The effect of others’ outcome valence on spontaneous gift-giving behavior: The role of empathy and self-esteem

Abstract

Purpose

In social networking services gift giving, the decision to send a gift is often initiated by spontaneous news about others, who may have recently experienced fortune or misfortune. The purpose of this paper is to show that the valence of the other’s event can affect the empathy experienced by the giver and that the level of empathy affects gift selection behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Study 1 investigated the relationship between empathy and valence of other’s event and the underlying mechanism of changes in self-esteem. Study 2 explored how different levels of empathies lead to different gift selection behavior. Study 3 replicated the results of Study 2 using a different measurement approach.

Findings

Across the three studies, findings consistently suggest that the empathy arising from unexpected news of the others’ fortune was lower compared to that of the others’ misfortune because of threats to self-esteem. In addition, greater empathy prompted gift givers to spend more time and effort in gift selection.

Practical implications

Understanding how valence of event experienced by others might motivate givers to engage in selecting a gift online can help retailers increase predictive insights for recommendations.

Originality/value

While past research focused on ritual gift giving, this research examined spontaneous gift giving. The study is also unique in that the empathy gap between the giver and the receiver is a result of the changes in the psychological state of the giver.

Citation

Hwang, J. and Chu, W. (2019), "The effect of others’ outcome valence on spontaneous gift-giving behavior: The role of empathy and self-esteem", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 53 No. 4, pp. 785-805. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-09-2017-0602