External supports in reward-based crowdfunding campaigns: A comparative study focused on cultural and creative projects

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some drivers which can promote reward-based crowdfunding campaigns and then compare their effects on two categories of cultural and creative projects.

The authors first distinguished the roles of “intrinsic qualities” and “external supports” in crowdfunding campaigns. Then based on the theories of reward-based crowdfunding, impression management and social capital, a research model was built to discuss the effects of external supports and a comparative study was conducted by using data collected from Kickstarter.com.

It indicates that the three dimensions of external supports (reward support, impression support, and relationship support) have positive effects on film and video and publishing projects. Besides, the authors also found that “category of a project” can moderate the relationship between impression support and crowdfunding performance. The effect of impression support on visual works is different from that on printed works.

These findings not only prove that external supports actually play an important role in crowdfunding campaigns, but also reveal that for different categories of cultural and creative crowdfunding projects, the effects of external supports are different. Some other theoretical and practical implications are also provided.

This research reveals some details about the important role of external supports in crowdfunding campaigns and compares their effects on different categories of cultural and creative projects. It can provide useful suggestions for improving reward-based crowdfunding performance.