Do we have fit together? the impact of social alliance fit : a study about the influence of fit and number of partners on consumers perceptions of the non-profit.

(1)

Faculty of Economics and Business

MSc Business Studies

Do we have to fit together? The impact of Social Alliance Fit

A study about the influence of fit and number of partners on consumers’ perceptions of the non-‐profit.

Student: Niek ter Horst Student Number: 10510923

Primary Supervisor: Drs. Marlene Vock Secondary Supervisor: MSc. Joris Demmers

(2)

Preface

After a long, intense and exciting period of studying this thesis will conclude an enervating period of my life. Starting my study Business Administration at home in Hengelo I would have never even guessed that I would finish my Master Thesis behind my desk in Amsterdam.

First and most of all I would like to thank my parents for supporting me, always, all the time and without questioning. Without you I would have never been the person as I am today. Second of all I would like to thank my study mate and all-‐ time friend Marc, the long discussion regarding both our theses provided useful insights and frustrations, both necessary to get to the point were I could finish my thesis. Last but not least I would like to thank my supervisor, Drs. Marlene Vock for helping me were necessary and providing me with constructive feedback. Your insights and expertise kept me on the road and made it possible for me to finish my thesis.

Niek ter Horst

Amsterdam, January 2014

(3)

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the importance of fit in a social alliance from the perspective of the non-‐profit organization. Through an experimental design this study tried to get an insight in how fit is of influence on a social alliance and especially how consumers perceive the non-‐profit participating in this alliance. It is proven that a high-‐fit social alliance is more favourable since consumers evaluate the non-‐profit higher on warmth and competency dimensions an eventually have a higher intention to donate in comparison to a low-‐fit alliance. Although the results showed that an increase in the number of for-‐profit partners participating in the social alliance was of influence on consumer perceptions of the non-‐profit, these results were only partially significant.

Keywords: CSR, Social Alliance, Fit, Roster size, warmth, competence, donation intention

(4)

1. Introduction

The introduction will provide some general information about the underlying grounds for this research. The eventual goal of the introduction is to state the research question and sub questions. Also the theoretical and practical relevance will be mentioned and the introduction will be closed with the study design.

1.1 Introduction to the Research

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a term that can’t be unseen or unheard in today’s business culture. As stated by Lafferty et al. (2004, p. 510)

“Corporate Social Responsibility has become the watchword for the new millennium as more and more companies initiate programs to demonstrate their social consciousness.” A particular way of organizations to engage in CSR is through

Corporate Community Involvement (CCI). CCI can be described through several forms of interaction between profit and non-‐profit organizations. Within CCI interaction can be found along a continuum, which scales from a philanthropic stage towards a transactional stage and an integrative stage. Corporate philanthropy and sponsorships are found on the philanthropic side, cause-‐related marketing (CRM) and Social Alliances are found at the other end of the continuum and describe a transactional and integrative stage where there are higher levels of interaction and collaboration. (Seitanidi & Ryan, 2007; Austin, 2000).

Long-‐term partner ships, also termed social alliances, are gaining more attention by the day and major enterprises such as Coca-‐Cola, McDonalds and Toyota are now forming alliances with non-‐profit organizations (Dickinson & Barker, 2007). Not only are such collaborations favoured by politics and social pressure, but also the economical crisis and government regulations are creating a need for such alliances. Non-‐profit organizations (NPO’s) nowadays are addressing social problems, which have grown in magnitude and complexity. However the funding of these NPO’s has not kept pace and in the search for new resources and funding’s, bringing non-‐profit organizations and for profit organizations (FPO’s) together can be seen as an innovative solution (Austin, 2000).

