To be good or to feel good : charitable giving to help others or to help ourselves?

The concept of giving behaviour has been analysed from the diverse perspectives of economists, psychologists, philosophers and increasingly in recent times, marketing scholars. Such diversity of parent disciplines cannot help but create a wealth of literature illustrating an array of different beliefs and views. Literature has often reviewed giving behaviour within the context of a philosophical continuum between altruism and egoism while an alternate body of work has focused on specific inner and outer directed motivations for giving. As marketing seeks to fulfil its role in shaping society it important to clarify this debate as, from a marketing perspective, this divergence can create confusion about appropriate marketing communications with donors and potential donors. To be socially responsible marketers of NPOs must seek mutually beneficial exchanges with donors which must, in turn, stem from an understanding of donor needs. Without an understanding of the values donors seek in return for their giving behaviour, marketers for NPOs cannot hope to engage in appropriate relationships with their donor base. Based on analysis of the current body of literature, this paper seeks to combine the two approaches, thereby developing a suggested framework of giving motivations within the adapted scale of altruistic and egoistic drivers. The revised model has implications for development of marketing communications and management of relationships with donors.