“The more options, the better?” Investigating the impact of the number of options on backers’ decisions in reward-based crowdfunding projects

Abstract

The number of options in reward-based crowdfunding projects plays an important role in influencing backers’ decisions. However, prior studies provided two-pronged outcomes for the impact on the backers’ decision of supporting a project. They also neglected the impact on the backers’ decision on which option to select. Anchored on the theories of assortment decisions, we found that the number of options has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the backers’ decision on supporting a crowdfunding project. It also has a significant impact on the backers’ decision on selecting an option. Three studies were conducted, and they collectively provided a piece of solid evidence to our findings.