The Influence of Concreteness of Donation Reference on Individual Donation: Evidence from Secondary Data and Scenario Experiments

Based on one secondary data analysis and three scenario experiments, this paper investigates the influence of concreteness of donation reference on individual donation in digital philanthropy platforms, as well as its underlying mechanism. The results show that: (1) concrete donation references are more effective than abstract ones in enhancing individual donation intention or behavior; (2) perceived self efficacy plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between concreteness of donation reference and individual donation intention or behavior. The findings of this study contribute to enriching theoretical research in the field of digital philanthropy and provide practical guidance for digital philanthropy platforms to reasonably set donation references and promote individual donations.