Skin in the game: Self-funding and reward crowdfunding success

Abstract

This article focuses on entrepreneurs’ self-funding behavior in the reward crowdfunding context and its relation to crowdfunding success. Theoretically anchoring our discussion in signaling theory, we argue that self-funding sends similar information to that conveyed by quick-fix bootstrapping efforts. Accordingly, we hypothesize that self-funding behavior is positively associated with crowdfunding success as it can help alleviate uncertainties around a fundraiser’s intent and quality as perceived by prospective backers. To show this, we use a sample of 1,583 campaigns collected from Zhongchou, the largest Chinese reward-based crowdfunding platform, to test our hypotheses. Our results demonstrate that entrepreneurs' direct self-funding is positively associated with crowdfunding success. Moreover, this effect is partially mediated by the quality of campaigns’ content elements.