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Liked on Facebook, liked for real?: Nonprofits' online popularity and financial performance
Author(s) -
Lee YoungJoo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nonprofit management and leadership
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.844
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1542-7854
pISSN - 1048-6682
DOI - 10.1002/nml.21447
Subject(s) - popularity , business , positive correlation , the arts , public relations , marketing , psychology , political science , social psychology , medicine , law
Despite the increasing strategic importance of online popularity, there remain uncertainties about the direct link between nonprofits' online popularity and organizational outcomes and performance. This study examines the relationship between the number of “likes” on a nonprofit arts organization's Facebook page and its financial performance, focusing on how online popularity may reduce the information asymmetry between an organization and its stakeholders. The results show a positive correlation between the number of “likes” and nonprofits' charitable contributions and earned income while controlling for various organizational characteristics, including size. The findings also reveal that the correlation is twice as strong for earned income as for donations.