PhD position in Marketing

Nonprofit organizations and face-to-face fundraising: An investigation of donors’ and recruiters’ ethical beliefs, and the impact of these beliefs on donor recruitment and retentionThe growing nonprofit sector is marked by increasing levels of competition and financial viability as one of its greatest challenges. It is becoming vital for nonprofit organizations to approach fundraising in more strategic and professional ways, with an increased focus on cost-effectiveness and building long-term relationships with donors. Face-to-face fundraising (e.g., street fundraising, door-to-door fundraising) is often mentioned as a highly promising fundraising technique because it is cost-effective, suitable for donor retention, less inhibited by the increasingly strict data protection regulations, and allowing organizations to enter new and younger markets. Despite its growing popularity and advantages, face-to-face fundraising also raises various ethical concerns (e.g., undue pressure) that may hinder its growth. Little is known, however, about the ethical judgments of face-to-face fundraising practices among both donors and recruiters. Equally, little is known about the relation between donors’ ethical judgments about face-to-face fundraising and this fundraising tool’s effectiveness in both the short and long run. During the PhD project, the aim is to address these gaps in both professional and academic literature and thus significantly contribute to this underexplored area of fundraising ethics. The project consists of the following aspects:

• You follow the doctoral program at the Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven (Brussels campus). More information can be found via the following website: https://feb.kuleuven.be/research/PhD/businesseconomics/Business
• You prepare a doctoral dissertation in the domain of non-profit marketing, more specifically on the ethics of face-to-face fundraising, supervised by Prof. dr. Tine De Bock (Brussels campus), Prof. dr. Tine Faseur (Brussels campus), and Prof. Dr. Siegfried Dewitte (Leuven campus). You will apply both quantitative (e.g., experiment) and qualitative (e.g., in-depth interviews) research methods. 
• You get the opportunity to participate in national and international collaborations, to follow seminars and to present your research in Belgium as well as abroad.
• You aim to publish the findings of the research project in (English) peer-reviewed scientific journals and actively look for other forms of science communication (also directed toward the professional nonprofit world). 
• You become an active member of a dynamic research group with a pleasant working environment for everyone who has an interest in doing scientific research at an international level.
• You supervise studen... For more information see https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60125852