Perceived warmth and competence in crowdfunding: Which matters more and for whom?

Abstract

Despite the importance of warmth and competence for social evaluation processes, we do not have a clear understanding of their relevance in entrepreneurial resource acquisition contexts. We examine the effects of cursory impressions of 350 Kickstarter crowdfunding entrepreneurs’ warmth and competence on the performance of their campaigns. Drawing from the stereotype content model and expectancy violation theory, we propose and find support for a model in which different forms of trust mediate the relationships between warmth and competence and crowdfunding performance, with the strength of these pathways differing as a function of entrepreneur gender. Specifically, we show that the crowdfunding performance of women entrepreneurs is uniquely benefited by perceptions of competence and the cognition-based trust that ensues, relative to the performance of men entrepreneurs.