Mau e , Joshua D.; C eek, S e en A.; Allison, Thomas H.; Bendickson, Joshua S.;
Sahaym, A in
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Fi s imp essions o digi al pi ches, inno a ion, and
en u e unding pe o mance: An e olu iona y psychology
app oach
Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge (JIK)
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pe o mance: An e olu iona y psychology app oach, Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge (JIK), ISSN
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Fi s imp essions o digi al pi ches, inno a ion, and en u e unding
pe o mance: An e olu iona y psychology app oach
Joshua D. Mau e
a
, S e en A. C eek
b
, Thomas H. Allison
c
, Joshua S. Bendickson
d,*
,
A in Sahaym
e
a
Dahlkempe School o Business, Gannon Uni e si y, 109 Uni e si y Squa e, E ie, PA 16541, Uni ed S a es
b
Depa men o Managemen , Walke College o Business, Appalachian S a e Uni e si y, ASU Box 32089, Boone, NC 28608, Uni ed S a es
c
Depa men o En ep eneu ship and Inno a ion, Neeley School o Business, Texas Ch is ian Uni e si y, TCU Box 298530, Fo Wo h, TX 76129, Uni ed S a es
d
Depa men o Managemen , B.I. Moody III College o Business Adminis a ion, Uni e si y o Louisiana a La aye e, 214 Heb a d Boule a d, La aye e, LA 70503,
Uni ed S a es
e
Depa men o Managemen , In o ma ion Sys ems, and En ep eneu ship, Ca son College o Business, Washing on S a e Uni e si y, PO Box 644743, Pullman, WA
99164-4743, Uni ed S a es
ARTICLE INFO
JEL classi ica ion:
L26 en ep eneu ship
M13 New Fi ms
S a ups
Keywo ds:
En ep eneu ship
C owd unding
E olu iona y psychology
Fi s imp essions
ABSTRACT
We d aw om e olu iona y psychology o p edic ha he immedia e ecogni ion o ce ain ai s signi ican ly
impac s unding ou comes. Fou such ai s ha a e ecognizable in po en ial en ep eneu s and play a ole in
unding decisions a e: agg essi eness, a ac i eness, compe ence, and us wo hiness. These ini ial imp essions
guide he beha io and decision-making p ocesses o unde s. We hypo hesize ha immedia e ai assignmen s
shape ini ial in e p e a ions, lead o u he in es iga ion, and ep esen quali ies ha unde s iew posi i ely o
nega i ely when deciding which campaigns o back. These hypo heses a e es ed using he i s en seconds o
en ep eneu ial pi ch ideos in he c owd unding con ex . Ou esul s sugges ha hese e olu iona y-d i en
ai s play a c ucial ole in unde pe cep ion and c owd unding success and, speci ically, ha en ep eneu s
bene i om displaying agg essi eness and compe ence in pi ches.
In oduc ion
Online en u e unding has g own a an excep ional a e in he las
decade, wi h he en ep eneu ial pi ch de e mining unding ou comes.
C owd unding pi ches a e o en conside ed he p ima y me hod o
in e ac ion wi h po en ial in es o s (Schea , Da is, Webb, Coombs,
Bo ns, & Holloway, 2018). Decisions based on hese pi ches a e ex-
pec ed o lead o unding ansac ions o mo e han 300 billion USD by
2025 (Allison, Da is, Webb, & Sho , 2017; Da is, Hmieleski, Webb, &
Coombs, 2017; Equi yNe , 2014). S a egies and communica ion ools
shape he one o he message, build legi imacy, engage he audience,
and se expec a ions o hose in ol ed, leading o unding decisions
(K aus, Rich e , B em, Cheng, & Chang, 2016; Soubli`
e e & Gehman,
2020). Ye , limi ed s udies ha e me hodically examined he impac o
pi ch ideos on c owd unding success (c . McKenny, Fishe , Sho ,
Ke chen, & Allison, 2024), esul ing in a gap in unde s anding how cues
om pi ch ideos de e mine unding ou comes (Li, Xiao, & Wu, 2021).
