Research

Overview of my research agenda, current projects, publications, and academic training.

My research focuses on Charity Marketing and Prosocial Consumer Behavior, with a methodological emphasis on online, laboratory, and field experiments as well as secondary data analyses. I aim to advance theoretical understanding of consumer decision-making and develop marketing interventions that promote individual and societal well-being.

Current projects

  • Your Impact Wrapped: Evidence from a Field Experiment on the Effect of Custom End-of-Year Impact Recaps on Donor Retention
    with Pascal Güntürkün (WU Vienna), Nils Wlömert (WU Vienna), Martin Schreier (WU Vienna)

    Motivating donors to give at the beginning of the year is a challenge for many charities. In this research, we assess the efficacy of a novel intervention stimulated by commercial end-of-year recap campaigns (e.g., Spotify Wrapped, Apple Music Replay). Will the provision of related end-of-year impact recaps to donors increase donations at the beginning of the next year? How will this intervention compare to a more forward-looking goal-setting intervention?

  • The Downtrend Effect: When Negative Trends Increase Donations
    with Pascal Güntürkün (WU Vienna), Lukas Maier (WU Vienna), Valentyna Melnyk (UNSW)

    In many countries, key prosocial activities - such as volunteering and blood donation - are declining. While these declining prosocial trends (i.e., downtrending prosocial norms) are frequently amplified through media coverage and communications by NGOs and charities, we know little about their effects on consumers. In this research, we ask whether downtrending prosocial norms may (de-)motivate people, try to uncover the mechanisms through which downtrending prosocial norms work, and explore potential moderators.

Projects in development

  • Appreciation, external goal-setting and prosocial behavior.
    with Pascal Güntürkün (WU Vienna), Nils Wlömert (WU Vienna), Martin Schreier (WU Vienna)

Publications and conference presentations

  • Fally, S., Güntürkün, P., Wlömert, N., & Schreier, M. (2025). “Your Impact Wrapped: The Effect of Custom Impact Recaps on Donor Behavior.” ECDHM 2025.
  • Qua, K., Lengauer, M., Dorner, V., Fally, S., & Gomes, J. (2024). “Loose Change For Live Streaming: An Experimental Investigation On Online Tipping Denomination.” ECIS 2024.
  • Fally, S., & Güntürkün, P. (2023). “Breaking the Pattern: Emphasizing the Negative Trend in Blood Donations Positively Affects Non-Donors.” ECDHM 2023.

Summer schools & academic training

  • Summer School “Neuroeconomics”
    INSEAD (2025)
  • Summer School “Applying Open-Source LLMs in Social & Behaviour Sciences”
    University of St. Gallen (2024)
  • Summer School “European Summer School of Eye-Movements”
    University of Athens (2024)
  • Summer School “Beyond OLS: Categorical, Choice, and Count Models”
    University of Essex (2023)
  • Summer School “Theory and Practice of Economic Policy Advisory”
    Ruhr-Universität Bochum (online, 2020)

Research visits

  • University of New South Wales
    Spring 2026

Awards

  • International Research Fellow
    WU Vienna, Winter 2025
  • Small-scale projects by WU junior faculty
    WU Vienna, Winter 2024
  • Merit-based scholarship
    WU Vienna, Winter 2024
  • Merit-based scholarship
    WU Vienna, Winter 2023
  • Merit-based scholarship
    WU Vienna, Winter 2021
  • Merit-based scholarship
    University of Vienna, Winter 2016