The more the better? The negative effect of disseminators' donations in online donation

Abstract Online donation platforms often present information regarding disseminators' donations to stimulate donations, but it is unclear how it affects potential donors' behavior. This paper examines how disseminators' donation amounts impact potential donors' donation likelihood. The findings of six studies show that potential donors are less (vs. more) likely to contribute to unfamiliar initiators when disseminators contribute large (vs. small) amounts. The following psychological response drives the effect: when potential donors observe disseminators contribute more, they infer that disseminators have assumed greater responsibility and thus reduce their perceived responsibility to the unfamiliar initiator. We also confirm the boundary conditions of tie strength and empathy. This effect is significant when donors have low levels of empathy or strong ties with the disseminator. In contrast, this effect is reversed when tie strength is high and attenuated when potential donors have high levels of empathy. Our research enriches the literature concerning the effects of others' donations and online donation and provides managerial guidance to enable the success of online donation projects.