A study of incentives in charitable fundraising

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine how self-driven (intrinsic motivators) and monetary incentives (extrinsic motivators) are mediated by an effort to affect fundraising outcomes. This integration sheds light on crowding out between the two types of incentives as well the drivers of fundraising outcomes, specifically effort and donations. Design/methodology/approach A field experiment is conducted over a two-month period, involving an online fundraising campaign with over 300 volunteers assigned to one of five different incentive conditions. A special website was created to monitor fundraiser efforts. Fundraisers filled out pre- and post-study surveys. Findings While high monetary incentives result in the greatest immediate increase in funds raised, they crowd out future intentions to volunteer once incentives are withdrawn. Mediation analyzes show that fundraiser effort fully mediates the effect of intrinsic motivators and partially mediates the direct effect of extrinsic motivators on funds raised. Research limitations/implications A major limitation of field experiments is the lack of control, resulting in higher variation. However, while a more controlled experiment will reduce this variation, this goes at the expense of lower external validity. Practical implications Results indicate that – at least in the short run – monetary incentives can result in higher fundraising outcomes. However, this goes at the expense of a reduction in future volunteering once the incentives are withdrawn. Originality/value This study examines whether extrinsic or intrinsic motivators have a greater impact on funds raised and whether extrinsic motivators crowd out future intentions to volunteer. Different from previous research in which effort is a latent variable, the effort is directly observed over time.

Drivers of Innovation in Finance: How Important is Materialism for Crowdfunding Investors?

Innovation permeates the financial sector by means of collaborative finance. Crowdfunding, as an activity based on peer-to-peer lending through a platform, is an innovative way to finance start-ups. A better understanding is needed of the motivational factors of backers to participate in crowdfunding campaigns. This study used the empirical data to investigate this issue, paying attention to the participation in four platform types (reward-based, lending-based, equity-based, and donation-based crowdfunding). Results indicate that the extrinsic and intrinsic motivators are constructs that drive actual behaviors. Extrinsic motivators are the prevalent driver of participants in crowdfunding, regardless of which platform type is used.

Exploring students’ attitudes toward university e-textbooks: Experiences, expectations, and preferences

Universities have been proactively exploring e-textbooks to resolve the issue of high textbook prices. The study examined students’ attitudes toward using e-textbooks through a questionnaire survey of 324 randomly sampled students from eight universities. The analysis highlighted students’ expectations from a library in terms of textbook provision and the preferred format, their intentions and behaviors toward the textbook purchase, perceived equitable discounts in price and ideal preview mechanisms offered by e-textbooks, assessment of e-textbooks, assessment of features in terms of usefulness and practicality, and the extrinsic and intrinsic motivators of adopting e-textbooks. Students in the West and East are similar in expecting libraries to underwrite their textbook access. The students prefer e-textbook over print for the library collection, but vice versa for individually owned textbooks. In the fast-growing virtual learning environment, direct library provision of e-textbooks has become essential, particularly during the pandemic and probably post-pandemic era. Big-screen mobile devices, such as laptops and tablets, are students’ most preferred options for reading e-textbooks. The students perceived e-textbooks as not yet mature and expected improvement. They also lack confidence in their self-control ability to read e-textbooks without distraction in the Internet environment. The findings suggest the design of motivator type of engagement features may focus on individual attainment.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF WOMEN WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PROCRASTINATION

The paper examines personal characteristics that may affect the propensity for procrastination of women, in particular, self-esteem, self-regulation, the ability to make and implement decisions. Cluster analysis was used for the division of the participants into groups according to the level of propensity for procrastination. The clustering took into account the indicators on the scales of the methods "Scale of general procrastination" by C. H. Lay and "Procrastination scale" by B. W. Tuckman. Based on the clustering tree and the k-means method, two clusters with high and low levels of procrastination were determined. Further differences between these groups were analyzed on the basis of comparative, correlation and factor analysis. Women prone to procrastination show lower levels of self-esteem, self-regulation and subjective control. The external locus of control is combined with a tendency to procrastinate and delay the decision-making. The internal dissatisfaction with themselves, negativism in assessing their abilities and readiness for self-blame were observed. The inability to plan one's behavior, to build realistic, detailed, hierarchical, effective plans affects the tendency to procrastinate both in everyday affairs and in decision-making. As shown by factor analysis, these participants can overcome their procrastination tendencies by increasing a positive attitude towards themselves and their abilities, as well as developing the ability to manage their arbitrary behavior during the process of setting and achieving goals. Women who are not prone to procrastination are internally motivated, tend to build adequate and constructive plans for the future, demonstrate a high level of self-regulation determined by intrinsic motivators. Programming life goals, taking into account external and internal conditions, evaluation of the results and correction of their activity play an important role in various areas of activity of this category of women. Based on comparative and factor analysis, it can be argued that self-regulation plays a key role in overcoming the desire to procrastinate and put things off.

