Confidence is Good? too Much, not so Much: Exploring the effects on crowdfunding success

Naomi Moy, Ho Fai Chan, Felix Septianto, Frank Mathmann and Benno Torgler

Journal of Business Research, 2024, vol. 182, issue C

Abstract: Marketers take major risks to display confidence, based on the assumption that “more is always better”, yet the extant literature lacks adequate support for this notion. The present research proposes a novel conceptualization of the relationship between the confidence expressed in crowdfunding project descriptions and success, which is predicted to take an inverted U-shape. In this regard, the research draws upon the compensation effect identified between perceived competence and warmth, such that expressing high levels of confidence could decrease perceived warmth. As a result, there will be an optimal (moderate) level of confidence that determines successful fundraising outcomes – as measured by the number of contributors and amounts contributed. This prediction is tested by analyzing more than 71,000 Kickstarter projects (Study 1) and 1.3 million Kiva projects (Study 2, preregistered). A follow-up experiment (Study 3, preregistered) then establishes causality, demonstrating the role of perceived warmth and competence as the underlying mechanism.

Keywords: Crowdfunding; Fundraising; Confidence; Warmth; Competence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296324002157
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:182:y:2024:i:c:s0148296324002157

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114711

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Research is currently edited by A. G. Woodside

More articles in Journal of Business Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().