Effects of Perceived Donation Efficacy on Donor Behavior:

Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

Perceived donation efficacy (PDE) is defined as “the degree to which donors perceive that their donations make a difference to the cause they support” and is a concept that has attracted attention as a mechanism for promoting donation. The purpose of this study is to review research on PDE, present the contributions and limitations of those studies, and suggest directions for future research. In total, we reviewed 21 related papers. A review of the factors influencing donor behavior, that is, donors, nonprofit organizations (NPOs), and the external environment, reveals that, except for the NPO perspective, the discussion is in its infancy. Our findings suggest that further exploration is needed regarding the relationship between PDE and each of the factors already discussed in the literature, as well as the relationship between PDE and other factors that have not yet been discussed. Additionally, based on our findings, we provide certain future research directions, which include unifying measurement scales for PDE and improving PDE for regular monthly donations.