Incomplete Decisions on Reward-Based Crowdfunding Platforms: Exploring Motivations from Temporal and Social Perspectives

Abstract

This study explores incomplete decision-making dynamics on reward-based crowdfunding platforms, focusing on temporal and social factors influencing backers’ decisions. Utilizing the temporal aspect (i.e., pledging campaign phase) and social aspect (i.e., current pledged amount ratio) as stimuli within the stimulus-organism-response framework, our findings reveal that nearly 50.9% of respondents change their initial decisions, highlighting widespread incomplete information processing. Backers are more prone to altering decisions under heightened time pressure and display herding behaviors. Furthermore, backers exhibit an increased likelihood of changing decisions under heightened time pressure, coupled with a greater chance that the pledged goal amount will not be achieved. The study discusses theoretical and practical implications. © 2024 Korean Marketing Association (KMA).