The Impact of Nostalgia Proneness on Online Donation Willingness: The Mediating Effect of Consumer-Brand Relationship

The rapid outbreak of COVID-19 wreaked havoc and brought a pause to the normal lives, and the labor market and human livelihoods were strongly negatively affected because of it. The emergence of groups that were unable to withstand various pressures has increased the appeal of donation behavior to a certain extent. Therefore, under the impetus of COVID-19 and digital background, online donation represented by Waterdrop financing has become popular. In the common difficult period, how to improve an individual’s willingness to donate online has become an urgent problem to be solved. To address this issue, on the basis of previous literature, we proposed a research hypothesis and a theoretical model of “nostalgia-relationship variables-donation”. After that, we determined the measurement scale, conducted a large sample survey, and finally conducted hypothesis testing through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling analysis. Through the above analyses, the study reached the following conclusions: the main influence factors of personal nostalgic proneness are insecurity, past experience, loneliness, and recovery from grief, among others. There is a positive causal link between nostalgia proneness and familial utility intensity and emotional utility intensity. The greater the degree of the nostalgia intensity of the donor, the more the trust placed in charitable organizations. The donors’ relationship commitment to charitable organizations significantly influences their online donation willingness. The main source of relationship commitment consists of emotional intensity, followed by trust, and finally, familial intensity.