Marketing communication effectiveness during economic downturns - the case of Austrian nonprofit organizations

The objective of this master’s thesis is to examine the connection between marketing communication expenditures and donation amounts for Austrian Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) during times of relative economic stability, as well as during economic downturns such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent high inflation periods. For NPOs, times of economic crisis can be a source of great pressure because such organizations must maintain or even increase their services, despite constrained resources, such as decreasing donation volumes. To analyze these dynamics, a quantitative analysis was conducted based entirely on public data available for the years 2017 – 2023. The sample includes a total of 75 Austrian NPOs holding the "Spendengütesiegel", a certification that verifies transparency and accountability in the Austrian NPO sector. The base model clearly indicates that total marketing expenditures are a strong predictor of total donations received, by explaining 50.8 percent of variance. However, the research also found that marketing effectiveness is highly sensitive to contextual factors. Especially, the marketing effectiveness, or ROI (return on investment), declined substantially during crises periods, compared to the stable pre-crisis period from 2017 to 2019. The hypothesis that marketing effectiveness is moderated by economic periods was fully supported. Furthermore, the relationship between marketing expenditures and donations is substantially moderated by the ICNPO sector and the degree of public funding dependency, organizational size, however, was not found to be a significant moderator. These results clearly highlight the importance of adjusting resource allocation methods based on changes in the macroeconomic environment. The findings further challenge the universal “one-size-fits-all” marketing approach and confirm that strategic communication remains vital for maintaining fiscal stability amidst a critical environment.