Open AccessThe impact of face‐to‐face street fundraising on organizational reputation
Author(s) -
Waldner Carolin J.,
Willems Jurgen,
Ehmann Judith,
Gies Felix
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of nonprofit and voluntary sector marketing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.398
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1479-103X
pISSN - 1465-4520
DOI - 10.1002/nvsm.1672
Subject(s) - reputation , distrust , face (sociological concept) , perception , face to face , public relations , stakeholder , business , marketing , psychology , political science , sociology , social science , philosophy , epistemology , neuroscience , psychotherapist , law
Although many stakeholders perceive face‐to‐face street fundraising as unpleasant, nonprofit managers encourage it as a way to attract donors. To understand the long‐term effects of this fundraising method, we used a mixed‐methods experimental design to investigate how face‐to‐face street fundraising affects organizational reputation and stakeholder support intentions in comparison with letter fundraising. The findings reveal that face‐to‐face street fundraising has a significant negative influence on the stakeholders' perceptions of an organization. Further, qualitative data show that the negative perception originates primarily from perceived pressure, distrust, and obtrusion, which are triggered by face‐to‐face street fundraising. Our study thus reveals long‐term reputational consequences that nonprofit organizations should consider before deciding on fundraising methods.