(6)

But how should an NPO choose his alliance partner? And more important: what makes a social alliance successful? Alliances or collaborations between organizations in general have some important underlying factors for success. One of the most important issues is to find the perfect match between the organizations. Researchers as well as practitioners therefore stress the importance of so-‐called ‘fit’ or ‘logical connection’ between the collaborating organizations (Lafferty, 2007). A social alliance between, for example, a car manufacturer and the Road Safety Association seems more logical and appropriate then an alliance between an Oil Company and a Cancer Research Foundation, were there is no clear connection. This example is in accordance with consistency theory, which suggests that consumers prefer consistency in their thoughts and therefore favour a high fit collaboration (Becker-‐Olsen et al., 2006). Fit also influences the perceptions of the consumer. Consumers are critical on CSR movements of organizations and therefore choosing the right and fitting partner is even more important. Perceived fit by consumers will prevent a lack of credibility towards both the FPO and NPO and will avoid that consumer’s get sceptical or hypocrite, thereby negatively affecting consumer attitudes (Goldsmith et al., 2000).

Most research conducted on the grounds of CCI focuses on the outcomes on the for-‐profit organization. Engaging in a social alliance can positively influence consumers’ perceptions of the company, brand or product and eventually result in increased purchase intentions (Nan & Heo, 2007). The consumer perceptions’ of the NPO have been subject to only little research so far. Therefore this study will elaborate on the consumers NPO perceptions’ and will look specifically at the outcomes in the form of donation intention, since donation intention is an important factor ensuring the NPO’s existence and is a determining variable for possible expansion (Foster & Fine, 2007).

Aside from donation intention Aaker et al. (2010) found that the perceptions of warmth & competence are of utmost importance for an NPO as well. They found that consumers and other potential stakeholders frequently assign stereotypical views of warmth & competence derived from social judgement on organizations. A clear example, which underlines the impact of warmth & competence, is that of Donorschoose.org. This promising new NPO

(7)

emerged in 2002 and their goal was to link schoolteachers in search of class supplies with potential suppliers. The organization nearly collapsed because of the concern from potential financers that the organization would lack competence to execute its mission, despite having a legitimate and worthwhile goal (Mogilner, 2010). Non-‐profits such as Donorschoose.org are often perceived by consumers as warm, generous and caring organizations. However they are ought to lack the capabilities to run a financially sound business and are short on competence to produce high-‐quality goods or services. The variables of warmth and competence can make or break an organization, and are especially determinative for NPO’s, as can be seen in the example of Donorschoose.org. As important as these variables are, only little research has been conducted on them in scholarly literature (Aaker et al., 2010), therefore this research will further investigate on the variables of warmth and competence.

Social alliances as discussed so far in theory and in practice, always assumed a one to one link between the FPO and the NPO. However, in today’s business practices it is more common that an NPO has multiple collaborating partners. The WWF has an extensive list of corporate partnerships in which they currently operate at an international level, including companies such as: Nokia, Coca Cola, H&M and Nike (WWF, 2012). Also War Child has an extensive list of structural partners. Companies such as T-‐Mobile, Microsoft and Tommy Hilfiger have built a close relationship with War Child, and take part in an interesting business network and strive for common goals (WarChild, 2012).

Previous research, which addressed social alliances or similar CSR activities, has mostly focused on the outcomes the FPO. This research will elaborate on the impact of the social alliance fit on the consumers’ perceptions of the NPO through the variables of donation intention, warmth and competence. It also addresses the impact of the number of alliance partners since this has not been subjected to any research in the context of CSR.

(8)

1.2 Research Question & Sub-‐questions

Taking all the background information as mentioned into consideration, the following research question has been established:

“What is the influence of social alliance fit on consumers’ donation intention and warmth & competence perceptions towards the NPO participating in the social alliance and what is the moderating effect of Roster Size.”

In order to answer this main research question, the following sub questions have been established.

1. What is a Social Alliance, and why is it important?

2. What is Fit, and what is its role and influence in a social alliance?

3. How can donation intention be defined and how does social alliance fit influences

this?

4. How can consumer perceptions in the form of warmth and competence be defined

and how are these perceptions influenced by social alliance fit?

5. How can consumer perceptions in the form of warmth and competence influence

donation intention?

6. What Roster Size and how does it influence the relationship between social alliance

fit and consumers perceptions of the NPO?

1.3 Theoretical Relevance

Most research conducted by scholars on the CCI continuum has focussed on the philanthropic stages in the early days of CCI (Seitanidi & Ryan, 2007) especially on sponsorship as a form of corporate community involvement (Meenaghan, 1998). More recent research is focussed towards CRM (Lafferty et al., 2004; Lafferty, 2007; Lafferty, 2009) and only little research has focussed on Social Alliances so far (Kim et al., 2012). Therefore this study will elaborate more on social alliances as a particular form of CCI.

