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The effect of political ideology and message frame on donation intent during the COVID-19 pandemic

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  • van Esch, Patrick
  • Cui, Yuanyuan (Gina)
  • Jain, Shailendra Pratap

Abstract

We investigate COVID-19 related consumers’ donation intent predicated on their political ideology and the message frame - one emphasising the statistical number of affected victims, and the other focusing on a specifically identified victim. Across three studies, we find that the impact of the message frame depends on consumers’ political ideology. Politically conservative consumers respond to the identifiable victim (vs. statistical victims) frame more favorably while politically liberal consumers are indifferent across the two frames (Studies 1 and 2). We further find that this conditional positive effect of identifiable victim frame for conservative consumers is mediated by consumers’ state anxiety evoked by the message frame (Study 3). This paper concludes with contributions to theory, implications for practice, and directions for future inquiries.

Suggested Citation

  • van Esch, Patrick & Cui, Yuanyuan (Gina) & Jain, Shailendra Pratap, 2021. "The effect of political ideology and message frame on donation intent during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 201-213.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:125:y:2021:i:c:p:201-213
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.12.040
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    Cited by:

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    3. Park, JungKun & Hong, EunPyo & Ahn, Jiseon & Hyun, Hyowon, 2023. "Role of multidimensional customer brand engagement on customer behavior for online grocery shopping," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    4. Yuanyuan Zhou & Zhuoying Fei & Yuanqiong He & Zhilin Yang, 2022. "How Human–Chatbot Interaction Impairs Charitable Giving: The Role of Moral Judgment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 849-865, July.
    5. Eric Van Steenburg & Nwamaka A. Anaza & Ahmed Ashhar & Andres Barrios & Ashley R. Deutsch & Meryl P. Gardner & Preeti Priya & Abhijit Roy & Anu Sivaraman & Kimberly A. Taylor, 2022. "The new world of philanthropy: How changing financial behavior, public policies, and COVID‐19 affect nonprofit fundraising and marketing," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 1079-1105, September.
    6. van Esch, Patrick & Cui, Yuanyuan (Gina) & Das, Gopal & Jain, Shailendra Pratap & Wirtz, Jochen, 2022. "Tourists and AI: A political ideology perspective," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    7. Pilar Mercader-Moyano & Ana Mª Estable-Reifs & Homero Pellicer, 2021. "Toward the Renewal of the Sustainable Urban Indicators’ System after a Global Health Crisis. Practical Application in Granada, Spain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-43, September.
    8. Denni Arli & Patrick Esch & Yuanyuan Cui, 2023. "Who Cares More About the Environment, Those with an Intrinsic, an Extrinsic, a Quest, or an Atheistic Religious Orientation?: Investigating the Effect of Religious Ad Appeals on Attitudes Toward the E," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(2), pages 427-448, June.

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