Predictions of Crowdfunding Campaign Success: The Influence of First Impressions on Accuracy and Positivity

Abstract

Crowdfunding has quickly gained popularity in recent years, providing an additional way for entrepreneurial individuals and organizations (creators) to attract funds for their projects. Scholars have been interested in predicting the success of crowdfunding campaigns, by relating campaign characteristics to the actual success of these campaigns. We take one step back by studying the cognitive processes of the crowd. This paper uses an experimental approach to establish whether participants’ predictions on the success of crowdfunding campaigns based on first impressions are as positive and as accurate as those derived from more thorough analyses. We employ a two-study replication design, in which individuals estimate the success of crowdfunding campaigns in two conditions: with limited time and with unlimited time. The results show that prediction accuracy in both conditions is equal, yet shorter time availability results in assessments that are more negative. We discuss implications for creators and for funders.

Crowdfunding in Kenya: Factors for Successful Campaign : The Case of Kickstarter Crowdfunding Platform

“…in their research, Hossain andOparaocha (2017), andFanea-Ivanovici andSiemionek-Ruskań (2019) observed that the use of the internet, marketing channels, the ability to test new innovative and creative ideas, and the direct interaction with the customers are few elements differentiating crowdfunding from other traditional fundraising campaigns. Additionally, crowdfunding platforms allow startups to entice investors by advertising their new or innovative ideas through the internet (Schraven et al, 2020)providing an additional way for entrepreneurial individuals and organizations (creators. using the internet also sets aside the crowdfunding campaigns from the traditional fundraising campaigns through generating a wide range of audiences (Fanea-ivanovici &Siemionek-Ruskań, 2019 andtafesse, 2021).…”

Social Energy as the Driving Force behind Crowdfunding—Analysis and Classification of Selected Attributes

“…The results of this study can be viewed as a supplement to the research presented by Usman et al [61] concerning the problem of information asymmetry in decision-making processes in crowdfunding. As already mentioned, the lack of "fairly" available information is particularly noticeable here, and when such a situation occurs, decisions can be highly influenced by emotions or the first impressions, as discussed by Schraven et al [64]. The analysis and classification of crowdfunding attributes presented in this paper provides a large amount of information that may constitute the basis for more rational decisions, especially taking into account that the research results are presented in various crosssections, and the obtained category classes of projects or attributes make it possible to capture their similarity and the strength of correlation.…”

“…A clearly behavioral approach was adopted in the article by Schraven et al [64], called "Predictions of Crowdfunding Campaign Success: The Influence of First Impressions on Accuracy and Positivity". Venturelli et al [65] also took on a behavioral perspective when investigating the relationship between gender and ethnic origin of the person submitting the project and its backers.…”

Predicting Success of Campaigns on Membership based Patreon Crowdfunding Platform

“…They also established that the gender of campaigners influenced the generation of funding on crowdfunding platforms. Schraven et al [13] evaluated the campaign success from the perspective of cognitive biases of the participants in w.r.t duration of assessment of positivity about the Kickstarter projects. Shane and Cable [14] and Zheng et al [15] have showed that the influence of an individual's social media connections in raising funds successfully is significant.…”