Theoretical foundations for exploring charity marketing

Abstract

The chapter introduces the topic of charity marketing from an academic perspective -and leads onto the following chapter which presents the practitioner perspective. It starts by discussing what makes the sector distinct, why it justifies a different theoretical lens. It then identifies and describes three of the main underpinning theoretical constructs: social exchange theory, market orientation and symbolic consumption. The chapter concludes with a new framework for considering how different stakeholder groups engage with charities.

Avengers assemble: Avenger philanthropy as the new gift opportunity for nonprofit organizations

“…However, a secondary effect arises from the collective MITCHELL | 2099response to the public sharing by the protagonist of their personal values. This in turn strengthens the self and social identity of the protagonist(Mitchell & Clark, 2019;Mitchell, 2021), through a perception of social proof. DH5: Collective support for the gift increases the emotional and cognitive benefits received by the protagonist (donor) in terms of self and social identity.…”

“…Social sharing in our digital world is an important way the protagonist signals their values and beliefs. It allows others who identify with those values to form a collective response(Nardini et al, 2021). It also provides an outlet for the moral outrage and frustration of others, enabling them regulate their emotions through this collective action(Berger, 2014).…”

Reframing the practice of volunteering as a collective endeavour through a focal brand community

“…Affective commitment underpins engagement as the “emotional bonding and pride that brings additional efforts to sustain relationships” (Kang, 2016, p. 402). That is, where a volunteer feels a sense of belonging, they are more likely to be fully engaged with the NPO (Mitchell, 2021).…”

“…From a theoretical perspective, brand community theory has yet to be understood thoroughly in the context of nonprofit volunteering, offering an opportunity for this research to build on the earlier studies of physical commercial brand communities such as Jeep and VW, but also to extend knowledge through considering a case where the brand community is the delivery, not simply a marketing-related initiative to promote the product/service. In addition, reframing volunteering through a brand community lens offers the potential for this research to evolve volunteering theory from the individual needs-based approach to an organisation-led, group-based approach, offering an alternative perspective to contribute to the conversation in literature about the importance of focal brands in the nonprofit sector (Mitchell andClark, 2020a, 2020b).…”

“…In contrast, the literature on firm-managed brand communities has tended to consider the focal brand and its management of the group and then the subsequent engagement behaviour of the participants (Schouten et al , 2007). Prior to this study, there has been little research applying a brand community perspective to nonprofit volunteering, which is surprising given they share a common theoretical thread through social identity theory (Tajfel, 1981; Mitchell, 2021). This research addresses that gap in knowledge by directly examining the relationship between brand communities and nonprofit volunteering, informed through primary research on parkrun as an illustrative case study.…”