About

Denise Sevick Bortree is an associate dean for academic affairs, a professor in the department of advertising/public relations, and the director of the Arthur W. Page Center at Penn State's Bellisario College of Communications. She brings more than 10 years of practical experience in communication management, having held positions such as communication manager, public relations manager, and marketing manager for various organizations. Her research focuses on nonprofit organizational communication and sustainability, and she has authored over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles published in prominent journals including Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Public Relations Research, and Nonprofit Management and Leadership. Bortree has also co-edited two books on environmental communication and social media ethics in public relations. She was selected by the United Nations Volunteers to write a background paper on volunteerism as a force for social inclusion for its 10-year report. Her scholarly contributions include guest editing special journal issues and presenting at numerous national and international conferences, where she has received multiple top paper awards. Bortree serves on editorial boards of leading journals and has held leadership roles within professional associations such as AEJMC and PRSA.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Business
• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Social Science
• Marketing
• Public relations
• Advertising
• Law

Selected publications

• The Role of Self‐Transcendent Emotions and Empathy in Motivating Nonprofit Audiences Toward Social and Environmental Issues

  Journal of Philanthropy · 2025-07-10

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  ABSTRACT This study examined the role of self‐transcendent emotions in increasing motivation to solve social and environmental problems. It investigated how self‐transcendent emotions and empathy predict individuals' problem recognition, constraint recognition, involvement recognition, and in turn, situational motivation in problem solving for two hot‐button issues—climate change and immigration. A 2 (emotions: self‐transcendent vs. control) × 2 [issue: social (immigration) vs. environmental (climate change)] experimental study ( N = 520) found that self‐transcendent emotions increased empathy, which significantly influenced problem recognition, constraint recognition, and involvement recognition, as well as situational motivation. Theoretical and practical implications for nonprofit organisations are discussed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Effects of climate CSA and CSR messaging: the moderating role of green consumer identity

  Corporate Communications An International Journal · 2023-07-05 · 11 citations

  articleSenior author

  Purpose The purpose of this experimental study is to examine the effects of climate change corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social advocacy (CSA) messages on public perceptions of companies and collective action intentions. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a 2 (message type: CSA vs CSR) × 2 (environmental issue: single-use plastics vs renewable energy) × 2 (company: Target vs Walmart) plus control online experimental design. Findings There were no main effects of message type on outcomes; however, green consumer identity moderated the relationship between message type and green purchase intention as well as negative word-of-mouth. Originality/value This study responds to calls by scholars to empirically compare the effects of CSR and CSA messages. Additionally, we consider group-level processes, like ingroup identity, in influencing strategic communication outcomes.

  PublisherDOI

• Symbolic and substantive legitimation: examining corporate commitments to sustainable development goal 12

  Journal of Communication Management · 2023 · 18 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Public relations

  Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess online corporate communication around commitments to sustainable development goal (SDG) 12, sustainable production and consumption. Design/methodology/approach Guided by legitimacy theory, a qualitative directed content analysis was conducted on 13 companies' webpages (81 webpages, 78,947 words). Findings Companies broadly failed to communicate about all 11 SDG 12 targets, neglected to consistently address multiple stakeholder groups, missed opportunities to provide concrete evidence of progress and relied on a mix of substantive and symbolic legitimation strategies. Originality/value SDG 12 has been under-researched and this paper is one of the first to offer an in-depth analysis of corporate communication regarding SDG 12.

  PublisherDOI

• The Big Assist: Exploring Nonprofit Practitioner Beliefs About Sport CSR Relationships

  Journal of sports media · 2021-01-01 · 1 citations

  article

  Corporate social responsibility (CSR) research often emphasizes CSR practices, organizational communication, and perceptions among publics. Scholars believe sport offers unique opportunities to create social impacts (Godfrey, 2009). However, sport CSR scholarship generally fails to address the quality of relationships between partner organizations. Ethic of care provides a framework for understanding the benefits of working with professional sport organizations and the resultant quality of those CSR relationships compared to other corporate partners. To address scholarly gaps, 29 depth interviews were conducted with nonprofit practitioners whose nonprofits received support from professional sport organizations. Inductive coding revealed distinct types of benefits (audience reach and credibility) and differences compared to other corporate partners (organizational access and cause-fit) that diverge from and add to existing sport CSR literature. Findings suggest that embracing caring practices can help sport organizations leverage their positions in local communities and help differentiate them as more desirable corporate partners.

  PublisherDOI

• From axial codes to <i>Z</i>‐scores: Charting the diversity and scope of 25 years of nonprofit marketing research published in <i>International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing</i>

  Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing · 2021-12-15 · 3 citations

  articleSenior author

  Abstract The International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing published practitioner and scholarly research for 25 years before it was rebranded to the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing . This research uses an emergent content analysis design to review all 629 research articles published in the first 25 volumes to document the field's marketing, theoretical, and methodological interests. This article provides important benchmark numbers to compare how the field evolves as the rebranded journal moves forward with a broader topical range.