Thus, a undamen al ques ion emains: wha cha ac e is ics o an en-
ep eneu ’s online ideo pi ch lead o unding? Indeed, esea che s a e
jus beginning o g asp how and why en ep eneu ial pi ches can
pe suade in es o s o back hei eme ging businesses (Cla ke, Co ne-
lissen, & Healey, 2019). The in e ac ion be ween en ep eneu s p e-
sen ing hei ideas and in es o s assessing hem o unding is
cha ac e ized by much unce ain y.
Fu he , knowledge exchange be ween ounde s and c ea o s is o
c i ical impo ance o educing in o ma ion asymme ies and enhancing
inno a ion. C owd unding campaigns ha e long been shown o e ec-
i ely acili a e knowledge ans e be ween ounde s and backe s (e.g.,
F yd ych, Bock, Kinde , & Koeck, 2014; K aus e al., 2016; Lambe &
Schwienbache , 2010). Backe s can sha e knowledge by p i a ely con-
ac ing en ep eneu s o by publicly commen ing on he en ep eneu ’s
campaign page. In his manne , p oduc design in c owd unding is o en
he esul o collabo a ion be ween an en ep eneu and nume ous
backe s. Con e sely, mos o he campaign page is dedica ed o
* Co esponding au ho .
E-mail add esses: [email p o ec ed] (J.D. Mau e ), [email p o ec ed] (S.A. C eek), [email p o ec ed] (T.H. Allison), [email p o ec ed]
(J.S. Bendickson), [email p o ec ed] (A. Sahaym).
Con en s lis s a ailable a ScienceDi ec
Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge
jou nal homepage: www.else ie .com/loca e/jik
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.jik.2025.100672
Recei ed 13 Decembe 2023; Accep ed 7 Feb ua y 2025
Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 10 (2025) 100672
A ailable online 17 Feb ua y 2025
2444-569X/© 2025 The Au ho s. Published by Else ie España, S.L.U. on behal o Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge. This is an open access a icle unde he CC
BY-NC-ND license ( h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).
knowledge dissemina ion om ounde s o hei p ospec i e backe s,
usually in he o m o ideo o ex . Thus, digi al c owd unding pla -
o ms allow ounde s and po en ial backe s o in luence one ano he
(Jiao, Wang, & Yang, 2023). Wi h inc eased knowledge sha ing, en e-
p eneu s a e mo e likely o exceed hei unding a ge s (Malho a,
Bu ch, & Wa eham, 2024) as unce ain y is educed. Howe e , he key
o his exchange may be de e mined in he i s ew seconds. Indeed, he
p ocess o knowledge inno a ion and keen insigh s may ail o occu i
knowledge sou ces quickly click away.
We join he heo e ical con e sa ion in examining he ole heu is ics
play in digi al und aising, mo e speci ically ega ding he online pi ch.
