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  • February 2020
  • Article
  • Management Science

Using Charity Performance Metrics as an Excuse Not to Give

By: Christine L. Exley
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Abstract

There is an increasing pressure to give more wisely and effectively. There is, relatedly, an increasing focus on charity performance metrics. Via a series of experiments, this paper provides a caution to such a focus. While information on charity performance metrics may facilitate more effective giving, it may also facilitate the development of excuses not to give. Managers of nonprofit organizations should carefully assess this tension when determining if and how to provide information on their performance metrics.

Keywords

Charitable Giving; Prosocial Behavior; Altruism; Excuses; Self-serving Biases; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Behavior

Citation

Exley, Christine L. "Using Charity Performance Metrics as an Excuse Not to Give." Management Science 66, no. 2 (February 2020): 553–563.
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About The Author

Christine L. Exley

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

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    • February 2023
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    Nonprofits in Good Times and Bad Times

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    When Do Individuals Give Up Agency? The Role of Decision Avoidance

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    The Gender Minority Gaps in Confidence and Self-Evaluations

    By: Billur Aksoy, Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler
More from the Author
  • Nonprofits in Good Times and Bad Times By: Christine L. Exley, Nils H. Lehr and Stephen J. Terry
  • When Do Individuals Give Up Agency? The Role of Decision Avoidance By: Holly Dykstra, Christine L. Exley and Muriel Niederle
  • The Gender Minority Gaps in Confidence and Self-Evaluations By: Billur Aksoy, Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler
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