Browsing by Author "Konrath, Sara"

Now showing 1 - 10 of 22
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    5 reasons why people give their money away – plus 1 why they don’t
    (The Conversation US, Inc., 2017-11-26) Konrath, Sara; Handy, Femida; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
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    Americans are becoming more socially isolated, but they’re not feeling lonelier
    (The Conversation US, Inc., 2018-05-07) Konrath, Sara; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
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    Can too much similarity to self backfire? The effects of different levels of similarity on charitable donations
    (2018-02-22) Tian, Yuan; Konrath, Sara; Tempel, Gene; Ottoni-Wilhelm, Mark; Mesch, Debra
    How is charitable giving influenced by other donors’ charitable giving? Do people give more in the presence of other donors who are similar to themselves? Most research suggests that individuals are positively influenced by others who are similar across a variety of behaviors. In the charitable giving contexts, people are more likely to donate (or donate more) to the same cause if others who are similar donate. Yet, prior research has paid little attention to potential non-linear effects of similarity on charitable giving. Is there a certain amount of similarity that is too much? My dissertation investigates this research question through two different methodological approaches, a systematic literature review and an experimental study. The findings suggest the curvilinear effects of similarity on charitable giving (i.e. self-other oversimilarity hypothesis); that is, individuals are more likely to donate (and donate more) in the presence of other generous donors who are moderately similar to themselves. Yet, individuals are less likely to donate (and donate) less in the presence of other generous donors who are in high similarity to themselves. In other words, too much similarity between donors may actually backfire in charitable giving contexts when others give generously. This dissertation consists of a brief overview of similarity (Chapter 1), a systematic literature review (Chapter 2), an experimental study (Chapter 3) and a research proposal (Chapter 4). Chapter 1 in this dissertation identifies the importance of similarity in social relationships. Chapter 2 investigates the effects of similarity on charitable giving and identifies the literature gap. Chapter 3 attempts to fill the gap via developing and testing self-other oversimilarity hypothesis. It further offers practical implications for nonprofit fundraising practices on how to apply similarity between donors to motivate more funding. In order to provide additional empirical evidence that may contribute to theory and practice, and to address certain limitations of the current experimental study, Chapter 4 proposes a new research project to further test self-other oversimilarity hypothesis in the presence of a stingy donor.
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    A Century of Nonprofit Studies: Scaling the Knowledge of the Field
    (Springer, 2018-12) Ma, Ji; Konrath, Sara; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
    This empirical study examines knowledge production between 1925 and 2015 in nonprofit and philanthropic studies from quantitative and thematic perspectives. Quantitative results suggest that scholars in this field have been actively generating a considerable amount of literature and a solid intellectual base for developing this field toward a new discipline. Thematic analyses suggest that knowledge production in this field is also growing in cohesion—several main themes have been formed and actively advanced since 1980s, and the study of volunteering can be identified as a unique core theme of this field. The lack of geographic and cultural diversity is a critical challenge for advancing nonprofit studies. New paradigms are needed for developing this research field and mitigating the tension between academia and practice. Methodological and pedagogical implications, limitations, and future studies are discussed.
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    Cross-cultural Mutuality: Exploring Philanthropic, Faith-based Partnerships Between Cuba and the United States
    (2021-11) Goodwin, Jamie L.; King, David; Herzog, Patricia Snell; Wiepking, Pamala; Kahn, Hilary; Konrath, Sara
    In the global age, grass-roots religious organizations seek to better collaborate across national and cultural borders. Through the theoretical lens of mutuality, this dissertation explores the nature and quality of interpersonal relationships inherent in faith-based, philanthropic partnerships between the United States and Cuba. Mutuality is a framework for understanding human relationships; it describes when people regard one another as whole persons and a relationship as something of inherent value. This study explores the value of relationships, the processes by which they form, how they relate to institutional structures, and the role of a common faith in bridging other cultural differences. Religious communities are considered the primary civil society institutions with national reach in Cuba. The research site for this study is a Protestant civil society organization on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba called Campo Amor. Campo Amor operates both nonprofit and for-profit activities and receives substantial American donations through a foundation in Spain. Over the past 20 years, Campo Amor has multiplied from two to more than 120 house churches. Before COVID-19 it welcomed more than 500 American partners each year. Using a co-created, phenomenological qualitative design, this study will provide knowledge into the role of relationships in philanthropic, faith-based partnerships, particularly between regions of geopolitical hostilities. It advances understanding of the role of religion and relationships in philanthropy across a variety of cultural differences. Among other findings, interviewees described mutuality as 1. the commitment to sharing; 2. Intersubjective relationships which enter into and care about the thoughts and feelings of another; and 3. the habitual approach that emphasized living one’s way into patterns of thought, versus thinking one’s way into patterns of life.
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    Decolonizing Benevolence: Can Faith Leaders Move the Mark Toward Equity to Create an Alternative to the White Savior Complex?
