Strategic donor engagement on mobile social networking sites for mobile donations: a study of millennial WeChat users in China

This study aims to reveal insights into the charitable behavior of Chinese Millennial donors and to explicate the mechanism of donor engagement in mobile social network sites (SNS) that affects their charitable behavior. The analyses of the data collected in a random online survey of 200 Chinese Millennial donors who used WeChat (the dominant mobile SNS in China) revealed that perceived trust in a charitable organization was the most significant predictor of donations; celebrity endorsement, fun, and the gamified donation process were the least important. Mobile donations using WeChat payments were the most often utilized and the most preferred donation mode among the Millennials. WeChat payment donations were positively associated with trust in WeChat payments, diversity, and the frequency of WeChat payment use, WeChat use in general, and in seeking information about philanthropy in particular. WeChat was the most favored platform for communication and interaction with charitable organizations. Lastly, utilitarian values (i.e., useful and customized information and satisfactory account functionality) played a central role in making Millennial users stick (i.e., use continuously for various tasks) with branded or organizational WeChat public accounts. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings for donor engagement are discussed.