The factors that influence performance of zakat management at Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah Darul Aman (LZNK)

Zakat can be defined as a way to purify wealth and soul, which cleanses the heart from impurities of selfishness, greed, hatred, and ego-centricity. It is also part of an integral Islamic economic system with the purpose of the economic well-being of the Muslim community. The efficiency of zakat performance cannot be seen only regarding the level of trust between the payer and zakat institutions and its main purpose of reducing poverty in society. This study aims to understand the factors that affect the zakat performance and focus on the factors that influence the zakat performance. The significant factors include the extent of knowledge about the management of zakat among the zakat staff, the operating system of zakat management, and the managerial transparency of the zakat management system in Kedah. Besides, only three factors out of all are put into an investigation for the study: the performance of staff knowledge in zakat management, the performance of an operating system in zakat management, and performance of transparency in zakat management. The two theories are adapted to the factor, Theory Adoption Model (TAM) and Human Capital Management (HCM) theory. This study also depends on primary data acquired from respondents’ answers and analysis using SPSS Version 20. As a result, the factor that influences performance zakat management for LZNK is based on a multiple regression test, and two factors significantly influencing zakat performance, namely the operating systems and managerial transparency. However, the one variable of staff knowledge and skill is not significant, which means the hypothesis is unacceptable. In conclusion, the operating system and managerial transparency of LZNK is a good innovation toward the better performance of zakat management.