Donations to Charity as Purchase Incentives: How Well They Work May Depend on What You are Trying to Sell

13 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2010

See all articles by Michal Ann Strahilevitz

Michal Ann Strahilevitz

Saint Mary's College of California - School of Economics & Business

John Myers

University of California, Berkeley - Marketing Group

Date Written: 1998

Abstract

This article focuses on the bundling of products with promised contributions to charity. Two lab experiments and one field study are conducted that compare the effectiveness of promised donations to charity in promoting ‘‘practical necessities’’ ( e.g., a box of laundry detergent) to their effectiveness in promoting ‘‘frivolousluxuries’’ ( e.g., a hot fudge sundae) . The results suggest that charity incentivesare more effective in promoting frivolous products than in promoting practical products. This research extends prior work on the effects of bundling complementary positive outcomes into the domain of affect-based complementarity with product-charity bundles.

Keywords: product bundling, affect-based complementarity, product-charity bundles

JEL Classification: M31, M37

Suggested Citation

Strahilevitz, Michal Ann and Myers, John, Donations to Charity as Purchase Incentives: How Well They Work May Depend on What You are Trying to Sell (1998). Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 24, No. 4, p. 434, 1998, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1728172

Michal Ann Strahilevitz (Contact Author)

Saint Mary's College of California - School of Economics & Business ( email )

United States
510-594-9999 (Phone)

John Myers

University of California, Berkeley - Marketing Group ( email )

Haas School of Business
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

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