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Sara Penner

Sara Penner Title: Associate Professor
Office: 4BC31
Building: Buhler

Degrees:

Ph.D. (Marketing), University of Manitoba
M.A. (Resource Development and Philanthropy), Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
B.A. (Physical Education and Recreation Studies), University of Manitoba

Biography:

Sara teaches Not-for-Profit Management, Fundamentals of Co-operative Enterprises, Intro to Business I, Fundamentals of Marketing, Advertising, Special Topics in Marketing -case studies, research, and contemporary issues in marketing.

Sara enjoys working closely with industry on her research projects, to both develop her research questions and connect to community to apply the research results.  She has worked with numerous not-for-profits in Winnipeg, giving her the opportunity to explore grief and philanthropy, job satisfaction and giving in the workplace as well as the impact of signatures on direct mail letters. Her main areas of research interest are nonprofits and philanthropic motivations, persuasion and information processing.

Sara is also the Director of the Research Centre for Co-operative Enterprises where she works to encourage student learning and research into “purpose-driven” enterprises​— from not-for-profits, to co-ops,  to B Corps—and foster overall engagement in social innovation.

Publications:

Kettle, K., Penner, S., & Main, K. (2025) “Look for the (Large) Signature: Signature Size Affects Response to Donation Solicitations. Journal of Philanthropy.

Golding, M., A., Bhamra1 M., Harbottle, A., Ben-Shoshan, M., Gerdts, J.D., Roos  L.E., Abrams, E.M., Penner, S., St-Vincent, J. and Protudjer, J. (2024) An investigation of a novel dairy allergy-friendly food supplement program. Accepted at Frontiers in Allergy, 5:1301834. doi: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1301834

Wagn, L., & Penner, S. (2024). A bartender, a brand rep and a customer walk into a bar: an exploration of the expert middleperson in the Persuasion Knowledge Model. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2340120

Bhamra M, Harbottle Z, Golding MA, Ben-Shoshan M, Roos LE, Abrams EM, Penner SJ, St-Vincent J-A, Protudjer JLP. (2023) Parental perceptions of a novel subsidy program to address the financial burden of milk allergy: a qualitative study. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol, 19(1):65. doi:10.1186/s13223-023-00828-w. PMID 37516877

Penner, S., Friesen, H. & McLean, J. (2022). Argyle: Behavioural Change Marketing. Ivey Publishing. Product #W25589

Penner, S. and Main, K. (2021). In memoriam fundraising: an empirical exploration of donor motivations. Social Business, 11(1-2) 117-136. https://doi.org/10.1362/204440821X16206324311204

Penner, S. (2019). The Wellness Institute: To Brand or Not to Brand? Ivey Publishing. Product #W19542

Bullard, O., Penner, S. and Main, K. J. (2019). Can implicit theory influence construal level? Journal of Consumer Psychology29(4), 662–670. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1101

Bullard, O. and Penner, S. (2017). A regulatory-focused perspective on philanthropy: promotion focus motivates giving to prevention-framed causes. Journal of Business Research79, 173–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.06.013