BEHAVIORAL INTENTION TOWARDS ONLINE CASH WAQF FOR SME FINANCING: THE ROLES OF TRUST AND WAQF LITERACY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/AIJBES.829025Keywords:
Behavioral Intention, Islamic Social Finance, Online Cash Waqf, SME Financing, Trust in Institution, Trust on Technology, Waqf LiteracyAbstract
The adoption of digital technologies has transformed the administration of Islamic social finance, creating new opportunities for online cash waqf as a sustainable financing mechanism for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Despite its potential to enhance financial inclusion and socio-economic development, public participation in online cash waqf remains limited. Understanding the factors influencing participation, particularly among younger and tech-savvy individuals, is therefore essential. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study extends the theory by incorporating trust in institutions, trust on technology, and waqf literacy as context-specific antecedents of behavioural intention towards online cash waqf. Data were collected from 135 students enrolled in Malaysian public universities and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The measurement and structural models were assessed for reliability and validity. The findings indicate that trust in institutions and waqf literacy have significant positive effects on the intention to contribute to online cash waqf, suggesting that students are more willing to participate when they perceive waqf institutions as credible and possess adequate knowledge of waqf. In contrast, trust on technology does not significantly influence intention, implying that students may perceive digital platforms as sufficiently reliable or place greater emphasis on institutional credibility. The proposed model demonstrates substantial explanatory power in predicting behavioral intention. The findings highlight the importance of enhancing institutional transparency and strengthening waqf literacy among younger generations to increase participation in online cash waqf. Practically, waqf institutions should engage more actively with university communities through targeted educational programmes and effective communication strategies that emphasize the socio-economic role of cash waqf in supporting entrepreneurship and SME development. Shifting public perception of cash waqf from traditional philanthropy to a sustainable instrument for economic empowerment is crucial to expanding participation and maximising its developmental impact.
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