Recen esea ch on digi al und aising has ocused on he ole o heu-
is ics in diminishing unce ain y and de e mining online inancing
decisions. Rele an o pi ch unding a e an en ep eneu ’s linguis ic
s yles (Pa hankangs & Renko, 2017), con idence le els (Moy, Chan,
Sep ian o, Ma hmann, & To gle , 2024), displays o joy (Jiang, Yin, &
Liu, 2019), highe le els o dis inc i eness (Taeusche , Bounchken, &
Pesch, 2021), and posi i e body mo emen s (Cla ke, Co nelissen, &
Healey, 2019). Also ele an is a willingness o di ulge he p ojec as a
pe sonal d eam (Allison e al., 2017), along wi h he abili y o come
ac oss as wa m, passiona e (Hu & Ma, 2021), us wo hy (Duan, Hsieh,
Wang, & Wang, 2020), and na cissis ic (Anglin, Wol e, Sho , McKenny,
& Pidduck, 2018), and he abili y o exp ess onesel analy ically,
con iden ly (Kim, Bu a , & C oidieu, 2016), and passiona ely (Da is
e al., 2017), by demons a ing he igh pe sonali y ai s (Allison e al.,
2022), ha ing an en ep eneu ial pe sonali y (Mau e , C eek, Allison,
Bendickson, & Sahaym, 2024), and p oduc c ea i i y (Da is e al.,
2017), o by showcasing a g oup iden i y (Allison e al., 2017). These
s udies and o he s (e.g., Mahmood, Lu a elli, & Mukesh, 2019) ha e
demons a ed he signi ican ole ha heu is ics play in p o iding sub le
cues ha unde s conside when making unding decisions. While hese
s udies ha e p o ided impo an insigh s, he e is limi ed esea ch in o
he i s ew seconds in which he online pi ch is judged. Thus, we
explo e his nascen ealm by ocusing on he ole o en ep eneu ial i s
imp essions and e olu iona y psychology in unding ou comes. Mo e
speci ically, he s udy p oduces new knowledge in his domain by hy-
po hesizing and p o ing ha e olu iona y ins inc s do play a ole in
unding success in a e y sho pe iod. Wi hou hese ai s being indi-
ca ed almos immedia ely, inno a ion, knowledge sha ing, and p oduc s
will be subs an ially mo e di icul o de elop and und.
As implied by ecen esea ch and he heo e ical use o heu is ics o
au oma ic esponses (e.g., Ren, Raghupa hi, & Raghupa hi, 2021;
Sch a en, an Bu g, an Gelde en, & Masu el, 2020), mos unding
choices a e ela i ely quick decisions based on gu eac ions and heu-
is ics, whe e, heu is ics a e simple and e icien ules guiding in-
di idual’s judgmen s and in luencing decision-making (Gilo ich,
G i in, & Kahneman, 2002). This is o en classi ied as au oma ic, im-
plici , and apid (Kahneman, 2003; Schea e al., 2018). Fu he ,
esea ch has shown ha i s imp essions a e de eloped almos ins an-
aneously, c ea ing a p imacy e ec (Rundus, 1971), a halo e ec
(Schea e al., 2018), and a con i ma ion bias (Sch a en e al., 2020).
F om he s andpoin o indi idual en ep eneu s making a pi ch, o he s
make ins an aneous judgmen s abou ocal indi iduals and gi e simila
ai assignmen s (e.g., agg essi eness, a ac i eness, compe ence, and
us wo hiness) wi h ema kable consis ency (Ma kowi z, Kouchaki,
Gino, Hancock, & Boyd, 2023). While he ai s obse e s assign o a
ocal indi idual may no align wi h ha indi idual’s ac ual ai s (Ba ,
Ne a, & Linz, 2006; Todo o & Po e , 2014), ai assignmen s a e
consis en (Ca ´
e, McCo mick, & Mondloch, 2009; Oli ola & Todo o ,
2010; Zeb owi z, F anklin J , Hillman, & Boc, 2013) and ha e signi i-
can consequences o hose being judged (Blai , Judd, & Chapleau,
2004; Oli ola & Todo o , 2010). Fu he mo e, hese eadily o med i s
imp essions a e pe cei ed ac oss di e se cul u es and age g oups
(Zeb owi z e al., 2013). Thus, he ai s po en ial unde s assign o an
en ep eneu may ha e e y signi ican and consis en e ec s.
