Donating behavior: if time is money, which to give? A preliminary analysis

Purpose – There appears to be a puzzle associated with the observation that individuals both donate and volunteer to charity. If the purpose of a giving individual is to maximize the effect of his/her donation, then he/she should give as effectively as possible. This implies that an individual should donate either time or money but not both. Yet, simultaneous volunteering and donating money is extremely common. Indeed, it may be viewed as the rule rather than the exception. This paper aims to offer a solution to this puzzle. Design/methodology/approach – This theoretical paper models giving behavior by individuals and takes into account the disutility of volunteer and income related work. Findings – By modeling the difference between an individual's volunteer and income‐related work, it can be understood why individuals' giving behavior of donating money and volunteering. Research limitations/implications – Future research should test these findings empirically. Originality/value – Theoretical contribution to our understanding of giving behavior as to why individuals donate money and time even if is not economically efficient to do both.