The role of social trust in reward crowdfunding campaigns’ design and success

Abstract Trust is critical for successful participation in online marketplaces. In crowdfunding, fundraisers seek to win the trust of potential supporters towards contributing to their projects despite risks of non-delivery or deviations from campaign promises. This study explores how cultural differences in social trust proclivities influence reward crowdfunding campaign design and success. Specifically, we analyze data about 700 campaigns from a relatively high social trust society (HTS) – Finland, and 700 campaigns from a relatively low social trust society (LTS) – Poland. We find that sharing campaign information via social media is positively associated with campaign success in both contexts. Building on the Elaboration Likelihood Model, we show that central route cues to persuasion are more prevalent in campaigns from LTS vs. HTS, and that some peripheral cues are more prevalent in campaigns from HTS than LTS. Finally, we find partial support that central route cues are more important for campaign success in LTS.