IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/irpnmk/v19y2022i4d10.1007_s12208-021-00323-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Consumer altruism and risk taking: why do altruistic consumers take more risks?

Author

Listed:
  • Sudipta Mukherjee

    (Xavier University)

Abstract

This research studies an interesting and counter-intuitive relationship between consumer altruism and risk taking. While these two constructs have been studied extensively by extant research, there is scant research which has studied the relationship between them – perhaps due to the expectation that individuals who are chronically more altruistic are very different from those who are more risk taking. This research tests this expectation by formally studying the relationship between altruism and risk taking using a mixture of survey-based and experimental methodology. First four studies test the relationship between altruism and risk-taking using survey-based methodology involving some of the most prominent scales for measuring trait altruism and risk taking. The final study investigates the influence of trait altruism on situational social risk taking. Trait altruism and risk taking are found to be significantly positively correlated with each other, with the relationship being the strongest for social risk taking. Further, the relationship is not significant for ethical risk taking. Additionally, it was found that trait optimism could be the underlying cause for the relationship. Further, it was also found that trait altruism was significantly positively correlated with situational social risk taking. Contributions emerge for the literatures on consumer altruism, risk taking, and optimism by filling an important theoretical gap related to the inter-relationships between these three constructs. Additionally, this research has important implications for practice by informing nonprofit organizations about an erstwhile unknown facet of altruistic people – their tendency to take risks. This opens new avenues for nonprofit practitioners to explore when looking to expand the scope and size of their initiatives, and to innovate on their current offerings in a variety of ways. Additionally, it provides insights that can help for-profit marketers to increase participation in their activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Sudipta Mukherjee, 2022. "Consumer altruism and risk taking: why do altruistic consumers take more risks?," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 19(4), pages 781-803, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:irpnmk:v:19:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s12208-021-00323-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s12208-021-00323-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12208-021-00323-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12208-021-00323-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bruno S. Frey & Marcel Kucher, 1999. "Wars and Markets: How Bond Values Reflect World War II," CESifo Working Paper Series 221, CESifo.
    2. Stark, Oded, 1989. "Altruism and the Quality of Life," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(2), pages 86-90, May.
    3. Daniel Kahneman & Dan Lovallo, 1993. "Timid Choices and Bold Forecasts: A Cognitive Perspective on Risk Taking," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(1), pages 17-31, January.
    4. Ben-Ner, Avner & Halldorsson, Freyr, 2010. "Trusting and trustworthiness: What are they, how to measure them, and what affects them," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 64-79, February.
    5. Harbaugh, William T., 1998. "What do donations buy?: A model of philanthropy based on prestige and warm glow," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 269-284, February.
    6. Praveen K. Kopalle & Donald R. Lehmann & John U. Farley, 2010. "Consumer Expectations and Culture: The Effect of Belief in Karma in India," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 251-263, August.
    7. Kiani, Isar & Laroche, Michel & Paulin, Michèle, 2016. "Development of market Mavenism traits: Antecedents and moderating effects of culture, gender, and personal beliefs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 1120-1129.
    8. Zhiyang Liu & Zuhui Xu & Zhao Zhou & Yong Li, 2019. "Buddhist entrepreneurs and new venture performance: the mediating role of entrepreneurial risk-taking," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 713-727, March.
    9. Katina Kulow & Thomas Kramer, 2016. "In Pursuit of Good Karma: When Charitable Appeals to Do Right Go Wrong," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 43(2), pages 334-353.
    10. Christoph Engel & Lilia Zhurakhovska, 2016. "When is the risk of cooperation worth taking? The prisoner’s dilemma as a game of multiple motives," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(16), pages 1157-1161, November.
    11. Chamratrithirong, Aphichat & Miller, Brenda A. & Byrnes, Hilary F. & Rhucharoenpornpanich, Orratai & Cupp, Pamela K. & Rosati, Michael J. & Fongkaew, Warunee & Atwood, Katharine A. & Chookhare, Warune, 2010. "Spirituality within the family and the prevention of health risk behavior among adolescents in Bangkok, Thailand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(10), pages 1855-1863, November.
    12. repec:cup:judgdm:v:1:y:2006:i::p:33-47 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Paul J Zak & Angela A Stanton & Sheila Ahmadi, 2007. "Oxytocin Increases Generosity in Humans," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 2(11), pages 1-5, November.
