, Osnabrück, GermanyDepartment of Political Science & Public Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Corresponding author. VU Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.Theory suggests that selfless prosocial behaviors originate from motives grounded in tangible, motivational, and psychological resources, which can be activated to stimulate volunteering and charitable giving. This study investigates how individuals’ social capital may serve as such a resource; it explores the peculiar role of the strategic pursuit of relationships to predict individuals’ likelihood of engaging in prosocial behavior. Based on survey responses by n = 779 German citizens actively engaged in nonprofit hobbyist communities, we find that individuals with higher social capital are more likely to donate their incentive for study participation to charity. However, individuals who maintain relationships for strategic reasons are significantly less likely to donate. These results enhance our understanding of social capital as a conditional resource for prosocial behavior, highlighting practical implications for fundraising, and help practitioners better understand donor motivation and the relevance of networks and social capital for charity.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259029112300178XSocial capitalProsocial behaviorCharitable donationAltruismStrategic networkingVolunteering
spellingShingle Sarah Kisliuk
Kristina S. Weißmüller
Social capital as a resource for prosocial donation behavior? Quantitative evidence on the dark side of strategic networking
Social Sciences and Humanities Open
Social capital
Prosocial behavior
Charitable donation
Altruism
Strategic networking
Volunteering
title Social capital as a resource for prosocial donation behavior? Quantitative evidence on the dark side of strategic networking
title_full Social capital as a resource for prosocial donation behavior? Quantitative evidence on the dark side of strategic networking
title_fullStr Social capital as a resource for prosocial donation behavior? Quantitative evidence on the dark side of strategic networking
title_full_unstemmed Social capital as a resource for prosocial donation behavior? Quantitative evidence on the dark side of strategic networking
title_short Social capital as a resource for prosocial donation behavior? Quantitative evidence on the dark side of strategic networking
title_sort social capital as a resource for prosocial donation behavior quantitative evidence on the dark side of strategic networking
topic Social capital
Prosocial behavior
Charitable donation
Altruism
Strategic networking
Volunteering
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259029112300178X
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