The social psychology e idence o i s imp essions ( o a ecen
e iew, see Swide , Ha is, & Gong, 2022) and hei epe cussions a e
aceable o he p imacy e ec (e.g., Buda & Zhang, 2000; Haug ed &
Wegene , 1994; Jones, Goe hals, Kenning on, & Se e ance, 1972; Kim &
Fesenmaie , 2008) wi h u he elabo a ion acili a ed by con i ma ion
bias and halo e ec li e a u e based on pe cei ed isible ai s (e.g.,
Eagly, Ashmo e, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991). Despi e hese ad ance-
men s, online ideo pi ches ha e seen a lack o in es iga ion, wi h ecen
no able excep ions and immedia e pe cep ions almos al oge he absen
(e.g., Allison, Wa nick, Da is, & Ca don, 2022; Li, Xiao, & Wu, 2021;
Mau e e al., 2024; Schea e al., 2018; Sch a en e al., 2020; Wa nick,
Da is, Allison, & Anglin, 2021). Gi en he immediacy o hese pe cep-
ions and hei las ing e ec s and de e mining ole in decision-making, i
is su p ising ha online unding esea ch has no ollowed con ex wi h
simila mass in es iga ions on immedia e heu is ics (e.g., i s imp es-
sions and he decision-making consequence).
As Sch a en e al. (p. 3) s a e, “…c owd unding campaigns p o ide
aluable in o ma ion abou demand o he p oduc , se ice, o p ojec ,
and can se e as a low-cos ma ke ing ool (Be na dino & San os, 2020;
Mollick, 2014; Miglo, 2020).” To say ha online unding does no sub-
sc ibe o he same ules as webpages, in e ne iewe ship, consume
beha io , p oduc in e es , and social ne wo ks seems limi ed
(Pengna e, Sa a hy, & Lee, 2019; Teixei a, Wedel, & Pie e s, 2012;
Wang, Lu, Li, Khami o , & Bendle, 2021). Since he ad en o he
in e ne , s udies ha e lou ished, a guing ha immedia e eac ions
ma e and ha he back bu on is he mos dominan choice when using
he in e ne (Bilal, 2000; Kim & Fesenmaie , 2008; La ge, Behesh i, &
Moukdad, 1999; Wang, Hawk, & Tenopi , 2000). Indeed, a as pe -
cen age o consume web-sea che s spend only a ew seconds on any
gi en webpage be o e mo ing on o a di e en websi e (Pe acchio &
Luna, 2006), social websi e, o ideo (Susa la, Oh, & Tan, 2012) due o
he limi ed a en ion spans o mos web use s (Susa la e al., 2012; Szabo
& Hube man, 2010). As such, gi en he as a ay o con en compe ing
o use s’ a en ion, we belie e ha c owd unde s, like o he in e ne
use s, ollow simila pa e ns. Tha is, hey do no spend an exo bi an
amoun o ime on a single p ojec i an ini ial in e es does no mani es
be o e an op ion wi h mo e immedia e g a i ica ion is p esen ed.
To his end, we seek o unde s and he i s ew momen s o online
unding pi ches and mo i a e o he s owa d he igo used in simila
online i s imp ession eins. Speci ically, we examine ou e olu iona y
ai s (agg essi eness, a ac i eness, compe ence, and us wo hiness)
linked o en ep eneu ial unding. This app oach aligns wi h he ai s
con inually ecognized as dominan and sepa a e in he wo- ac o and
h ee- ac o models o ocal and physical i s imp essions’ in luence (e.
g., Mile a & La an, 2023). These ou ai s a e obse able by any
pe son, and he en ep eneu ship li e a u e has linked each o en e-
p eneu ial pe o mance, making hese concep ually well-sui ed o
examining po en ial hin-slice, i s imp ession in luences on en ep e-
neu ial unding. This s udy was conduc ed in he c owd unding con ex .
Ou esul s a i m he impo ance o i s imp essions, sugges ing ha
people na u ally and quickly ecognize hese ai s gi en hei de ec ible
in luence on unding ou comes.
We p o ide h ee con ibu ions o he li e a u e. Fi s , we build on
he bias heo ies s emming om i s imp essions o hypo hesize ha
e olu iona y embedded ai assignmen s ma e o online en u e
unding. Tha is, unde s use isual heu is ics (an au oma ic, quick, and
e o less cogni i e p ocess) and he ai s hey unconsciously apply o
en ep eneu s om hei ideos o ins inc i ely make unding decisions.
