Sadaqah-Based Crowdfunding:Drivers of Muslim Donor Contribution Behavior

Abstract

The concept of charitable giving through the crowdfunding platform had received significant attention from previous studies. Researchers have discussed the factors that drive the intention of donors to donate via the crowdfunding platform. However, researchers also found that the willingness to fund projects on crowdfunding platforms has been decreasing. This research aims to examine the potential of crowdfunding platform features to draw potential donors to contribute to the project. This research proposed two variables―utilitarian features (focus on functionality such as payment gateway), hedonic features (focus on enjoyment, such as the platform design). In addition, this study examined the role of trust in the platform as a mediating variable based on Stimulus - Organism – Response model (SOR) by Mehrabian & Russel (1974). This research gathered 148 valid responses through the virtual snowball sampling technique, taking into consideration the early stage of Malaysia’s crowdfunding environment. The finding uncovers that the utilitarian features and trust of the platform were the significant predictors towards intention compared to hedonic features. In addition, trust in the platform managed to mediate the relationship between utilitarian features and intention but contradicts the relationship between hedonic features and intention. Theoretically, this study enriches the literature on human-computer interaction by examining the role of crowdfunding platform in attracting potential contributors. Finally, this research suggests that future studies could improve the research on the demographic and sampling methods of the respondents.