Kathleen Vohs, associate professor in the Marketing and Logistics Management department, is the co-author of "Non-Profits are Seen as Warm and For-Profits are Seen as Competent: Firm Stereotypes Matter," forthcoming in the Journal of Consumer Research. This is the first study to investigate whether stereotypes are used to evaluate non-profit and for-profit organizations. In three experiments, the researchers found that consumers hold stereotypes about such organizations, and that these stereotypes predict crucial marketplace behaviors, such as likelihood to visit a website and willingness to buy a product. Consumers perceive non-profits as being warmer than for-profits, but as less competent. Competence perceptions drive willingness to buy, which means that consumers are more eager to buy a product from a for-profit than a non-profit. These findings have application for both non-profit and for-profit companies interested in altering their perceived stereotypes to address issues of competency and warmth.
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