How do Self-identity and Motivational Foundation Influence Chinese Prosocial Behavior Intention? Findings from NCA and fsQCA

Prosocial behavior is important for personal well-being and social harmony. Based on identity-based motivation theory, this study examined how combinations of condition variables, including socioeconomic status, empathic concern, future self-continuity, and interpersonal trust, lead to high prosocial behavior intention. In this study, fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to analyze the 416 questionnaires collected to explore the multiple causal relationships affecting prosocial behavior intention, and necessary condition analysis (NCA) was used to examine the necessary relationship between each condition and the outcome. The results of the NCA found that there is no necessary condition for a single factor to produce high prosocial intention. The fsQCA results showed two configuration paths for high prosocial behavior intention and four configuration paths for low prosocial behavior intention, suggesting that there is no single path for promoting prosocial behavior intention. This study improves understanding of prosocial behavior through the combined use of NCA and fsQCA, and offers implications for enhancing prosocial behavior intention and potential directions for future research.