IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v71y2017icp10-18.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The influence of online information on investing decisions of reward-based crowdfunding

Author

Listed:
  • Bi, Sheng
  • Liu, Zhiying
  • Usman, Khalid

Abstract

How does online information influence investor decisions? Funders or investors have access to a variety of information about a project or product when they make investment decisions. Which kind of information affects investor behavior the most? Based on the elaboration likelihood model, we developed a research model and conducted an empirical study using objective data collected from a Chinese crowdfunding website. It was found that signals of quality and electronic word of mouth have significant positive effects on funder investment decisions. Results show that larger introduction word counts and video counts make funders feel the project has higher quality, and higher “Like” counts and online reviews make funders feel the project has good electronic word of mouth. Furthermore, analysis of the data here reveals that the central route information (signals of project quality) and the peripheral route information (e-word of mouth) have almost equal effects on funder investment decisions in the Chinese crowdfunding context. On the other hand, the central route was significantly more important for Science & Technology and Agriculture projects, whereas the peripheral route was more important for Entertainment and Art projects.

Suggested Citation

  • Bi, Sheng & Liu, Zhiying & Usman, Khalid, 2017. "The influence of online information on investing decisions of reward-based crowdfunding," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 10-18.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:71:y:2017:i:c:p:10-18
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.10.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296316305707
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.10.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Meer, Jonathan, 2014. "Effects of the price of charitable giving: Evidence from an online crowdfunding platform," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 113-124.
    2. Mollick, Ethan, 2014. "The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16.
    3. Thomas H. Allison & Blakley C. Davis & Jeremy C. Short & Justin W. Webb, 2015. "Crowdfunding in a Prosocial Microlending Environment: Examining the Role of Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Cues," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(1), pages 53-73, January.
    4. Gerrit K.C. Ahlers & Douglas Cumming & Christina Günther & Denis Schweizer, 2015. "Signaling in Equity Crowdfunding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(4), pages 955-980, July.
    5. Barry L. Bayus, 2013. "Crowdsourcing New Product Ideas over Time: An Analysis of the Dell IdeaStorm Community," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(1), pages 226-244, June.
    6. Paul Benjamin Lowry & Greg Moody & Anthony Vance & Matthew Jensen & Jeff Jenkins & Taylor Wells, 2012. "Using an elaboration likelihood approach to better understand the persuasiveness of website privacy assurance cues for online consumers," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(4), pages 755-776, April.
    7. Paul Benjamin Lowry & Greg Moody & Anthony Vance & Matthew Jensen & Jeff Jenkins & Taylor Wells, 2012. "Using an elaboration likelihood approach to better understand the persuasiveness of website privacy assurance cues for online consumers," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(4), pages 755-776, April.
    8. Cheng, Yi-Hsiu & Ho, Hui-Yi, 2015. "Social influence's impact on reader perceptions of online reviews," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 883-887.
    9. Mitchell, V. -W., 2001. "Re-conceptualizing consumer store image processing using perceived risk," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 167-172, November.
    10. Chris Forman & Anindya Ghose & Batia Wiesenfeld, 2008. "Examining the Relationship Between Reviews and Sales: The Role of Reviewer Identity Disclosure in Electronic Markets," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 19(3), pages 291-313, September.
    11. Benedicktus, Ray L. & Brady, Michael K. & Darke, Peter R. & Voorhees, Clay M., 2010. "Conveying Trustworthiness to Online Consumers: Reactions to Consensus, Physical Store Presence, Brand Familiarity, and Generalized Suspicion," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 86(4), pages 322-335.
    12. Hemer, Joachim, 2011. "A snapshot on crowdfunding," Working Papers "Firms and Region" R2/2011, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI).
    13. Pan, Yue & Zhang, Jason Q., 2011. "Born Unequal: A Study of the Helpfulness of User-Generated Product Reviews," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 598-612.