Most academic research in the case of CRM is aimed towards the perceptions of consumers towards the FPO, as this CSR activity is mostly related

(9)

to product sales or the credibility of the company (Bigne-‐Alcaniz et al., 2010). The influence of participating in a social alliance from a NPO point of view has been subject to little research, and certainly not through the form of donation intention, warmth and competence. This research will add to existing literature by investigating these variables from an NPO point of view and investigate whether collaboration between a FPO and a NPO in the form of a social alliance changes consumer perceptions towards the NPO in particular.

Another important variable, which to the authors’ knowing hasn’t been researched so far in this context the number of partners or so called roster size. Ruth & Simonin (2006) point out that roster size has a significant effect on consumer evaluations of the beneficiary. Sponsorship scholars have only conducted limited research on this topic so this paper will expand on this research by investigating the impact of multiple FPO alliance partners in a social alliance.

1.4 Practical Relevance

The stereotypical mapping through warmth & competence by consumers brings forth risky situations. Where as an NPO you can have the perfect mission and goal, success is not guaranteed when consumers do not see you as competent enough to carry out this mission. This study stresses the importance of these variables and gives managers insights in how to develop and manage a competent and warmth related NPO. It provides examples of how partnerships can influence the values of warmth and competence and describes how, as an organization, to seek out your perfect partner to ensure a successful alliance. This paper even provides information on the influence of the number of potential partners.

The practical relevance therefore lies in making managers of NPO’s aware of the importance of the perceptions of their organizations and how they can improve these perceptions so they can ensure the existence of their organization.

1.5 Study Design

This paper is structured in the following way. The first chapter gives a general overview and background information about CSR and its activities. The focus of this research is given in which the variables to be researched are discussed. The variables through which consumer perceptions will be measured

(10)

are presented and will be described in more detail in the second chapter. In this chapter the background theories are discussed into depth and hypotheses are proposed. In the third chapter the research methods are discussed and in the fourth chapter the results will be presented. This paper ends with the discussion in the fifth and final chapter.

2. Theoretical Framework & Hypothesis

In this chapter a theoretical background will be provided in order to conduct relevant research hypotheses. The first paragraph will focus on literature related towards social alliances as a form of corporate social responsibility. The second paragraph will focus on the importance of fit and its expected influence in a social alliance. The next paragraph will focus on consumer NGO perceptions through the variables of donation intention, warmth and competence. The closing paragraph will focus on the importance of roster size and despite the fact that this variables is only subject to little research, it will be explained how roster size can be of influence on social alliances.

2.1 CSR & Social Alliances

The importance of CSR has developed over the years, not only from the financial gains that a company can achieve by pursuing CSR targets, but also because citizens demand credible and sincere corporate involvement (Lafferty et al., 2004). CSR has many dimensions, and it is difficult for researchers as well as practitioners to understand what kind of activity or collaboration is going on between a FPO and a NPO. This research will use the Collaboration Continuum (CC) developed by Austin (2000) to explain the different types of FPO-‐NPO activity. The CC describes possible relationship stages in which an alliance can evolve as well. The CC describes three types of stages: the Philanthropic stage, the Transactional stage and the Integrative stage. The first stage describes a single involvement relationship in which the FPO is the donor and the NPO the recipient. This is the traditional process in which the non-‐profit is receiving corporate donations. Since the government is reducing their funding for non-‐profits and the demand for the services provided by non-‐profits is increasing, non-‐profits rely heavily on this form of corporate involvement as a main source of funding (Berger

