Description
Nonprofit operations management has gained increasing attention from both academia andpolicymakers. While the literature has focused on monetary donations, it is important
to recognize that individuals also support charity organizations through volunteering and
in-kind gifts. This dissertation examines the role of in-kind donations in supporting the
operations of Nonprofit organizations. It is divided into three pieces: the first two investigate
the relationship between individuals’ time and monetary donations, and their implications
for Nonprofit operations, while the last part centers on individuals’ goods donations.
The first chapter explores a fundamental question: Do volunteering activities discourage
or encourage donations? While some research suggests that people view their time and financial
contributions as substitutes, others believe that they should be complementary. Two
controlled online experiments indicate that volunteering improves subsequent monetary donations
and that, as greater effort is required, people tend to reduce their donations. These
results highlight the importance of considering both the labor and financial contributions
of volunteers and creating volunteer projects with an appropriate level of effort.
The second chapter is about how to manage volunteers, taking into account how volunteers
can be unpredictable, heterogeneous, and even donate money. The results challenge
conventional knowledge in volunteer management, highlighting the need to integrate the
management of volunteers and donors. Volunteers are not only suppliers of labor, but also
consumers of volunteering activities. Moreover, enhancing the job efficiency of volunteers
may also hinder the performance of charities.
Last, the donation of goods is a vital form of supply for charities, which can be resold
to generate additional revenue. However, not all in-kind gifts are useful, and unwanted
donations can place a financial strain on charitable organizations. Despite this, nonprofits
may hesitate to reject undesired donations for fear of discouraging future support. In
response, I employ behavioral interventions to encourage donors to voluntarily increase the
quality of their gifts.
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Details
Title
- Three Essays on Nonprofit Supply Management
Contributors
- wu, chao (Author)
- Eftekhar, Mahyar (Thesis advisor)
- Uichanco, Joline (Committee member)
- Kull, Thomas (Committee member)
- Wang, Yimin (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2023
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
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Partial requirement for: Ph.D., Arizona State University, 2023
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Field of study: Business Administration