The Impact of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators on IT professionals. Case of Latvia

Research background: In contemporary environment and conditions of globalization, IT professionals become significant part of labour force for every organization, which needs to be competitive in the market. This paper, on one hand, demonstrates how employees can be involved in production process, and, on the other hand, it helps to observe the interconnection between theory and practical application of management. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the research was in defining and determining the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for IT professionals in Latvia. Methods: The data for the research was collected with the help of online survey held in December 2019 using online survey panels. The targeting criteria for the respondents was the employment on position of IT employee, company located in Latvia and employed full time. Sample size was 1500 respondents. The research used factor analysis, which allowed defining intrinsic and extrinsic motivators and evaluating their significance and method of multidimensional linear regression to determine the influence of personal characteristics of employees on types of motivation. Findings & Value added: Factor analysis of motivations shows that there are five types of motivators, which make IT professionals work more productively, stay late at work if needed and do the best they can to solve the task set by their management. These are material stimulators, respect, responsibility, fear and self-realization. The results of the research can be well interpreted with the help of McGregor Theory, who demonstrated that there is a need of combination of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators. The findings can be used in building appropriate motivation strategy for IT professionals.

What Do Remote Adjunct Faculty Look for in an Institution?

Online learning in higher education has grown tremendously in the past decade. This trend has been particularly evident at The Pennsylvania State University, where the number of online-only learners now exceeds 20,000. The biggest challenge to institutions like ours is identifying, attracting, and retaining enough instructors who are qualified and available to meet the increased demand of online student enrollment. To help administrators and program chairs tackle these challenges, a research study was conducted to learn more about the incentives that attract and retain a specific workforce in higher education: adjunct faculty. The findings suggest that one size does not always fit all - context matters. Instead of making general assumptions about the motivations or needs of an adjunct faculty member, we need to get to know the individual first. This study sheds light on the specific extrinsic and intrinsic motivators that attract and retain each of five types of adjunct faculty to teach online, which can help program administrators be more effective in hiring and retaining adjuncts.

Intrapreneurship in teams/groups: self-determination theory and compensation

PurposeThe literature on intrapreneurship recognizes the notion that regular employees can be expected to be entrepreneurial. Using self-determination theory as a basis, the purpose of this conceptual paper is to focus on the role of compensation systems in incentivizing entrepreneurial action by regular employees who constitute the bulk of the organizational workforce.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper suggests that greater clarity on the role of compensation systems in entrepreneurial action by regular employees would require an understanding of how entrepreneurial action happens through relationships among employees. An exploration of both compensation systems and the relationships among employees undertaking entrepreneurial action as part of team/group settings can deepen our understanding of intrapreneurship. Self-determination theory and relationship-focused theory allow for such an exploration.FindingsThe literature on self-determination theory, has identified the needs of autonomy and relatedness among employees. This conceptual paper will propose that the interaction between compensation systems and the needs for autonomy versus relatedness among employees determines the type of relationships chosen for entrepreneurial action. After the chosen type of relationships are formed and entrepreneurial action begins, challenges in the implementation of compensation systems are likely to emerge – distributive justice issues under individual based compensation and free-riding issues under team-based compensation. The entrepreneurial performance of the team/group will likely be influenced by the interaction between the challenges in the implementation of compensation systems and the type of relationships chosen for entrepreneurial action.Originality/valueThis conceptual paper gives a new direction to how collective entrepreneurial processes and outcomes can be understood. Self-determination theory and relationship-focused theory, in unison, can be useful in analyzing the role of intrinsic motivators, extrinsic motivators, and relationships during entrepreneurial action.

Anti-littering in developing countries: Motivating the people of Jordan

Littering in developing countries remains a problem that has not been overcome, and past research based on a trial-and-error approach has not solved the problem. In this study, a questionnaire was constructed and distributed to the people of Jordan. People were asked to indicate what motivates them to use the litter bins. The motivators were divided into intrinsic motivators and extrinsic motivators. The responses to the questionnaire were statistically analysed according to the score for each motivator and the responders’ attributes. The highest level intrinsic motivators were the ‘sense of morals and ethics’ and ‘following the way they were raised’. The highest impact of extrinsic motivators was the presence of children followed by increasing number of receptacles, being in a clean place and the presence of recycling programmes. Studying the respondents’ attributes showed there are differences in people’s responses to intrinsic motivators according to socio-demographical factors, while for extrinsic motivators these factors tend to diminish and people react almost the same. The results of this study can explain some of the differences in reported results in the literature on littering behaviour according to socio-demographic factors. To have an effective anti-littering approach in Jordan, the authorities should consider using a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. In the intrinsic motivators, the authorities should praise and remind people of their core values, morals and their children’s behaviour and future. For the extrinsic motivators, the following descending order is suggested: convenient infrastructure, recycling programmes, anti-littering campaigns, rewards, penalties.

Camaraderie Action: Optimizing Rewards, Recognition, and Appreciation

The second Camaraderie Action is Optimizing Rewards, Recognition, and Appreciation. It connects with and fuels intrinsic motivation and also influences community and collegiality. Embracing compensation and acknowledgment systems based on intrinsic motivators is part of the foundation for cultivating esprit de corps.