(11)

et al., 2004). The demand for NPO services leads to a proliferation of new non-‐ profits who all fishing in the same pool of for-‐profits. This means that philanthropic collaborations are getting harder to obtain for the NPO’s. The transactional stage describes a collaboration in which resources are exchanged. A distinctive example of a transactional collaboration is a cause-‐related marketing campaign (Berger et al., 2004). The disadvantage of a transactional collaboration for the NPO is that it is limited to a single campaign and therefore only covers a short-‐term collaboration. Even more important is the fact that this relationship does not always serve the NPO’s long-‐term interest (Berger et al., 2006). The last integrative stage represents the highest level of collaboration in which the people and the activities of both organizations are collectively organized (Berger et al., 2004). The integrative collaboration is a long-‐term alliance and is preferable for the non-‐profit over short-‐term alliances or single contact activities, because its impact is more intense. Next to that the choice for this higher form of engagement has significant collaboration benefits in the form of shared effort and investment costs and in the social value added through this collaboration (Austin, 2000). For NPO’s it is therefore most favourable to engage in a long-‐term integrative collaboration instead of a philanthropic or transactional engagement.

A commonly known form of an integrative collaboration is the social alliance, which is the subject of this research. A social alliance can be defined as: “a

partnership between a company and a non-‐profit which goes further than standard cause-‐related marketing, to form a close, mutually beneficial and long-‐term partnership, to accomplish strategic goals for both partners” (Berger et al., 2006; p.

129). A social alliance differs from a transactional collaboration such as a cause-‐ related marketing campaign through creating a more permanent link between the company and the cause. A social alliance involves the sharing of knowledge, resources and capabilities so the social welfare can be improved (Berger et al., 2004). Collaborating through a social alliance can result in a win-‐win situation for both partnering organizations. For the FPO a social alliance can result in higher brand awareness, increased loyalty and the linking of the positive cause associations to the firm. The NPO in its turn profits by an increased access to valuable resources and knowledge of the FPO including managerial advice, technological and communicational support and a skilled workforce (Berger et al.,

(12)

2004). By cooperating in a social alliance the NPO has the possibility to reach a broader audience for it’s cause and it can profit from valuable knowledge and resource to execute its mission even better. Through defining the social alliance and marking it at as an integrative relationship it is now clear what a social alliance is and how it can be seen within the CSR literature.

Some important questions now arise for the NPO: How should it pick its alliance partner? Which partner suits the NPO best and how can the NPO ensure a successful alliance? To find answers to these questions the next paragraph will elaborate on the variable of fit and its importance in the social alliance.

2.4 Fit in Social Alliances

When engaging in a social alliance, a NPO is engaging in a long-‐term relationship, therefore it is important to select the right partner. One of the reasons for an NPO to engage in a social alliance is to increase its access to valuable resources and knowledge; it therefore is of utmost importance that the FPO possesses the resources and knowledge useable for the NPO to execute its mission. When collaborating in a social alliance the perceptions of the consumer will link the NPO’s cause to the FPO and vice versa. This is important to acknowledge for the non-‐profit because it can lose donators and detract potential sponsors if they perceive the choice of the for-‐profit as not right. The one variable that theory suggests to be the most influential on ultimate success of the partnership is the “fit” or logical connection between cooperating parties (Lafferty, 2007). The concept of fit in the CSR domain describes different terminologies and is defined differently throughout the literature. The one thing that is consistent is that fit heavily draws on the brand extension and co branding literature (Dicksinson & Barker, 2007; Kim et al., 2012; Nan & Heo, 2007; Lafferty et al., 2004).

Barone et al. (2007) state that the key in forming a successful alliance lies in the match or fit between the NPO’s cause and the FPO’s core business practice. Under these circumstances it is possible for the non-‐profit to receive managerial advice, technological and communicational support and support of a skilled workforce which will contribute to fulfill the NPO’s cause. The definition of fit by Becker-‐Olsen & Hill (2006) is relatively broad and is described as: “a strategic

(13)

match between sponsoring firms and sponsored non-‐profit causes in mission, target audience, and/or values” (p. 75). It should however be noted that as the NPO

engages in a social alliance with a certain intention of fit, it is the perception of the consumer which will determine the actual level of fit. Lafferty (2007) gives such a definition of fit in which she describes fit as: “the degree of relatedness or similarity

that the consumer perceives exists between the non-‐profit’s cause and the for-‐profit”

(p. 448). As this study is going to elaborate on the consumer responses towards the NPO participating in the social alliance, this definition of fit will be used.

