Do Facebook Friends Make Me Donate? Factors Involved in Online Donations via SNS

Abstract Various social media platforms allow people to participate in activities on social causes, including donating money online. We have sought to clarify internal (attitudes toward online donation, social identification, cause involvement, relationships with SNS connectors) and external factors (perception of SNS features) that predict the publics’ behavioral intentions, such as online donation and sharing words via SNS. This study conducted an online survey to examine the proposed hypotheses based on the literature review. The results of regressions show that social identification, cause involvement, and relationships with SNS connectors predict the intention to donate via SNS, while social identification, cause involvement, relationships with SNS connectors, and perception of SNS features affect the intention of Word-of-Mouth. Theoretical and practical implications are presented in the discussion and conclusion.