工作场所募捐: 上级与同事捐赠额信息对员工捐赠额的影响

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.0279

摘要/Abstract

摘要： 工作场所募捐是慈善捐赠的重要来源。在工作场所募捐实践中, 上级通常会率先捐赠以期发挥榜样作用, 但这种策略的效果如何却少有检验。本研究通过7项实验, 以同事率先捐赠为对照条件, 检验了组织内部上级(包括直接上级、更高级别的上级以及旁部门的上级)率先捐赠对员工捐赠行为的影响及其心理机制。结果发现：在上级捐赠额信息示范下, 员工捐赠额更低, 并且这种影响由员工感知到的劣势感(自己在职位、薪水和职业前景方面的劣势)所中介。本研究对工作场所的募捐理论和实践有重要启示。

关键词: 工作场所募捐, 社会影响, 社会比较, 感知劣势

Abstract: Workplace fundraising, which serves as an important source of charitable funding is an effective means of quickly engaging a large pool of potential donors. A common strategy involves having superiors donate first, aiming to set an example and encourage employees to participate. However, the effectiveness of this approach warrants further investigation. To explore this, we conducted seven experimental studies with employed individuals aged 18 and above, examining how donations made by superiors (versus coworkers) might suppress employees’ donation amounts and identify the psychological mechanisms underlying this effect.
Experiment 1a (N = 313) adopted a between-subjects design with five groups: 2 (previous donor identity: direct superior versus coworkers) × 2 (donation anchor value: high versus low) plus a group without social information. The results showed that employees donated less when informed of their superiors’ (versus coworkers) donation amounts. Additionally, under the high-anchor condition, employees increased their donation amounts. The interaction between the previous donor and donation anchor was not significant. Experiment 1b (N = 307), using a different charity scenario and a fixed set of seven donation options, replicated the suppressive effect of superiors’ (versus coworkers’) donations on employee contributions.
Experiment 2a (N = 252) examined the mediating role of perceived disadvantage and ruled out two alternative explanations, shared responsibility and other-enhanced motivation. Experiment 2b (N = 247) employed an incentive-compatible charitable donation task to further examine the mediating mechanism of perceived disadvantage and to eliminate alternative interpretations of social pressure. Experiment 3 (N = 210) further validated the mediating role of perceived disadvantage by manipulating this mediator. A 2 (previous donor: superior versus coworker) × 2(perceived disadvantage manipulation: present versus absent) between-subjects design was employed. In the perceived disadvantage-manipulation condition, participants were instructed to imagine that their superiors or coworkers performed worse than themselves in various domains including ability, goal achievement speed, resources, and respect. The results showed that the manipulation increased donation amounts for both the superior and coworker groups. These results further validated the mediating role of perceived disadvantage. Experiment 4 (N = 286) further categorized superiors into direct superiors, higher-level superiors, and superiors from other departments using a four-group (previous donor type: coworkers, direct superiors, higher-level superiors, and other department superiors) between-subjects design. The results showed that participants donated significantly less when informed about donations from any type of superior compared to coworkers. These results further supported the hypothesis that donations made by superiors (versus coworkers) suppress employee donation amounts and reinforced the mediating role of perceived disadvantages.
Experiment 5 (N = 250) compared the effects of monetary and time donations on workplace fundraising. Using a 2 (charitable resource: money versus time) × 2 (previous donor type: superior versus coworkers) between-subjects design, the results showed that donations made by superiors suppress employees’ monetary contributions, but this suppression effect is not observed in the case of time-based donations.
These findings suggest that in the context of workplace fundraising, the current top-down donation strategy may not be the most effective. In a top-down approach, employees’ donation decisions are influenced by upward social comparisons, where the perception of being disadvantaged relative to superiors suppresses their willingness to contribute. To mitigate this effect, organizations can minimize the impact of upward comparisons during fundraising campaigns. Encouraging generous employees to take the lead in making donations may be a more effective approach to maximizing overall contributions.

Key words: workplace fundraising, social influence, social comparison, perceived disadvantage

中图分类号:

B849: C91

江程铭, 杨小娟, 余淑琦, 陈李娜, 马家涛. (2026). 工作场所募捐: 上级与同事捐赠额信息对员工捐赠额的影响. 心理学报, 58(2), 279-291.

JIANG Chengming, YANG Xiaojuan, YU Shuqi, CHEN Lina, MA Jiatao. (2026). Workplace fundraising: The impact of donation information from superior and coworker on employee donations. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 58(2), 279-291.

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