The broad definition of fit provided Lafferty (2007) makes clear that the concept of fit cannot be measured through a single dimension. Therefore fit in this research will be measured using the nine dimensions as stated by Berger et al. (2004), which all contribute to the success of the social alliance. To make sure that all possible perceived fit dimensions of consumers are included and a complete definition of fit is provided, this fit framework is used. The nine dimensions consist of: mission fit; which describes the connection between the mission of the NPO and the FPO, resource fit: the degree to which both organizations have complimentary resources, management fit; the similarity or personal chemistry between the leaders of both organizations, workforce fit; the degree to which the employees of the FPO have affinity with the cause, target market fit; describes the for-‐profits consumers’ affinity and perceived importance and relevance with the non-‐profits’ cause, product cause fit; refers to the match between the FPO’s product or service and the NPO’s cause, cultural fit; describes the compatibly of both the organizations’ culture, cycle fit; which evaluates the congruence of timing in business activities and NPO key tasks and evaluation fit; which measures the effectiveness and success of the alliance. By using this fit-‐framework the degree of fit between both alliance partners can be measured.

The effects of fit are supported by congruence theory, which explains why consumers are likely to respond more favourably to a high-‐fit alliance compared to a low fit alliance (Becker-‐Olsen & Hill, 2006). Following this theory it is stated that that the retrieval and storage of information from memory is positively influenced by relatedness or similarity. The more congruent, the better the association and retrieval (Lafferty, 2007). The research of Lafferty et al. (2004) found that a higher perception of fit resulted in positive subsequent attitudes

(14)

towards both the alliance partners. Bigne et al. (2010) found that a high perception of fit facilitated the association between the two partnering organizations producing a higher level of perceptions spill over from the FPO to the NPO and vice versa. Dickinson & Barker (2007) substantiate on these findings and found that evaluations and attitudes from one brand were transferred at a higher rate to the partner brand when there was a higher consumer perception of fit. It was proven as well that when the fit was perceived as low, the spill over effects were reduced (Dickinson & Barker, 2007).

Through elaborating further on the theories of fit, the importance of fit in social alliances is now evident. It is also clear that a high versus a low perception of fit will have different effects on the subsequent perceptions of the consumer on the NPO. A high level of fit will evoke favourable consumer responses towards the NPO and a low level of fit will evoke more negative responses. Another outcome of the effects of fit can be explained through the transfer of affect. A high fit perception will involve a higher transfer of perceptions from the NPO to the FPO and vice versa, while a low fit situation will decrease these effects.

As is mentioned in the introduction of this paper, only little research has focussed on social alliances and even less on consumer’s perceptions of the NPO. Therefore the following paragraph will elaborate further on these variables.

2.2 Consumer responses towards NPO’s in social alliances; Donation Intention

In todays literature there is only little written about consumer responses towards social alliances, especially when looking at consumer perceptions of the non-‐profit operating in the alliance. To get a clear understanding of consumer responses towards social alliances, and the non-‐profit in particular, this study will investigate further on CSR literature in general. Research by Nan & Heo (2007) provides an analysis on consumers’ general responses to cause related marketing (CRM) as a form of CSR. They mention a wide variety of consumer responses including attitudes towards and perceptions of the company, brand or product as well as the non-‐profit involved in the CRM campaign (Nan & Heo, 2007; p. 64). Outcomes of research by Webb & More (1998) indicate that attitudes of consumers towards organizations involved in CRM were largely positive. Ross et al. (1992) found that consumers believed that companies, which

(15)

were engaged in CRM, were socially responsible. Another consumer response researched by scholars is related to product sales of the organization and is measured through consumers’ purchase intentions (Lafferty, 2007 & 2009). Smith & Alcorn (1991) in their research found that engaging in CRM activities positively influenced consumers’ purchase intention of products from the organization. Purchase intention is a critical and robust variable for assessing economic opportunities and company growth (Jaeger et al., 2011) and therefore is an important measure of consumer perceptions. However in the case of most NPO’s the literal willingness to buy is often not an option, because not all NPO’s are selling products or services. And as willingness to buy is related to the FPO and this research aims towards perceptions of the NPO, the variable of donation intension is therefore introduced. Donation intention is an important variable for NPO’s as is purchase intention for FPO’s. The higher the consumers’ donation intention, the more income a NPO will generate and the better it will be able to execute its mission (Foster & Fine, 2007). Increased donation intention and therefore higher donations will in its turn also secure the existence of the NPO, by securing monetary resources. Donation intention also is a determining variable for possible NPO expansion (Foster & Fine, 2007).

