The Kindness of Strangers? An Investigation into the Interaction of Funder Motivations in Online Crowdfunding Campaigns

Abstract

Summary This study investigates the interaction of motivations among contributors to online crowdfunding campaigns. Based on evidence from the literature on philanthropic behaviour, we argue that funder behaviour is likely to be driven by a combination of intrinsic, extrinsic and image enhancement motivations. We undertake an empirical investigation into the relationships between these factors by analysing data from an online rewards‐based crowdfunding platform. These data not only reveal the monetary values of individual contributions to fundraising campaigns but also indicate particular combinations of motivations based on the material reward selected (if any) and the decision as to whether or not to contribute anonymously. We find that extrinsically motivated funders generally make larger contributions than intrinsically motivated funders, which does not suggest the presence of a ‘crowding‐out’ effect given the presence of material incentives. We further show that named funders with intrinsic motivations contribute more than anonymous funders with intrinsic motivations, whereas the same pattern of behaviour is not observed among extrinsically motivated funders. The evidence from our study therefore suggests that image concerns interact with intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in different ways.

Why Do People Support Online Crowdfunding Charities? A Case Study From China

“…Individuals weigh both extrinsic factors (e.g., potential future rewards) as well as intrinsic factors (e.g., pure altruism and joy of help others) when considering their crowdfunding behavior (Allison et al, 2015). Prosocial behavior in traditional charity has been attributed to both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations (Cox et al, 2018). Charitable crowdfunding denotes the intersection between traditional charity and online community behavior (Choy and Schlagwein, 2016).…”

Psychological Determinants of Investor Motivation in Social Media-Based Crowdfunding Projects: A Systematic Review

“…Studying intrinsic motivation (altruism, the purely internal satisfaction derived from the act of giving), extrinsic motivation (the desire to acquire material rewards or other benefits), and image enhancement motivation, Cox et al ( 2017 ) discovered that among solely intrinsically motivated funders, those with a desire for image enhancement will contribute with greater monetary amounts to any given campaign compared with funders with no desire for image enhancement . Another aspect noticed by the researchers refers to the economic profitability of the project as a factor of extrinsic motivation reported to intrinsic motivation.…”

Elemen Kepercayaan Sebagai Teras Sumbangan Melalui Pendanaan Awam Bertujuan Kebajikan

“…Tanpa platform ini, mustahil kempen dan projek kebajikan dan pelaburan dapat diuar-uarkan ke seluruh dunia. Platformplatform ini mempunyai komuniti yang tersendiri, tidak mengenali antara satu sama lain (Cox et al 2018…”

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