    14. Jiménez, Fernando R. & Mendoza, Norma A., 2013. "Too Popular to Ignore: The Influence of Online Reviews on Purchase Intentions of Search and Experience Products," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 226-235.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xiaobei Liang & Xiaojuan Hu & Jiang Jiang, 2020. "Research on the Effects of Information Description on Crowdfunding Success within a Sustainable Economy—The Perspective of Information Communication," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-36, January.
    2. Moradi, Masoud & Dass, Mayukh & Kumar, Piyush, 2023. "Differential effects of analytical versus emotional rhetorical style on review helpfulness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    3. Meek, Stephanie & Wilk, Violetta & Lambert, Claire, 2021. "A big data exploration of the informational and normative influences on the helpfulness of online restaurant reviews," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 354-367.
    4. Munzel, Andreas, 2016. "Assisting consumers in detecting fake reviews: The role of identity information disclosure and consensus," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 96-108.
    5. Nikolaus Lipusch & Dominik Dellermann & Ulrich Bretschneider & Philipp Ebel & Jan Marco Leimeister, 2020. "Designing for Crowdfunding Co-creation," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 62(6), pages 483-499, December.
    6. Muhammad Rifki Shihab & Audry Pragita Putri, 2019. "Negative online reviews of popular products: understanding the effects of review proportion and quality on consumers’ attitude and intention to buy," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 159-187, March.
    7. Armin Schwienbacher, 2018. "Entrepreneurial risk-taking in crowdfunding campaigns," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 843-859, December.
    8. Andreas Hoegen & Dennis M. Steininger & Daniel Veit, 2018. "How do investors decide? An interdisciplinary review of decision-making in crowdfunding," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 28(3), pages 339-365, August.
    9. Moradi, Masoud & Badrinarayanan, Vishag, 2021. "The effects of brand prominence and narrative features on crowdfunding success for entrepreneurial aftermarket enterprises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 286-298.
    10. Boudreau, Kevin J. & Jeppesen, Lars Bo & Reichstein, Toke & Rullani, Francesco, 2021. "Crowdfunding as Donations to Entrepreneurial Firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(7).
    11. Douglas Cumming & Lars Hornuf & Moein Karami & Denis Schweizer, 2023. "Disentangling Crowdfunding from Fraudfunding," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 1103-1128, February.
    12. Wesemann, Henrik & Wincent, Joakim, 2021. "A whole new world: Counterintuitive crowdfunding insights for female founders," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 15(C).
    13. Jung, Eunjun & Lee, Changjun & Hwang, Junseok, 2022. "Effective strategies to attract crowdfunding investment based on the novelty of business ideas," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    14. Allison, Thomas H. & Davis, Blakley C. & Webb, Justin W. & Short, Jeremy C., 2017. "Persuasion in crowdfunding: An elaboration likelihood model of crowdfunding performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 707-725.
    15. Etienne Schraven & Elco van Burg & Marco van Gelderen & Enno Masurel, 2020. "Predictions of Crowdfunding Campaign Success: The Influence of First Impressions on Accuracy and Positivity," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, December.
    16. Hadar Gafni & Marek Hudon & Anaïs Périlleux, 2021. "Business or Basic Needs? The Impact of Loan Purpose on Social Crowdfunding Platforms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(4), pages 777-793, November.
    17. Matthew Josefy & Thomas J. Dean & Lumina S. Albert & Markus A. Fitza, 2017. "The Role of Community in Crowdfunding Success: Evidence on Cultural Attributes in Funding Campaigns to “Save the Local Theaterâ€," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(2), pages 161-182, March.
    18. Friedemann Polzin & Helen Toxopeus & Erik Stam, 2018. "The wisdom of the crowd in funding: information heterogeneity and social networks of crowdfunders," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 251-273, February.
    19. Mahmood, Ammara & Luffarelli, Jonathan & Mukesh, Mudra, 2019. "What's in a logo? The impact of complex visual cues in equity crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 41-62.
    20. Johan, Sofia & Zhang, Yelin, 2020. "Quality revealing versus overstating in equity crowdfunding," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:71:y:2017:i:c:p:10-18. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.