Physics

Word of mouth

Business

Sample (material)

Accountability

Value (mathematics)

Identity (music)

Internet privacy

Advertising

Machine learning

Political science

Psychology

Acoustics

Chemistry

Donation

Computer science

Chromatography

Social psychology

Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ)

Nonprofit organization (NPO) marketers are now increasingly turning online to recognize donors, with little understanding as to how online donor appreciation influences behavior. A scenario-based research design using an online survey was administered to a random sample of voluntary blood donors ( n = 356). The findings contribute to identity theory by demonstrating that online recognition (digital badge shared to Facebook) can strengthen subjective impressions of identity-related behavior above a private thank-you email alone. Furthermore, outcomes of a positive identity appraisal (accountability and emotional value) were found to differentially drive NPO-benefiting activities (positive electronic word-of-mouth and donation intentions) depending on donation experience. The results strategically inform online donor appreciation activities to improve donor retention.

An Identity-Based Model Explaining Online Donor Appreciation