We ind ha isual s imuli in he o m o ideo imp in po en ial backe s
wi h iews abou he en ep eneu ’s a ac i eness, agg essi eness,
compe ence, and us wo hiness ha in o m hei unding decisions.
Second, we ind p elimina y e idence o he “me e exposu e” phe-
nomenon ha is well-es ablished, wi h nume ous s udies suppo ing i s
alidi y (Bo ns ein, 1992) in li e a u e ou side o en ep eneu ship. This
e ec ein o ces he idea ha emo ions o “ eelings” a e in e wined
wi h cogni i e p ocesses. These eelings eme ge ea ly du ing he
ecogni ion and ecall s ages (LeDoux, 1996), and he emo ional
J.D. Mau e e al.
Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 10 (2025) 100672
2
esponses ha o en accompany assessmen s o angible a ibu es a e
beyond ou conscious con ol (Zajonc, 1980). Emo ions a ec us
ega dless o ou p e e ences and can mani es in jus a ew milliseconds.
We ind ha hese e olu iona ily assigned ai s in luence an o e all
a ec i e esponse, leading o quickly o med belie s abou he p ojec ’s
likelihood o success ha hen led o ac ual c owd unding success.
Thi d, we highligh he signi icance o i s imp essions du ing online
pi ches. Wi hin seconds, iewe s quickly an icipa e i he p ojec will
secu e unding. This aligns wi h s udies om o he ields, indica ing ha
po en ial consume s decide wi hin he ini ial momen s o an ad whe he
o keep wa ching, emphasizing he need o immedia ely engage he
iewe (Teixei a e al., 2012). Mo eo e , we con ibu e by ad ancing an
a gumen ha i s imp essions a e o g ea impo ance o his ype o
en ep eneu ial unding because po en ial unde s a e iewe s who can
easily skip ideos o p ojec s ha do no g ab hei a en ion. Simila ly,
in online en i onmen s, use s ypically mo e on e y quickly i hey
iew un a o able i s imp essions (Lim e al., 2006; Sia e al., 2009).
Building on his p e ious esea ch, ou hypo heses en ich he en e-
p eneu ial pi ch li e a u e in wo ways. Fi s , we expand on ea lie
s udies by in es iga ing no jus wha makes pi ches success ul bu also
he c i ical iming o hese ac o s (e.g., Jiang e al., 2019). Second, o
p o essionals, ou indings unde sco e he ac ha en ep eneu ial
pi ches swi ly cap u e and main ain iewe in e es . Thus, ounde s
should p io i ize c ea ing a posi i e ini ial imp ession on hei audience,
such as by inco po a ing a compelling pi ch ideo and showcasing
ib an de ails on hei c owd unding webpage (Gie czak & Ni ze,
2015). Alloca ing hei limi ed esou ces owa d es ablishing s ong i s
imp essions can help coun e ac he e ec s o nega i i y bias (Sch a en
e al., 2020) and diminish weaknesses. Toge he , posi i e i s imp es-
sions and hese associa ed biases can po en ially lead unde s o ocus on
posi i e con i ma o y in o ma ion.
Theo e ical backg ound and hypo hesis de elopmen
Fi s imp ession cues
Psychology and en ep eneu ship esea ch has indica ed ha inan-
cial backe s use heu is ics (Shan eau, 1992) o choose al e na i es
(Chen, Yao, & Ko ha, 2009), employing only a ew a ailable cues despi e
he a ailabili y o mo e in o ma ion (B ehme & B ehme , 1988). The
ou come is o en subop imal decision-making (Zacha akis & Meye ,
2000). Fi s imp essions, a o m o heu is ics, asc ibe a ibu es o he
en ep eneu o he p ojec , and inancial backe s use hese a ibu es
despi e he a ailabili y o addi ional in o ma ion. Some ai s a e
e olu iona y and p o ide immedia e ecogni ion o desi able and un-
desi able a ibu es. In such cases, u he in o ma ion is unlikely o
impac a decision. Indeed, people a e excellen a judging complex social
cha ac e is ics and pe sonali y ai s. Fi s imp essions acili a e su i al
and p o ide an unde s anding o ex e nal in e ac ion (Robe s, Whi le,
Cleland, & Wald, 2013). Heu is ics can lead o a limi ed sea ch o al-
e na i es and cause a single al e na i e o be ocused on and igo ously
de ended as an op ion (Alexande , 1979; Schwenk, 1984).
