Motivating factors influencing college students' participation in charity sport events

This study was designed to explore motivational factors that affect college students' participation in charity sport events (CSEs). Based on the literature related to sport participation and donor motivation, six motivational factors were identified: philanthropy, sport, supporting the cause, social interactions, reference group influence and benefits. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis with 494 college students indicated that the overall model fit was satisfactory. The most important motive was philanthropic, followed by sport-related motive and supporting the cause. In addition, the findings from a multivariate analysis of variance showed demographic differences in the motivational factors. The results suggest that CSE marketers should emphasise philanthropic nature of the CSE to attract college students who are female, non-White and have previous CSE experiences. Alternatively, they should carefully select a high demand sport activity to attract college students who are male, White and lack previous CSE experience. These promotional strategies will be helpful in developing effective fundraising campaigns for college students.

[1]  Daniel C. Funk,et al.  Consumer loyalty: the meaning of attachment in the development of sport team allegiance. , 2006 .

[2]  E. Staurowsky,et al.  Developing an instrument to measure athletic donor behavior and motivation. , 1996 .

[3]  David A. Aaker,et al.  Warmth in Advertising: Measurement, Impact, and Sequence Effects , 1986 .

[4]  Gilbert A. Churchill.  A Paradigm for Developing Better Measures of Marketing Constructs , 1979 .

[5]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  Public Service Advertisements: Emotions and Empathy Guide Prosocial Behavior , 1994 .

[6]  M. Conner,et al.  The Theory of Planned Behaviour , 2004 .

[7]  Stephanie Lowell,et al.  Not-for-Profit Management: The Gift That Keeps on Giving , 2001 .

[8]  Jeffrey B. Hecht,et al.  Validating an instrument to assess the motivation of athletics donors. , 1998 .

[9]  M. Browne,et al.  Alternative Ways of Assessing Model Fit , 1992 .

[10]  Peter Warr,et al.  Pareto optimal redistribution and private charity , 1982 .

[11]  Morry Ghingold.  Guilt Arousing Marketing Communications: an Unexplored Variable , 1981 .

[12]  Peter Kerkhof,et al.  Improving the Effectiveness of Fundraising Messages: The Impact of Charity Goal Attainment, Message Framing, and Evidence on Persuasion , 2008 .

[13]  Stacy Landreth Grau,et al.  Cause-Related Marketing (CRM): The Influence of Donation Proximity and Message-Framing Cues on the Less-Involved Consumer , 2007 .

[14]  Lawrence R. Lepisto,et al.  Analysis of the healthy lifestyle consumer , 2005 .

[15]  J. Petrick,et al.  Analysis of Golfer Motivations and Constraints by Experience Use History , 2001 .

[16]  Joseph C. Smith.  Athletic fund-raising : exploring the motives behind private donations , 1990 .

[17]  A. Isen,et al.  Effect of feeling good on helping: cookies and kindness. , 1972, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[18]  Xueming Luo.  A contingent perspective on the advantages of stores' strategic philanthropy for influencing consumer behaviour , 2005 .

[19]  Thomas Hugh Feeley,et al.  College Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Regarding Organ Donation: An Integrated Review of the Literature† , 2007 .

[20]  B. Schlegelmilch,et al.  Market Segment‐oriented Fund‐Raising Strategies: An Empirical Analysis , 1989 .

[21]  Paul James Kitchin,et al.  Motivations For Participating In Charity-Affiliated Sporting Events , 2007 .

[22]  Andrew M. Jones,et al.  Charitable donations by UK households: evidence from the Family Expenditure Survey , 1991 .

[23]  P. Barnes,et al.  Physical Activity Among Adults: United States, 2000 , 2003 .

[24]  David C. Ribar,et al.  Altruistic and Joy‐of‐Giving Motivations in Charitable Behavior , 2002, Journal of Political Economy.

[25]  K. File,et al.  The Seven Faces of Philanthropy: A New Approach to Cultivating Major Donors , 1994 .

[26]  G. Forbes,et al.  The Facilitation of Anonymous Helpfulness by a Fortuitous Pleasant Event , 1975 .

[27]  Rex B. Kline,et al.  Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling , 1998 .

[28]  Simon Baron-Cohen,et al.  The Essential Difference: The Truth About the Male and Female Brain , 2003 .

[29]  Mike W. Martin,et al.  Virtuous Giving: Philanthropy, Voluntary Service, and Caring , 1994 .

[30]  Hanna-Leena Pesonen,et al.  Effect of Business Education on Women and Men Students’ Attitudes on Corporate Responsibility in Society , 2008 .

[31]  H. Kitchen,et al.  Determinants of charitable donations by families in Canada: a regional analysis , 1990 .

[32]  M. Shank.  Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective , 1998 .

[33]  Daniel C. Funk,et al.  It's Really Not About the Bike: Exploring Attraction and Attachment to the Events of the Lance Armstrong Foundation , 2008 .

[34]  J. S. Long,et al.  Testing Structural Equation Models , 1993 .

[35]  Paul J. Solomon,et al.  The Marketing of Cause-Related Events: A Study of Participants as Consumers , 2003 .

[36]  Douglas C. West,et al.  Widening the appeal of charity , 2000 .

[37]  A. L. Beaman,et al.  Empathy-based helping: is it selflessly or selfishly motivated? , 1987, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[38]  Robert B. Cialdini,et al.  Transgression and Altruism: A Case for Hedonism. , 1973 .

[39]  S Dawson,et al.  Four motivations for charitable giving: implications for marketing strategy to attract monetary donations for medical research. , 1988, Journal of health care marketing.

[40]  Bonnie S. Guy,et al.  THE MARKETING OF ALTRUISTIC CAUSES: UNDERSTANDING WHY PEOPLE HELP , 1988 .

[41]  Neeli Bendapudi,et al.  Enhancing Helping Behavior: An Integrative Framework for Promotion Planning , 1996 .

[42]  Daniel F. Mahony,et al.  Toward a Better Understanding of College Athletic Donors: What Are the Primary Motives? , 2005 .

[43]  George R. Milne,et al.  Sport Marketing: Managing the Exchange Process , 1998 .