Literature shows that non-‐profits can increase their donations if they form a successful collaboration with FPO’s. Lichtenstein et al. (2004) found that customer-‐corporate identification (C-‐C) did not only lead to customer support for the for-‐profit, but also to increased support, in for example donation intention, for the non-‐profit that the corporation is collaborating with. However, for the for-‐profit customer base to support the non-‐profit will only happen when the FPO customers can identify themselves with the NPO as well as they do with the FPO. Therefore the alliance between the NPO and FPO has to be congruent in the mind of the customer and should be perceived as having a high level of fit in order for the customers’ to identify themselves with both the FPO and NPO. This need for congruence in the mind of the consumer is also mentioned by Cornwell et al. (2005). They explain this need for congruency by the concept of balance theory. Balance theory argues that consumers strive for consistency in both attitude and behavior. In a social alliance this will mean that that the consumer will seek a balanced relationship between both partners. If the consumer

(16)

perceives balance, the positive pre-‐existing attitude towards one organization will be redirected towards the other. This can explain why high-‐fit in C-‐C identification can transfer the high support customer base from the FPO to the NPO and therefore lead to increased donation intention. Foster & Fine (2007) in their research come to a similar conclusion. They found that a funding source, in this case the consumer, has to have a natural match with the beneficiary to ensure a successful funding collaboration. Most donations were received when the funding source had a natural match with the NPO. Following these theories, it is assumed that social alliance fit will positively influence donation intention. The following hypothesis is therefore proposed:

H1: a NPO collaborating in a high fit social alliance will have higher consumer donation intentions, then in a low fit social alliance.

As stated in the introduction paragraph, donation intention is not the only variable which is important for an NPO. The variables of warmth & competence are also determined to be high importance for the NPO.

2.3 Consumer responses towards NPO’s in social alliances; Warmth & Competence

Social theory suggests that consumers can judge firms on social variables also used when judging people. Through individualization and personification of products it is assumed that consumers are open to the notion that organizations can possess human-‐like traits (Aaker et al., 2010). A personal characteristic such as a reputation is an example of a social judgment, which can also be placed on a firm. A reputable organization is an organization with high quality offerings, value creation and good investment opportunities. These competencies are related to a high perception of competency. Trust and fairness on the on the other hand fall under the variable of warmth (Aaker et al., 2004). Literature also makes a distinction between types of organizations and their perceptions and distinguishes between for-‐profit and non-‐profit organizations. This distinction is mostly based on work practices and shows that for-‐profit employees are rated and promoted on managerial and competency skills whereas non-‐profit employees

(17)

often get rated on commitment towards the social good of the organization (Moret, 2004). Organizational outcomes such as efficiency and costs are influential as well and Aaker et al. (2010) state that FPO work practises align better with the competent side and NPO practises align better with variables related to warmth. The variables of warmth and competence are found to help consumers categorize companies and it is found that FPO’s are perceived as competent and NPO’s their turn are viewed as warm (Aaker et al., 2010). The dimension of warmth incorporates traits that reflect perceived intent such as sincerity, friendliness, helpfulness, trustworthiness and morality. Traits of competence on the other hand evolve around perceived ability such as efficiency, effectiveness, intellect and skill (Fiske et al., 2007). The findings that FPO’s are perceived as more competent and less warm than NPO’s, and NPO’s in their turn as warmer but less competent than FPO’s (Aaker et al., 2010), can be logically explained. The mission of a FPO is to make profit, the NPO on the other hand has a social mission and therefore will naturally gain more trust from consumers and score higher on warmth related traits (McElhany, 2008).

