The Role of Variety and Resource Availability on Donation Behaviour

Abstract

Charities provide information that gives donors an indication of the variety of projects and their resource availability. Limited research has been done to understand if project variety will influence donors depending on the resources available. This thesis is investigating the moderating role of resource availability on the relationship between variety and donation intention as well as the mediating role of perceived donation impact on this moderation. A between-subjects study with two variety conditions was conducted. Results show a significant moderation such that, when the charity’s resources are scarce, a high variety (vs low) of projects decreases donation intentions, and when the resources are abundant, a high variety (vs low) increases donation intention. Impact of the donation fully mediates this relationship when resources are scarce but not when resources are abundant. This study has implication on the variety and resource scarcity literature in the donation context.