    (2024-05) Anglade, Anita Jean; Badertscher, Katherine; Konrath, Sara; Adamek, Margaret E.; Hayes, Cleveland; Hall, Ted
    This ethnographic research project identifies and explores the limiting ideology of the White Savior Complex to open pathways to develop and promote improved practices at individual, relational, and organizational levels. This qualitative research advances the narratives on how organizational leaders can identify, recognize, and dismantle systems of oppression by decolonizing benevolence assistance to individuals and communities seeking philanthropic support. Faith leaders were interviewed from two separate case study sites, both located in a midwestern city. This dissertation examines some of the language, themes, and conceptual frameworks behind how leaders can dismantle White Supremacy and hierarchical power structures in Christian benevolence assistance. By using grounded theory, this project contributes to scholarship on the development of new tools and strategies for how leaders undo racism, promote justice, and co-create equitable practices. At the individual level, findings suggest WSC is not unique to those who identify as White. Whiteness is a mindset that prescribes to toxic ideologies that reinforce power differentials. BIPOC can also find themselves maintaining hierarchical helping relationships that reinforce toxic charitable models. Racial deconstruction requires the development of new paradigms, ideas, and language. Transformative leaders must commit to the continuous development of critical consciousness by challenging dominant norms and power structures. At a relational level, findings suggest leaders are not bound to a role, therefore, transformational leaders must be willing to move outside of hierarchical structures to consciously shift and share power with others. Collaborative approaches to social service delivery, such as collaborative notetaking, can enhance ways to build trust and transparency. Effective liberatory leadership also requires an intersectional lens, which looks at people as individuals and uses person-centered language. At an organizational level, findings suggest the mission and values can compete with economic value. Organizational support networks build collective wisdom, rather than relying on one person to be a “savior.” Liberatory practices require intersectional analysis that trickles up and down power structures. The results of the study contributed to the development of a model that can be used as best practices for decolonizing work across all levels. This research adds to both theory and practice for scholars and practitioners.
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    The Development and Validation of the Motives to Donate Scale
    (Sage, 2017) Konrath, Sara; Handy, Femida; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
    In this article, we develop and validate a comprehensive self-report scale of why people make charitable donations, relying on a theoretical model of private versus public benefits to donors. In Study 1, we administered an initial pool of 54 items to a general adult sample online. An exploratory factor analysis supported six final factors in the Motives to Donate scale: Trust, Altruism, Social, Tax benefits, Egoism, and Constraints. We then verified this factor structure in a confirmatory factor analysis. Study 1 also examined the final 18-item scale’s demographic correlates and construct validity using the same sample. We found that the scale correlated in predictable ways with personality traits and motives to volunteer. In Study 2, we also found test–retest correlations between .67 and .80 after 2 weeks. Taken together, we provide initial evidence for the scale’s internal reliability, test–retest reliability, and validity, and we suggest future directions for research.
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    Development and validation of the Single Item Trait Empathy Scale (SITES)
    (Elsevier, 2018-04) Konrath, Sara; Meier, Brian P.; Bushman, Brad J.; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
    Empathy involves feeling compassion for others and imagining how they feel. In this article, we develop and validate the Single Item Trait Empathy Scale (SITES), which contains only one item that takes seconds to complete. In seven studies (N=5,724), the SITES was found to be both reliable and valid. It correlated in expected ways with a wide variety of intrapersonal outcomes. For example, it is negatively correlated with narcissism, depression, anxiety, and alexithymia. In contrast, it is positively correlated with other measures of empathy, self-esteem, subjective well-being, and agreeableness. The SITES also correlates with a wide variety of interpersonal outcomes, especially compassion for others and helping others. The SITES is recommended in situations when time or question quantity is constrained.
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    Doing good may make people look better
    (The Conversation US, Inc., 2020-10-09) Konrath, Sara; Handy, Femida; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
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    Economic Inequality and Prosocial Behavior: A Multidimensional Analysis
    (2022-06) Yang, Yongzheng; Wiepking, Pamala; Badertscher, Katherine; Konrath, Sara; Ottoni-Wilhelm, Mark; Rooney, Patrick
    Rising economic inequality has become a widespread trend and concern in recent decades. Economic inequality is often associated with pernicious consequences such as a decrease in individual health and social cohesion and an increase in political conflicts. Does economic inequality have a negative association with prosocial behavior, like many other aspects of inequality? To answer this question, this dissertation investigates the relationship between economic inequality and prosocial behavior, particularly charitable giving, by conducting three empirical studies. The first study is a meta-analysis on the overall relationship between economic inequality and prosocial behavior. Results from 192 effect sizes in 100 studies show that there is a general small, negative relationship between economic inequality and different forms of prosocial behavior. Moderator tests demonstrate that social context, the operationalization of prosocial behavior, the operationalization of economic inequality, and average age of participants significantly moderate the relationship between economic inequality and prosocial behavior. The second study differentiates between redistributive and non-redistributive charitable causes and examines how income inequality is associated with charitable giving to these two causes in China. Using synthesized data from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) and official data, this study shows that income inequality has no significant relationship with charitable giving to redistributive causes, but it has a negative association with charitable giving to non-redistributive causes. Of the four moderators, only education significantly moderates the relationship between income inequality and redistributive giving. The third study tests whether and how government social spending mediates the relationship between income inequality and charitable giving. Using the US county level panel data, this study finds there is no significant relationship between income inequality and government social spending as well as between government social spending and charitable giving. Thus, government social spending does not significantly mediate the relationship between income inequality and charitable giving. However, income inequality has a robustly and significantly negative relationship with charitable giving. In sum, this dissertation furthers our understanding of the relationship between economic inequality and prosocial behavior, especially charitable giving. Given the higher economic inequality facing many countries, it is a timely dissertation and has important practical implications.