The perceptions of consumers towards the NPO as stand-‐alone organization probably will differ as when it is collaborating with a FPO. This statement will be further investigated by looking through collaborations’ and alliance literature. Research suggests’ that collaboration is: “a mutually beneficial

way for both alliance partners to leverage their brands through the transfer of established brand attitudes to new relationship partners” (Dickinson & Barker,

2007; p. 75). The transfer of attitudes is described in several studies, and mostly in the context of advertising. Petty et al. (1983) state that if a consumer likes a particular advertisement, he or she will most likely transfer the attitude to the brand and vice versa, this process is the definition of affect transfer. Simonin & Ruth (1998) extend on these findings and use the information integration theory and attitude accessibility combined to explain how prior attitudes can affect the attitudes toward the brand alliance. Based on these theories Simonin & Ruth (1998) found that prior attitudes towards the brands were transferred towards the brand alliance, which in turn were transferred to post-‐exposure attitudes towards both brands. Consumers’ attitudes or perceptions of one brand can therefore be transferred to another brand, when the two are collaborating. From

(18)

the NPO’s point of view it will be beneficial that next to the usage of resources and knowledge from the for-‐profit it can also benefit from competency spill over effects. When this is possible there might be the possibility to create a so-‐called “Golden Quadrant” where competency and warmth coexist in the mind of the consumer so that consumers perceptions of the non-‐profit are boosted to the level of the for-‐profits (Aaker et al., 2010). This can ultimately translate into increased customer engagement, connection and loyalty towards the NPO (Aaker et al., 2012). Following the theories of fit it is assumed that a higher perception of fit will ensure higher spill over effects of competency traits from the FPO to the NPO than then when there is a low fit. Bigne et al. (2010) found that a high perception of fit facilitated the association between the two partnering organizations producing a higher level of perceptions spill over from the FPO to the NPO and vice versa. This explains higher spill over of competence from the FPO towards the NPO in a high-‐ fit situation. Dickinson & Barker (2007) substantiate on these findings and found that evaluations and attitudes from one brand were transferred at a higher rate to the partner brand when there was a higher consumer perception of fit. This also explains why a higher perception of fit will lead to higher transfer of competence from the FPO to the NPO. The following hypothesis is therefore proposed:

H2: an NPO collaborating in a high-‐fit social alliance will be perceived higher on competency related traits than when it is collaborating in a low-‐fit social alliance.

It is assumed that the NPO perceptions of warmth will already be there in the mind of the consumers, since Aaker et al (2010) found that NPO’s were perceived higher on warmth rated traits than FPO’s. Becker-‐Olsen & Hill (2006) state that consumers are less favourable towards organizations collaborating in a low-‐fit alliance compared to a high fit alliance. Perceptions of warmth of the NPO in a low fit social alliance will therefore be lower. This is proven as well by Lafferty et al. (2004), who found that when there is a high degree of similarity or fit, consumers will evaluate both the NPO and the FPO more positively. Research by Ellen et al. (2006) found that a high fit between the company and the cause led consumers to believe that the company had altruistic motivations in helping the cause. Since altruism is defined as a helping behaviour it is closely related to

(19)

traits of warmth (helpfulness, kindness e.g.). Next to the increased transfer of competence in a high fit alliance, the increased perception of FPO warmth trough the altruistic motives generated by the high-‐fit social alliance will also transfer to the NPO. The altruistic motives generated by a high-‐fit alliance will also generate a more positive attitude towards the NPO. Ruth & Simonin (2006) in their study found that consumers had a more positive attitude towards an event sponsored by a company with altruistic motives. The NPO will therefore be perceived higher on warmth traits in a high-‐fit alliance than in a low-‐fit alliance. The following hypothesis is therefore stated:

H3: an NPO collaborating in a high-‐fit social alliance will be perceived higher on warmth related traits, as when the NPO is collaborating in a low-‐fit social alliance.

The possible effects of high vs. low fit alliances on the consumer perceptions of warmth and competence are proposed in this paragraph. However it is assumed as well that the increased perceptions of NPO warmth and competence will in its turn influence the donation intention as well. The following paragraph will elaborate on the mediating effects of warmth and competence on donation intention.

