Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify funders’ motivations for investing in crowdfunding. It applies trust theory to propose a research model including three subject measures – fundraiser-related, project-related and platform-related factors. Trust has been categorized into cognitive and affective dimensions to specifically analyze the influential factors. Design/methodology/approach Bootstrapping is employed to analyze data collected from respondents with investment experience on equity crowdfunding projects. Structural equation modeling techniques are adopted to examine the factors that influence trust between funders and crowdfunding as well as the outcomes of this trust. Findings The results indicate that calculus trust and relationship trust collectively or separately transmit the effect of some antecedents to investment intention. However, there is no evidence indicating the mediating effects of calculus trust and relationship trust on the relationship of structural assurance and value congruence to investment intention. Practical implications This paper provides insights for crowdfunding fundraisers on how to build a strong relationship with funders, and it also gives crowdfunding designers advice on how to improve and perfect the platform functions. Originality/value This study contributes to a better understanding of the driving forces of calculus and relationship trust and their influence on investment intention. It is also the first to address a funder’s trust using a theoretical model describing the investor intention in crowdfunding and thereby extending the knowledge base of trust theory.

No consensus has yet been reached on the major factors driving the observed increase in the seasonal amplitude of atmospheric CO in the northern latitudes. In this study, we used atmospheric CO records from 26 northern hemisphere stations with a temporal coverage longer than 15 years, and an atmospheric transport model prescribed with net biome productivity (NBP) from an ensemble of nine terrestrial ecosystem models, to attribute change in the seasonal amplitude of atmospheric CO . We found significant (p < .05) increases in seasonal peak-to-trough CO amplitude (AMP ) at nine stations, and in trough-to-peak amplitude (AMP ) at eight stations over the last three decades. Most of the stations that recorded increasing amplitudes are in Arctic and boreal regions (>50°N), consistent with previous observations that the amplitude increased faster at Barrow (Arctic) than at Mauna Loa (subtropics). The multi-model ensemble mean (MMEM) shows that the response of ecosystem carbon cycling to rising CO concentration (eCO ) and climate change are dominant drivers of the increase in AMP and AMP in the high latitudes. At the Barrow station, the observed increase of AMP and AMP over the last 33 years is explained by eCO (39% and 42%) almost equally than by climate change (32% and 35%). The increased carbon losses during the months with a net carbon release in response to eCO are associated with higher ecosystem respiration due to the increase in carbon storage caused by eCO during carbon uptake period. Air-sea CO fluxes (10% for AMP and 11% for AMP ) and the impacts of land-use change (marginally significant 3% for AMP and 4% for AMP ) also contributed to the CO measured at Barrow, highlighting the role of these factors in regulating seasonal changes in the global carbon cycle.

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