Consumer Protection on Kickstarter

Abstract

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Crowdfunding cultural and commercial entrepreneurs: an empirical study on motivation in distinct backer communities

“…Central to SDT are different rewards, which thwart or enhance the inherent psychological needs (Ryan and Deci 2000a). However, most crowdfunding studies consider rewards only as acquiring "a new gadget or product" (Cholakova and Clarysse 2015, p. 154;Blaseg et al 2020); although, entrepreneurs offer a portfolio of different rewards. Common reward types are pre-purchase rewards, i.e., product or service, symbolic rewards, i.e., thank-you note, or community rewards, i.e., involvement with project creators or other backers (Thürridl and Kamleitner 2016).…”

“…The theoretical model by Belleflamme et al (2014) supports this view: The authors theorize that crowd funders are price-sensitive early consumers who want to pre-purchase a product. Also, Blaseg et al (2020) argue that backers visit reward crowdfunding websites instead of other marketplaces because they are looking for better prices and early-bird deals. Thus, backers might look for rewards that offer the product for a reasonable price, such as discounted rewards.…”

“…While there are undoubtedly commercial backers who are also interested in interacting with the founders, this might overall be less relevant for a backer community who is primarily looking for new products. In particular, commercial projects often launch the products rapidly after the crowdfunding campaign on other marketplaces (Blaseg et al 2020), indicating that most decisions on product development have been made. Therefore, the active involvement of backers in the value creation process also becomes less attractive for commercial backers.…”

“…The Pecuniary Reward variable indicates whether reward z involves a discount on the price offered during the crowdfunding campaign compared to the price after the campaign, e.g., a theater project offers discounted entrance tickets for a performance during the crowdfunding campaign compared to the price at the box office. Price discounts are typically promoted as an "early-bird" offer (Blaseg et al 2020). As the level of the discount is not specified in all rewards, the variable Pecuniary Reward is a dummy (1/0).…”

Introduction to the Special Issue on Consumer Protection

“…Second, Blaseg et al (2020) examine promises made on Kickstarter, a platform that allows people to receive funding for creative projects. Many Kickstarter projects presell a product that may later be sold in retail stores or online.…”