    14. Gächter, Simon & Nosenzo, Daniele & Renner, Elke & Sefton, Martin, 2010. "Sequential vs. simultaneous contributions to public goods: Experimental evidence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(7-8), pages 515-522, August.
    15. Mandel, Naomi, 2003. "Shifting Selves and Decision Making: The Effects of Self-Construal Priming on Consumer Risk-Taking," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 30(1), pages 30-40, June.
    16. Andreoni, James, 1990. "Impure Altruism and Donations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(401), pages 464-477, June.
    17. Christie Hough & Cameron Sumlin & Kenneth Wilburn Green, 2020. "Impact of ethics, trust, and optimism on performance," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 43(9), pages 1135-1155, April.
    18. Germain Lefebvre & Maël Lebreton & Florent Meyniel & Sacha Bourgeois-Gironde & Stefano Palminteri, 2017. "Behavioural and neural characterization of optimistic reinforcement learning," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 1(4), pages 1-9, April.
    19. Ann-Renée Blais & Elke U. Weber, 2006. "A Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (DOSPERT)Scale for Adult Populations," CIRANO Working Papers 2006s-24, CIRANO.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emrah Arbak & Marie Claire Villeval, 2013. "Voluntary Leadership: Selection and Influence," Post-Print halshs-00664830, HAL.
    2. Emrah Arbak & Marie-Claire Villeval, 2013. "Voluntary leadership: motivation and influence," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 40(3), pages 635-662, March.
    3. Pilar Useche, 2016. "Who Contributes to the Provision of Public Goods at the Community Level? The Case of Potable Water in Ghana," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 34(6), pages 869-888, November.
    4. Jochimsen, Beate, 2019. "Christmas lights in Berlin: New empirical evidence for the private provision of a public good," FiFo Discussion Papers - Finanzwissenschaftliche Diskussionsbeiträge 19-04, University of Cologne, FiFo Institute for Public Economics.
    5. Keval Amin & Erica Harris, 2022. "The Effect of Investor Sentiment on Nonprofit Donations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(2), pages 427-450, January.
    6. Brunner, Eric & Sonstelie, Jon, 2003. "School finance reform and voluntary fiscal federalism," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(9-10), pages 2157-2185, September.
    7. Andreas Lange & Andrew Stocking, 2009. "Charitable Memberships, Volunteering, and Discounts: Evidence from a Large-Scale Online Field Experiment," NBER Working Papers 14941, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Penn, Jerrod & Howard, Gregory E. & Hu, Wuyang, 2023. "Model Choice, Hypothetical Bias and Risk Aversion: A Charitable Donation Application," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335998, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Stefan Mann, 2016. "Governing complementary responsibility goods through hybrid systems in a globalizing world," Journal of Socio-Economics in Agriculture (Until 2015: Yearbook of Socioeconomics in Agriculture), Swiss Society for Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, vol. 9(1), pages 14-21.
    10. Eike Emrich & Christian Pierdzioch, 2016. "Volunteering, Match Quality, and Internet Use," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 136(2), pages 199-226.
    11. J. Atsu Amegashie, 2016. "Public Goods, Signaling, and Norms of Conscientious Leadership," CESifo Working Paper Series 6247, CESifo.
    12. Friedrichsen, Jana, 2013. "Image concerns and the provision of quality," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Behavior SP II 2013-211, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    13. Jen Shang & Rachel Croson, 2009. "A Field Experiment in Charitable Contribution: The Impact of Social Information on the Voluntary Provision of Public Goods," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(540), pages 1422-1439, October.
    14. Emrah Arbak & Marie Claire Villeval, 2006. "Endogenous Leadership Selection and Influence," Post-Print halshs-00175479, HAL.
    15. Sofia Lundberg & Per-Olov Marklund & Elon Strömbäck, 2016. "Is Environmental Policy by Public Procurement Effective?," Public Finance Review, , vol. 44(4), pages 478-499, July.
    16. Stefano Barbieri & David A. Malueg, 2014. "Increasing Fundraising Success by Decreasing Donor Choice," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 16(3), pages 372-400, June.
    17. Romano, Richard & Yildirim, Huseyin, 2001. "Why charities announce donations: a positive perspective," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 423-447, September.
    18. Chang, Chia-Chi & Chen, Po-Yu, 2019. "Which maximizes donations: Charitable giving as an incentive or incentives for charitable giving?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 65-75.
    19. Thorsten Chmura & Christoph Engel & Markus Englerth, 2013. "Selfishness As a Potential Cause of Crime. A Prison Experiment," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2013_05, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    20. Shaikh, Salman Ahmed, 2015. "Using Waqf as Social Safety Net & Funding Public Infrastructure," MPRA Paper 68751, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:irpnmk:v:19:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s12208-021-00323-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.