What determine the givers behavior? The mindset of waqf giver in Malaysia

Abstract

There are several questions that have fascinated behavioral scientists for decades; one of them was: why do we give things like money, effort, guidance, help & kind words or/and time to others? Researchers have looked into why people donate, why they don’t do it as much as they would hope to and how to bridge this gap. But no clear answer to the psychology of giving; the inner motive that drive us to give. Available literature shows that charitable giving arises from a complexity of motives, attitudes, and demographic attributes. Some may give out of altruism, while others give out of egoism. Others find mercy, humility, obligation, tax deductions, and access to elite business and social networks as motives for giving. However, what the real motivations in the highest giving individuals is not very clear, specially what is related to Waqf in Malaysia. Waqfis a financial charitable endowment established by withholding immovable and movable properties to perpetually spend its revenue on fulfilling public needs; it has been the main source for public services that been provided to communities. The purpose of this paper is to explore traits of givers, in order to present factors associated with giving behavior. A qualitative method was used to attain the study objectives. The findings signified that unique thinking and psychology behind helping others played a crucial role in donor contribution to Waqf; this concludes that sincerity determinant quality of givers.