Publications Database

Welcome to the new Schulich Peer-Reviewed Publication Database!

The database is currently in beta-testing and will be updated with more features as time goes on. In the meantime, stakeholders are free to explore our faculty’s numerous works. The left-hand panel affords the ability to search by the following:

  • Faculty Member’s Name;
  • Area of Expertise;
  • Whether the Publication is Open-Access (free for public download);
  • Journal Name; and
  • Date Range.

At present, the database covers publications from 2012 to 2020, but will extend further back in the future. In addition to listing publications, the database includes two types of impact metrics: Altmetrics and Plum. The database will be updated annually with most recent publications from our faculty.

If you have any questions or input, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

 

Search Results

Harris, E. E., Neely, D. G., and Saxton, G. D. (2021). "Social Media, Signaling, and Donations: Testing the Financial Returns on Nonprofits’ Social Media Investment", Review of Accounting Studies.

Open Access Download

Abstract Social media outlets provide nonprofit organizations the opportunity of opening new communication and disclosure channels. Organizations must decide whether to set up these channels. They – and in turn their target audiences – must also decide how much to use social media. In this study we test a novel multi-level signaling theory framework to examine the relationship between social media investments and financial returns. Employing both cross-sectional and cross-temporal samples of 427 of the largest US non-hospital charities, we look at the association between donations and three dimensions of organizations’ social media efforts: 1) whether the organization has a social media presence, 2) how much the organization uses social media, and 3) the level of engagement of the organization’s audience. The findings support our conjecture that financial returns result from establishing a particular communication channel, from using that channel, and from having channel-specific audience engagement. We also consider how our three social media signaling dimensions condition the core donations demand variables, finding that social media substitutes for traditional fundraising expenditures. These results carry implications for the signaling and donation demand literatures and further our understanding of how these new media are changing the rules of donor engagement.

Saxton, G. and Wang, L. (2014). "The Social Network Effect: The Determinants of Donations on Social Media Sites", Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 43, 850-868.

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Abstract Social networking applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and Crowdrise offer new ways for nonprofits to engage the community in fundraising efforts. This study employs data from Facebook Causes to examine the nature and determinants of charitable giving in social networking environments. Our findings suggest donations on these sites are not driven by the same factors as in “off-line” settings. Instead, a social network effect takes precedence over traditional economic explanations. Facebook donors do not seem to care about efficiency ratios, their donations are typically small, and fundraising success is related not to the organization’s financial capacity but to its “Web capacity.” Moreover, online donors are prone to contribute to certain categories of causes more than others, especially those related to health. Given the growth in social media-driven fundraising—and the increase in crowdfunding, slacktivism, impulse donating, and other new practices this entails—these findings carry notable theoretical and practical implications.

Saxton, G., Wu, H. and Zhuang, J. (2014). "Publicity vs. Impact in Nonprofit Disclosures and Donor Preferences: A Sequential Game with One Nonprofit Organization and N Donors", Annals of Operations Research, 221, 469-491.

Open Access Download

Abstract Charitable giving is one of the essential tasks of a properly functioning civil society. This task is greatly complicated by the lack of organizational transparency and by the information asymmetries that often exist between organizations and donors in the market for charitable donations. The disclosure of financial, performance, donor-relations, and fundraising-related data is thus an important tool for nonprofit organizations attempting to attract greater donations while boosting accountability and public trust. There are, however, varying payoffs associated with such disclosure depending on the nature of donor preferences and the relative openness and effectiveness of competing organizations. To help understand the interplay between nonprofit organizational disclosures and individual donations, we present a novel game-theoretic model of disclosure–donation interactions that incorporates the predominant forms of both donor preferences and “value-relevant” information.

Bae, K., Kim, S. and Kim, W. (2012). "Family Control and Expropriation at Not-for-Profit Organizations: Evidence from Korean Private Universities", Corporate Governance: An International Review, 20, 388-404.

Open Access Download

Abstract Manuscript Type: Empirical. Research Question/Issue: We study an agency problem in private universities – the conflict between controlling familiesand other stakeholders. We investigate whether universities over which controlling families have disproportionatelysignificant power relative to the amount of funds they contribute, that is, universities with high expropriation risk, areassociated with lower outside donations and poor quality. Research Findings/Insights: Using a sample of Korean private universities, we find that measures of family control inexcess of monetary contributions are negatively related to the level of outside donation and measures of university quality.We also find that universities at which the controlling family exerts disproportionate control are more likely to face disputesbetween the controlling family and other stakeholders. Finally, we show that our results are not driven by reverse causality. Theoretical/Academic Implications: While the existing literature on not-for-profit organizations focuses on the conflictbetween professional managers and other stakeholders, we study the conflict between controlling families and otherstakeholders. We investigate a situation in which the controlling family expropriates other stakeholders, a topic missingfrom the existing not-for-profit literature. Practitioner/Policy Implications: This study offers insights to policymakers interested in creating private universities in anemerging market setting. The relevance of our results is not limited to Korea. According to Altbach, family control of privateuniversities is prevalent in a number of countries, including Mexico, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the Philippines,Argentina, India, and China.