Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 313–315

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Public Relations Review

Short communication

The effect of charitable giving by celebrities on the personal public

relations
Sungwook Hwang ∗
Department of Digital Media, Myongji University, 50-3 Namgajwadong, Seodaemungu, Seoul 120-728, South Korea

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study examined how charitable giving by entertainment celebrities influences
Received 11 January 2010 celebrity personal public relations. Survey participants showed positive attitudes toward
Received in revised form 11 March 2010
charitable giving. Attitudes toward charitable giving positively influenced celebrity credi-
Accepted 27 April 2010
bility perception. Credibility also influenced attitudes toward the celebrities, which in turn
positively influenced the purchase intention of their performance. Also, attitudes toward
Keywords:
charitable donations were positively associated with attitudes toward the celebrities. Schol-
Charitable giving
ars and practitioners need to note charitable giving as an efficient and strategic personal
Personal public relations
Celebrity credibility public relations factor and method.
Attitude toward celebrity © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Purchase intention of celebrity
performance

1. Introduction

Scholars have found that celebrity credibility has a positive influence on attitudes toward advertising, brands, and
behavior intention of purchase. However, few empirical studies have examined what activities are influential in enhancing
celebrity’s credibility. Taking a note of the recent charitable giving by entertainment celebrities in South Korea, this study
regards the charitable giving by the public figures as a potential efficient personal public relations method for building,
enhancing, and maintaining their credibility. The first purpose of this study is to examine whether attitudes toward charita-
ble giving influence how publics evaluate celebrities’ credibility. Second, this study tests whether attitudes toward charitable
giving directly influences attitudes toward celebrities and the purchase intention of their performance in a positive way.
Also, this study examines whether attitudes toward charitable giving indirectly affect attitudes toward celebrities and the
purchase intention of their performance by way of celebrities’ credibility perception.

2. Method

2.1. Procedure

Targeting young consumers for the entertainment industry, this study sampled undergraduate students recruited from
the journalism classes of four large universities in two of South Korea’s major cities—Seoul and Busan. The survey question-
naire was distributed to a total of 500 students for the month of November 2009. 464 students voluntarily participated in

∗ Tel.: +82 2 300 0712; fax: +82 2 300 0654.

E-mail address: hsw110@mju.ac.kr.

0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.04.010
314 S. Hwang / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 313–315

the survey and were rewarded with extra credit. 457 surveys were completed and 7 were incomplete (N = 457). Participants
were 22 years old on average and male was 50.5%.

2.2. Measurement

Attitudes toward celebrity charitable giving was measured using three questions by referring to the measurement
scale of attitudes toward advertisement (MacKenzie & Lutz, 1989). Seven point semantic differential scales were used
(good/bad, favorable/unfavorable, and like/dislike, ˛ = .91). Celebrity credibility was defined as perceived dimensions of
credibility (see Ohanian, 1990). Attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise were measured with the following items,
respectively: attractive/unattractive, classy/not classy, and sexy/not sexy; sincere/insincere, reliable/unreliable, and trust-
worthy/untrustworthy; and expert/not an expert, experienced/inexperienced, and skilled/unskilled. Seven point semantic
differential scales were used and the Cronbach ˛ values were .61 for attractiveness, .89 for trustworthiness, and .84 for
expertise. Sexy/not sexy item was excluded in the final analysis because the reliability value of the other two items was
highly acceptable (˛ = .86). Each dimension was calculated into index score (summated score divided by the number of
question items). Attitudes toward the donating celebrities were measured with three general responses toward the brand
(MacKenzie & Lutz, 1989) because an entertainment celebrity can be regarded as a single outstanding brand. The items
were good/bad, favorable/unfavorable, and positive/negative and again measured with seven point scale (˛ = .95). Finally,
the purchase intention of celebrities’ performance was operationalized using two items: “I consider purchasing the ticket
of his or her performance such as concert, musical, or movie” and “I will buy his or her performance ticket.” The items were
developed by referring to the purchase intention scale of Ferle and Choi (2005). Seven point Likert scale was used (1: strongly
disagree (SD) to 7: strongly agree (SA), ˛ = .93).

2.3. Analysis

Structural equation modeling was used with the statistical software of AMOS 7.0.

