This study examines how cultural values influence voluntary payment decisions in a pay-what-you-want (PWYW) context using data from guided tours in Warsaw. The researchers find that PWYW payments are higher in cultures with lower power distance, greater indulgence, and higher scores for charity, fairness, and financial satisfaction. A multilevel regression model shows that cultural factors, age, and whether the payment was the main compensation or a tip were significant determinants of payment size. The study provides evidence that cultural values must be considered when implementing PWYW payment schemes.

1. Cultural Differences Affect Voluntary
Payment Decisions: Evidence from Guided
Tours
Anna Kukla-Gryz, Peter Szewczyk and Katarzyna Zagórska

2. Research question
Which cultural values are significant determinants
of the cross-country differences in the size of
PWYW payments?
2
Hofstede's dimensions
Schwartz's values
World Values Survey
PWYW payments
for Free Tour

3. 3
Does it really matter?
Passenger busking before his show in Adelaide
The Manchester’s Halle Orchestra
Nottingham Playhouse
The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
The Guggenheim Museum, New York
The Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego
Teatr Odwrócony
BUZZCUT - a pay-what-you-can festival
PWYW nights in the Dallas Theater Center
Radiohead
Humble Bundle
„Panera Bread runs four nonprofit "Panera
Cares" locations with PWYW pricing”
 No investigation on cross-cultural differences on the magnitude of PWYW
(Natter & Kaufman 2015)

4. Data Collecting – The Tour
4
 Orange Umbrella Tours – Warsaw Old Town Tour
 Voluntary donation system (payment at the end of the tour)
 Summer 2016, weekdays @ 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
 Survey: 2 parts, anonymous,voluntary
 Purpose of research not revealed
 Incentive: ice cream coupon
 Average tour size: 20.4 tourists

5. Sample – Tourists’ Profiles
5
478 tourists
 404 before & after, 72 only after, 2 only before
Mean payment: 21 PLN
50 different countries
 UK (12%), Germany (11.7%), USA (10.4%)
80% had high or very high expectations
71% had previously attended a tour of same format
Number of participants in a tour varied from 7 to 35
Mean age: 24

6. Hypotheses
6
Hofstede Schwartz WVS
Power distance - Egalitarianism v.
hierachy
Leisure
Masculinity + Harmony v. mastery Unselfishness
Uncertainty
avoidance -
Intellectual/affective
autonomy from
conservatism
Charity
Indulgence + Fairness
Satisfaction with
one’s finances

7. Results, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
7
Av. PWYW
Power
Distance
Masculinity
Uncertainty
Avoidance
Power
Distance
(n=45)
-0.2771*
Masculinity
(n=45)
-0.1337 0.2183
Uncertainty
Avoidance
(n=45)
-0.3049** 0.2280 0.0660
Indulgence
(n=48)
0.4629*** -0.2915* 0.0626 -0.1252

8. Results , World Value Survey values
9
Av. PWYW Leisure Unselfishness Charity Fairness
Leisure
(n=27)
0.4875***
Unselfishness
(n=27)
-0.0912 0.0525
Charity
(n=27)
0.5243*** 0.3041 0.0992
Fairness
(n=27)
0.4453** 0.3402* -0.2936 0.5769***
Finances
(n=28)
0.6468*** 0.4677** 0.0624 0.5687*** 0.4902**

9. Results, Shwarz national values
10
From the Schwarz national values only the mastery/ harmony score is
positively (and significantly) correlated with the size of the PWYW
payments, suggesting that the decision about the size of the
voluntary payment gives a consumer the possibility to display his or
her material success.

10. Model 1, Multilevel Regression Model
11
𝑃𝑊𝑌𝑊𝑖,𝑗,𝑘
= 𝛽1 𝑀𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑂𝑟𝑇𝑖𝑝 𝑘 + 𝛽2 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑆𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑘 + 𝛽3 𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 + 𝛽4 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑘 + 𝛽5 𝐴𝑔𝑒 𝑘
+ 𝛽4 𝑆𝑒𝑥 𝑘 + 𝛽7 𝐺𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 + 𝜇𝑖 +𝜇𝑖𝑗 +𝑒𝑖𝑗𝑘

11. Results, Multilevel Regression Model
12
Fixed Effect Parameters
Main Compensation or Tip 6.008** 6.058*** 5.888*** 5.847***
(2.535) (1.705) (1.686) (1.686)
Tour Size -0.303 -0.114 -0.119 -0.143
(0.165) (0.123) (0.121) (0.112)
Age 0.232*** 0.258*** 0.253*** 0.254***
(0.077) (0.056) (0.054) (0.054)
Sex 0.740 -0.134 0.068 0.105
(2.069) (1.508) (1.487) (1.485)
Guide’s Gender 2.653 -0.790 -0.919
(2.417) (1.730) (1.174)
Overall 0.394 0.957
(1.458) (1.128)
Previous Tour Number --0.084
(0,288)
Constant 13.058 8.104 12.811** 12.723***
(8.053) (6.600) (4.654) (4.443)
Random Effect Parameters
𝜇𝑖 0,000 3.759 4.355 4.264
𝜇𝑖𝑗 3.044 2.549 2.950 3.025
𝑒𝑖𝑗𝑘 15.689 15.112 15.006 15.005
Observations 243 418 423 423
Number of groups 4 4 4 4
Number of Countries 37 43 43 43

12. Conclusions (1)
13
Cultural factors affect voluntary payment decisions.
The size of the PWYW payment are higher in a societies:
- with lower acceptance that the power in a society is distributed unequally
- with higher tolerance for unorthodox/ unusual behaviour and ideas
- which are more willing to freely gratify themselves donate
higher amounts.
- with higher involvement in charity, perception of fairness and happiness with
finances.
The success of the implementation of the PWYW payment
scheme may vary across the countries.

13. Conclusions (2)
14
- No evidence that an individual’s voluntary payment decreases over time, i.e. with
the number of free tours previously taken.
- No evidence that the magnitude of the individual voluntary payments decreases
with the size of the tour group.
If PWYW is introduced than the rules of service or good remuneration
should be clearly explained, i.e. if the voluntary payment is the main form
of compensation.
BUT:

14. Thank you for your attention!
More about our research on
http://grape.org.pl
This work was supported by the National Science Centre [UMO-
2014/14/E/HS4/00389]
Twitter: @GRAPE_ORG
Facebook: /GRAPE.ORG