Fi s imp essions o physical appea ance p o ide adequa e in o -
ma ion o decisions o be made. Indi iduals can assign a ibu es o
o he s wi h as onishing ease and speed (Uleman, Blade , & Todo o ,
2005). In ime-limi ed si ua ions cha ac e ized by isk and unce ain y
(Sh es ha, Thewissen, A slan-Ayaydin, & Pa hankangas, 2023), imme-
dia e ai ecogni ions a e used o e alua e p ospec i e compe i o s,
pa ne s, and ma es in social con ex s (Macapagal, Rupp, & Heiman,
2011). In he c owd unding con ex , backe s can immedia ely ecognize
a ious ai s abou unknown en ep eneu s (o en subconsciously).
C owd unding is a no el o m o inancing p oduced by a knowledge
economy (Paoloni, Paoloni, & Moda a i, 2019). Indeed, knowledge
sha ing is hough o impac he success a e o c owd unding campaigns
(V on is, Ch is o i, Ba is i, & G aziano, 2021), and when ai imp es-
sions indica e knowledge, capabili y, and c edibili y, backe s de elop
posi i e belie s abou he en ep eneu and in o ma ion asymme y is
educed. T ai in e ences om an en ep eneu ’s appea ance a e as ,
in ui i e, and un e lec i e (Chaiken & T ope, 1999; Kahneman, 2003;
Willis & Todo o , 2006) and, mo e impo an ly, uncon ollable (Hassin
& T ope, 2000). In e ences om appea ance a e an au oma ic p ocess
(Willis & Todo o , 2006) and a e used o make decisions abou
in es men s.
Fi s imp essions a e de i ed om isual cues. These cues play a
signi ican ole in in es men decisions (Ambady & G ay, 2002; Chan &
Pa k, 2014; F iedman & F¨
o s e , 2010) because indi iduals “ end o
au oma ically a end o and p ocess images mo e easily han w i en
in o ma ion [ hey cause] inc eased awa eness, mo i a ion, and cogni-
i e e alua ion by decision make s” (Chan & Pa k, 2014, p, 1). This is
consis en wi h p io esea ch showing ha aluable objec i e belie s
can be cons ued om isual images (G ill-Spec o & Kanwishe , 2005)
and a e pa icula ly ele an in he online con ex whe e “pe son im-
p essions a e c ea ed e o lessly online om minimal in o ma ion”
(Willis & Todo o , 2006, p. 597). Findings suppo ha speci ic ai
in e ences can be ing ained om jus 100 milliseconds o exposu e
(Willis & Todo o , 2006).
In he con ex o c owd unding, i s imp essions a e especially
ele an as a isual ep esen a ion o he en ep eneu and ypically
occu in ideo o ma . Indeed, o he c owd unding componen s he
ideo pi ch is he mos impo an and placed in he mos p ominen
posi ion (Li, Xiao, & Wu, 2021; Schea e al., 2018). Fu he , isuals
domina e o he o ms o pi ch in o ma ion and unde s pay less a en ion
o o he con en (Sch a en e al., 2020).
An en ep eneu ’s appea ance and pi ch in ideo o ma p o ide
impo an cues ha a e immedia ely ecognizable o in es o s h ough
au oma ic p ocesses ha in luence unding decisions. Speci ically, ou
such a ibu es o ea u es ha a e immedia ely ecognizable om im-
ages and enhance unde s’ imp essions (o a e in hemsel es desi able
ai s o he unde s) a e a ac i eness, agg essi eness, compe ence,
and us wo hiness (Willis & Todo o , 2006). Videos o en ep eneu s
can a ach hese pe cei ed a ibu able ai s o he en ep eneu and
hei c owd unding p ojec s. In con as , when an en ep eneu does no
appea ea ly on, and such cues a e no disce nable, unding is signi i-
can ly diminished (Li, Xiao, & Wu, 2021), whe e i s imp essions may
hen be used as an immedia e ejec ion echnique, educing e o e-
qui emen s o assessmen s (Payne, Be man, & Johnson, 1988) and
allowing o po en ial unde s o simply click away o some hing mo e
in e es ing.
