The Impact of Nostalgia Proneness on Online Donation Willingness: The Mediating Effect of Consumer-Brand Relationship

Abstract

The rapid outbreak of COVID-19 wreaked havoc and brought a pause to the normal lives, and the labor market and human livelihoods were strongly negatively affected because of it. The emergence of groups that were unable to withstand various pressures has increased the appeal of donation behavior to a certain extent. Therefore, under the impetus of COVID-19 and digital background, online donation represented by Waterdrop financing has become popular. In the common difficult period, how to improve an individual’s willingness to donate online has become an urgent problem to be solved. To address this issue, on the basis of previous literature, we proposed a research hypothesis and a theoretical model of “nostalgia-relationship variables-donation”. After that, we determined the measurement scale, conducted a large sample survey, and finally conducted hypothesis testing through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling analysis. Through the above analyses, the study reached the following conclusions: the main influence factors of personal nostalgic proneness are insecurity, past experience, loneliness, and recovery from grief, among others. There is a positive causal link between nostalgia proneness and familial utility intensity and emotional utility intensity. The greater the degree of the nostalgia intensity of the donor, the more the trust placed in charitable organizations. The donors’ relationship commitment to charitable organizations significantly influences their online donation willingness. The main source of relationship commitment consists of emotional intensity, followed by trust, and finally, familial intensity.

The effect of COVID-19 risk perception on pro-environmental behavior of Chinese consumers: Perspectives from affective event theory

“…According to Boym (2008) , there are two types of nostalgia: “restorative nostalgia” and “reflective nostalgia.” “Reflective nostalgia” refers to reflecting on the remembered past for the purpose of the present and is often associated with establishing continuity. This kind of nostalgia is a positive experience that provides individuals with the opportunity to reflect on the past, which enhances self-worth, self-esteem, and social connectedness and promotes pro-social behavior ( Srivastava et al, 2022 ; Zhang and Tao, 2022 ). There may be a tendency for individuals to invoke nostalgia as a coping mechanism to deal with the social distance restrictions of COVID-19 and the resulting isolation and social disconnection.…”

Music-evoked nostalgia and charitable giving: A cross-cultural study in the United States and Mexico.

“…Sargeant et al (2006) identified emotional and familiar utilities as key factors that influence charitable giving decisions, with emotional utility referring to the motivation to give to a charity derived from a desire for one’s own emotional benefit, and familiar utility referring to the motivation to give derived from a desire to benefit family members or significant others. A recent study on nostalgia and donation found that increased emotional and familiar utilities were associated with a greater intention to donate to charitable causes, even during challenging times such as the COVID-19 pandemic (Zhang & Tao, 2022). Although research on the relationship between music-evoked nostalgia and prosocial behavior is very limited, our study’s findings are in line with prior research on nostalgia and donation in other contexts.…”

The relation between donation motivations and the meaning in life

“…, 2021; Maftei, 2020; Martin and Randal, 2008, 2009; Urandelger et al. , 2016; Zhang and Tao, 2022). Individuals are more likely to donate when they feel good about helping others (Prendergast and Maggie, 2013; Bock et al.…”

“…The tendency to donate is motivated by several intrinsic and extrinsic factors (Huang et al, 2021;Maftei, 2020;Randal, 2008, 2009;Urandelger et al, 2016;Zhang and Tao, 2022). Individuals are more likely to donate when they feel good about helping others (Prendergast and Maggie, 2013;Bock et al, 2018) when they believe they are making a difference, when they have social motivations, when they think it will make others feel better and when they believe it will provide them with a good reputation (Van Leeuwen and Wiepking, 2013).…”

“…Some studies support that emotional factors are essential in the propensity to donate (Zhang and Tao, 2022). Regarding donation behaviour, the feelings after the donation, the results and the benefits obtained are also influential factors in donation intention (Ye et al, 2015).…”