2.4 The mediating effect of Warmth & Competence

In paragraph 2.3 the mutual effects of warmth and competence on the NPO are described. Theory also gives ground for the influence of these variables on consumers’ intention to donate. An important construct of warmth is trustworthiness. Research by Sargeant & Lee (2004) found that trust is important for the existence of the organization and is the foundation for donation intention. Research by Webb et al. (2000) found that potential philanthropic donors were more likely to make donations if both the attitudes towards the charitable organization and toward helping were positive. Therefore, if a consumer perceives an NPO high on warmth related traits they will evaluate the NPO positively, in contrast with low scores, which will indicate a negative perception of the NPO. Constructs of warmth therefore ought to be influencing donation intention positively. The following hypothesis is therefore proposed:

(20)

H4: Warmth will mediate the impact of fit on donation intention.

This is not the only factors influencing donation intention. Another important factor is the ability of the NPO to execute its mission (Mogilner, 2010). Research by Sargeant et al. (2006) found that the perceived level of performance of the organization receiving the donation is a clear indicator for donation intension of the consumer. This means that when an NPO is perceived as capable to execute it’s mission, it is more effective in achieving its goal and therefore will have a higher donation intention then when it is not perceived as competent. Therefore the following hypotheses is stated:

H5: Competence will mediate the impact of fit on donation intention.

The literature research done in this study provides evidence for the importance of warmth & competence perceptions of NPO’s. At first it is discussed that high vs. low perceptions of social alliance fit will influence the donation intention towards the NPO. Theory also provides evidence that a high vs. low fit perception of a social alliance influences warmth and competence. Next to that theory also gives ground for the positive influence of warmth and competence on donation intention in itself. Therefore it is assumed that warmth & competence will have a mediating influence on the relation between social alliance fit and donation intention.

Today’s working practises of social alliances show that the non-‐profits do not solely collaborate with a single for-‐profit organization. To gain maximal benefits of FPO resources and knowledge, alliances are formed with multiple alliance partners. Existing literature does not investigate on the effects of this so-‐ called roster size, or number of FPO partners. Therefore this study will elaborate further on the influence of the multiple FPO’s collaborating with a single NPO.

(21)

2.5 Roster Size

As in practise an extending amount of NPO’s is participating in alliances with multiple FPO’s, the theory is lacking behind in researching the influence of this so called roster size, or number of organizations. Research on this subject was conducted by Carrilat et al. (2005) and Ruth & Simonin (2003 & 2006). In their research these authors investigated the influence of multiple sponsors on consumers perceptions in which they measured the impact on the sponsored event, the sponsor and the sponsorship. The outcomes of the effects on the beneficiary organization will be most useable for this research, since this is most similar to the non-‐profit organization, which is researched in this study. In their 2003 research Ruth & Simonin measured the impact on consumers attitude towards a sponsored event when two sponsors were sponsoring the event. Their findings suggest that the presence of controversial products and prior attitudes towards brands influence consumers’ attitude formation towards the sponsored event in such a way that the controversial product can work against the formation of a positive attitude towards the event. In 2006 Ruth & Simonin again conducted research on the topic of sponsorship and the moderating effect of roster size on attitudes towards the event. To address a new gap in research the authors studied the impact of roster size in conjunction with sponsors’ motives and stigma effects of the event recipient. The first part of the study indicated that sponsor motives (altruistic vs. sales-‐oriented) and an increasing amount of sponsors caused a significant effect on attitudes towards the event. Through empirical research their study found that a positive attitude towards the event, resulting from an FPO with altruistic motives, was influenced negatively by an increase in number of FPO’s. The second part of the study investigated the event attitudes towards stigmatized vs. non-‐stigmatized beneficiaries. The outcome here was that the effects of stigma on attitudes towards the event were diluted when the number of sponsors was increased. The main outcome of this 2006 research by Ruth & Simonin therefore states that an increase in roster size has a diluting effect on the attitude towards the event. These outcomes were found not only when the number of sponsors was increased from one to two, an increase from two to five sponsors had an even further diluting effect on the event attitudes. These findings of Ruth & Simonin (2006) can be substantiated by