Charity Donor Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda

Donor behavior and the act of charity have attracted evident attention globally in recent years primarily because of squeezed government funding to charities and Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) post 2008 financial meltdown. This paper reviewed 148 articles on charity donor behavior and giving behavior, and provides a coherent and contemporary view with a classification scheme having various categories based on different attributes. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it covers a systematic literature review (SLR) of charity donor behavior and its drivers. Second, it identifies the gaps in the current body of knowledge and highlights the future research direction. Using SLR Method, the present research identifies, meticulously evaluates, critically analyzes, and synthesizes findings of the relevant studies published in international journals in the fields of consumer behavior, information technology, services marketing, psychology, economics, and marketing management from 1980 onwards. Subsequently, various emerging themes in the area of Donor Behavior are identified based on gaps to facilitate the researchers and practitioners for their future research efforts.