3. Results

This study used maximum likelihood (ML) calculation method in analyzing the model. Referring to the model modification
index scores, two error co-variances in the same construct, credibility, were reasonably added in the original model. The 2
goodness of fit value was 158.84 (df = 37, p < .001). While the significant p-value indicated that the model does not perfectly
fit the data, 2 is quite sensitive to sample size and therefore this study noted the other fit index scores. First, the ratio of 2
to the degree of freedom was 4.29 less than 5, which is desirable. The other fit index scores were as follows: comparative fit
index (CFI, .97), goodness of fit index (GFI, .94), normed fit index (NFI, .96), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI, .96), root mean squared
residual approximation (RMSEA, .085), and root mean squared residual (RMR, .045). Most index scores indicated a good
fit. Most standardized factor loadings to each latent variable were higher than .70 (.84, .93 and .86 for attitude toward the
charitable giving; .84, .88 and .57 for credibility; .90, .94 and .93 for attitudes toward celebrity; and 1.01 and .86 for purchase
intention).
H1 examined the relationship between attitudes toward the charitable giving and perceived celebrity credibility. The
standardized coefficient was .73 (standardized error (SE): .05, p < .001). Attitudes toward the donation were a significant
predictor of consumer perception of celebrity credibility. That is, those who positively perceive celebrity charitable giving
were likely to evaluate the donating celebrities as highly credible. So, H1 was supported. Most participants showed very
positive attitudes toward the donation (M = 6.01, SD = 1.12).
H2 tested whether perceived credibility influences attitudes toward the celebrities, which in turn positively influence
the purchase intention of the celebrities’ performance. The two path coefficients were .38 (SE: .07, p < .001) and .26 (SE: .14,
p < .017), respectively. Perceived credibility positively influences the evaluation of celebrities, and the positive evaluation
for the celebrities further increases the possibility of purchasing their performance tickets. So, H2 was also supported.
H3 proposed that attitudes toward the charitable giving will directly influence attitudes toward the celebrities. The
standardized regression weight was .58 which was significant at p < .001 (SE = .07). Attitudes toward the donation were a
significant predictor of attitudes toward the celebrities. That is, those who are positive about celebrities’ charitable giving
are also likely to be favorable toward the donating celebrities. The direct effect (H3) was supported.
H4 investigated the relationship between attitudes toward the charitable giving and the purchase intention of perfor-
mance tickets. Unlike expectation, attitudes toward the donation were not a significant predictor of purchase intent. The
standardized regression weight was .02 (SE = .16, p = .83). That is, positive attitudes toward the donation were not associated
with the purchase intention of the celebrities’ performance. H4 was not supported.

4. Discussion

Most importantly, this study insists that scholars need to note celebrities’ charitable giving as a significant factor con-
tributing to celebrity personal public relations. Through the direct and mediating effects, positive attitudes toward charitable
giving contributed to all three main variables, the perception of celebrity credibility, attitudes toward the celebrities, and
 S. Hwang / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 313–315 315

the purchase intention of performance. Scholars are required to find similar or more influential factors for personal public
relations and further to refine the charitable giving variable itself in future personal public relations studies (e.g., time vs.
money).
The key practical message from this study is quite simple. That is, entertainment celebrity public relations practitioners
need to strategically consider charitable giving for better personal public relations. Altruistic behaviors empirically influ-
enced credible image, favorable evaluation, and the possibility of commercial boomerang effects. Thus, the South Korean
donating celebrities and their practitioners are actually donating money not only to poor people but also to themselves.
When celebrities share by charitable giving, their own profit pie actually gets bigger.
Advertisers and practitioners also need to actively consider the donating celebrities’ endorsement in political campaigns
and commercials. Credible celebrity endorsers positively influenced young voters’ attitudes toward candidates (Jackson
& Darrow, 2005) and voting behaviors (Pease & Brewer, 2008). Since the positive attitudes toward charitable giving by
entertainment celebrities produce a more credible image, it stands to reason that candidates and campaign managers can
take advantage of the halo effect caused by a celebrity’s heightened credibility and more altruistic image. Also, many celebrity
endorser effect studies in corporate advertising supported the idea that credible celebrity endorsers positively influenced
attitudes toward advertisement, brand, and the purchase intent of an advertised product or service. For better advertising
effects, corporate advertisers and practitioners need to consider donating celebrities as efficient endorsement candidates.

References

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MacKenzie, S. B., & Lutz, R. J. (1989). An empirical examination of the structural antecedents of attitude toward the ad in an advertising pretesting context.
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