Abstract: Donation recognition refers to the certificates or badges provided by charities to acknowledge donors’ contributions to charitable causes. It aims not only to maintain relationships with donors and encourage subsequent donations but also to promote information sharing. Donation recognition can be classified according to two dimensions: source and type. Recognition sources include beneficiaries and charitable organizations, while recognition types are categorized as warmth-based recognition and competence-based recognition. Drawing on objective self-awareness theory, self-consistency theory and impression-management theory, this paper examines the interaction effect between recognition source and type, as well as the underlying mechanism of this interaction effect.
One field study and three experimental studies were conducted to examine our hypotheses. Study 1 employed a 2 (source: beneficiaries vs. charitable organizations) × 2 (type: warmth vs. competence) between-subjects field experiment to examine the interaction effect between recognition source and type on subsequent donations and information sharing. Study 2 adopted a 2 (source: beneficiaries vs. charitable organizations) × 2 (type: warmth vs. competence) between-subjects design and replicated the interaction effect on subsequent donations and information sharing in a laboratory experiment, thereby enhancing the internal validity and the robustness of the conclusions. Study 3 employed a 2 (source: beneficiaries vs. charitable organizations) × 2 (type: warmth vs. competence) between-subjects design to examine the serial mediating roles of self-awareness and motives in explaining the interaction effect. Study 4 further examined the mediating role of different self-awareness states using a moderation model. Participants were randomly assigned to one condition of 2 (source: beneficiaries vs. charitable organizations) × 2 (type: warmth vs. competence) × 2 (self-awareness: objective vs. subjective) between-subjects design. Study 4 replicated the findings of previous studies, increasing the robustness of our conclusions.
The findings suggest that donation recognition exhibits a significant source-type matching effect, such that optimal behavioral responses are achieved only when recognition source and recognition type are congruently matched, rather than producing universal positive effects. Specifically, when beneficiaries provide warmth-based recognition, donors enter an objective self-awareness state, becoming more concerned with maintaining consistency between their past and future behaviors, thereby increasing their intention to donate again. Conversely, when charitable organizations provide competence-based recognition, donors maintain a subjective self-awareness state, focusing more on presenting a positive image to others, thereby increasing their information-sharing intention. These effects are mediated by self-consistency motives in the former case and impression-management motives in the latter. These findings contribute novel insights to the donation recognition literature, suggesting that charities should consider the match between recognition source and type when designing donation recognition.

Key words: donation recognition, subsequent donations, information sharing, self-awareness, self-consistency motives, impression-management motives