Abstract
In the last decade, crowdfunding has emerged as a novel yet prevailing way for new ventures to acquire capital. Successful crowdfunding campaigns are often accompanied by social networking activity by the entrepreneur. However, an entrepreneur’s ability to convey trustworthiness and generate investment interest on online social networking sites has only garnered minimal scholarly consideration. Hence, we explore how an entrepreneur can use impression management tactics online to increase investor interest. Using an experimental vignette design, we examine whether the use of smiling versus not smiling pictures and adjective enhanced headlines versus unadorned headlines on the LinkedIn platform influence both perceptions of trustworthiness and investment interest by crowdfunding investors. Results suggest that LinkedIn profile pictures with a smile (versus no smile) increase both perceptions of trustworthiness and investment interest. This study contributes to a better understanding of how impression management on social networking sites can affect online crowdfunding success.
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