1 Introduction
2 Social information, regulatory focus, and willingness to donate: hypotheses
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H1: The effect of negative social information (that few have donated) depends on the self-regulation of consumers. Specifically, such information (a) lowers the willingness of prevention-focused consumers to support a new charity and (b) stimulates the willingness of promotion-focused consumers to support a new charity.
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H2: Response efficacy mediates the harmful effect of negative social information (few have donated) on prevention-focused consumers’ willingness to donate. Specifically, exposure to negative social information reduces response efficacy, which in turn lowers the willingness to donate.
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H3: Need for uniqueness mediates the positive effect of negative social information (few have donated) on promotion-focused consumers’ willingness to donate. Specifically, exposure to negative social information strengthens the need for uniqueness, which in turn increases the willingness to donate.