  PublisherDOI

• Designing Social Media Fundraising Messages: An Experimental Approach to Understanding How Message Concreteness and Framing Influence Donation Intentions

  Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly · 2021 · 49 citations

  • Political Science
  • Social psychology
  • Psychology

  This experiment examined the effects of fundraising message characteristics on donation intentions through a simulated social media campaign. A 2 (abstract vs. concrete message) × 2 (gain vs. loss framing) between-subjects experiment ( n = 213) revealed that a message with detailed fundraising outcomes elicited a greater intention to donate through heightened perceived message credibility, perceived transparency, cognitive elaboration, and empathy. Gain and loss framing, however, did not result in significant differences in donation intentions. Theoretically, this study uncovered the psychological mechanisms through which message concreteness increases donation intentions. Practically, results of this study provided implications for drafting effective fundraising messages that can be disseminated on social media.

  PublisherDOI

• Examining the rage donation trend: Applying the anger activism model to explore communication and donation behaviors

  Public Relations Review · 2020 · 24 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Social psychology
  PublisherDOI

• Publishing as a Graduate Student

  2020-01-01

  other1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Refuting fake news on social media: nonprofits, crisis response strategies and issue involvement

  Journal of Product & Brand Management · 2019-05-13 · 95 citations

  article

  Purpose The dissemination of fake news has accelerated with social media and this has important implications for both organizations and their stakeholders alike. Hence, the purpose of this study is to shed light on the effectiveness of the crisis response strategies of denial and attack in addressing rumors about consumer privacy when non-profit organizations are targeted on social media. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypotheses, a 2 (response type: denial vs attack) × 2 (privacy concerns: low vs high), between-group online experiment was conducted via Qualtrics. Findings The results indicated that one’s involvement level in the issue determines the effectiveness of the crisis response strategy. Data showed that attacking the source of fake news (as a crisis response) reduces the message’s credibility more than denying fake news. Furthermore, highly involved individuals are more likely to centrally process information and develop positive supportive intentions toward the affected non-profit brand. High issue involvement also predicted organizational and response credibility. Conversely, an attack rebuttal message increased the credibility of the circulated malicious rumors for low involved individuals. Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that issue involvement plays a key role in message perceptions of false information regarding consumer privacy in social media. Practical implications Practically, this study offers insights for organizations that are developing response strategies in the current environment of fake news. Findings from this study suggest that organizations need to consider the degree to which audiences are currently involved in an issue before deciding how aggressively to respond to perpetrators of fake news. Originality/value The present study examines the intersection of fake news and crisis management in the non-profit sector, with an emphasis on various response strategies and issue involvement. This is one of the first attempts to experimentally investigate how social media strategies can defend and protect non-profit reputation in the fake news era.

  PublisherDOI

• Encouraging Volunteering in Nonprofit Organizations: The Role of Organizational Inclusion and Volunteer Need Satisfaction

  Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing · 2019-03-18 · 18 citations

  article

  Using self-determination theory as a framework, this study examined the relationship between perceived organizational inclusion, volunteer need satisfaction, and future behavioral intentions. A national survey of 428 volunteers found that when volunteers feel more included in the workplace, they experience higher need satisfaction, which leads to greater behavioral intentions toward the organization. Additionally, a path analysis found that some of the personal dimensions of inclusion (i.e., decision-making, information networks, and participation) predicted volunteer need satisfaction (i.e., competence, relatedness, and autonomy). All dimensions of need satisfaction predicted future behavioral intentions. There was a significant indirect effect of volunteering inclusion on behavioral intentions through need satisfaction. Results suggest that nonprofit organizations should encourage need satisfaction of their volunteers, and this can be accomplished in part through creating an inclusive environment. Other important theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Richard D. Waters

  11 shared

• Ross Ford

  4 shared

• Lee Ahern

  Pennsylvania State University

  4 shared

• Amanda M. Ruth

  College of Charleston

  4 shared

• Marcia W. DiStaso

  University of Florida

  4 shared

• Sandra Braun

  4 shared

• Alexandra Nutter Smith

  Parks and Wildlife Service

  4 shared

• Ruoxu Wang

  Institute of Modern Physics

  4 shared

Labs

• Media Effects Research LabPI

  The Media Effects Research Lab investigates social and psychological effects of technological elements unique to web-based mass-communication.

Education

• Ph.D., Mass Communications

  Pennsylvania State University

  1990

• M.A., Public Relations

  University of Florida

  1985

• B.A., Public Relations

  University of Florida

  1983

Awards & honors

• 2020 Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching
• Deans' Excellence Award for Research and Creative Accomplish…
• Dean's Excellence Award for Integrated Scholarship (2016)
• Big Ten Academic Leadership Program (2019-2020)
• Scripps Howard Leadership Academy (2013)