Ea ly-s age en ep eneu ial unding
P io ea ly-s age en ep eneu ial esea ch a gued a mo e sys ema ic
app oach o e o ul signal iden i ica ion such as educa ion and expe-
ience (Hsu, 2007; Knigh , 1994), pa en owne ship (Ahle s, Cumming,
Gün he , & Schweize , 2015), social capi al (Colombo, F anzoni, &
Rossi-Lamas a, 2015), media co e age (Deephouse, 2000), geog aph-
ical dis ance (Ag awal, Ca alini, & Gold a b, 2010), campaign pu pose
(Mollick & Kuppuswamy, 2014), p epa edness (Chen e al., 2009;
Mollick, 2014), and p oduc s age (Da is & Allison, 2013) o make
in o med decisions. These emphasized sys ema ic p ocessing (e.g.,
iden i ying aluable signals) by in es o s (Hsu, 2007; Shane & Cable,
2002), as opposed o he mo e au oma ic p ocessing, men al sho cu s (i.
e., heu is ics) o cues used by in es o s (e.g., Chen e al., 2009; Mi e-
ness, Sudek, & Ca don, 2012; Sudek, 2006).
Howe e , mos online unding is cha ac e ized by high in o ma ion
asymme y and unce ain y (Ahle s e al., 2015). “In unce ain si ua-
ions and when acing complex asks, indi iduals (including in es o s)
a e known o use men al sho cu s (i.e., heu is ics), a he han ex en-
si e, a ional algo i hmic p ocessing o o m judgmen s and make de-
cisions” (Mahmood, Lu a elli, & Mukesh, 2019, p. 43). Gi en his,
heu is ics and au oma ic decision p ocesses ha e gained momen um in
online unding wi h c owd unding he dominan online unding model.
J.D. Mau e e al.
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3
“C owd unding e e s o he e o s by en ep eneu ial indi iduals
and g oups – cul u al, social, and o -p o i – o und hei en u es by
d awing on ela i ely small con ibu ions om a ela i ely la ge numbe
o indi iduals using he in e ne , wi hou s anda d inancial in-
e media ies” (Mollick, 2014, p. 2). Nascen en ep eneu s and en u es
ha e di icul y in a ac ing ini ial inance du ing ea ly en u e s ages
h ough adi ional means (Cassa , 2004; Cosh, Cumming, & Hughes,
2009) due o insu icien colla e als o hei inabili y o con ince in-
es o s o hei po en ial (Chen e al., 2009; Shane & Cable, 2002).
C owd unding pla o ms ha e been desc ibed as a unding a enue
delibe a ely designed o ea ly-s age en ep eneu s o showcase p o-
o ypes and new en u es, inc ease b and a i udes and consume ec-
ommenda ions (Maie , Bacca ella, Block, Wagne , & Voig , 2023), and
as a s epping-s one o di e se and inc eased inancing, p o iding
explici in o ma ion on how unds will be used (Ag awal e al., 2010).
C owd unding ills he gap be ween adi ional sou ces o en u e
unding ha equi e p olonged de elopmen wi h e idence o ma ke
ac ion and he limi ed sou ces o unds accessible a ea lie s ages o
en u e de elopmen (Ley & Wea en, 2011).
This allows en ep eneu s o each housands o po en ial unde s o
aising capi al (Allison e al., 2015; Mollick, 2014). Howe e , en e-
p eneu s mus con ince po en ial backe s o und hei p ojec s h ough
posi i e belie s abou hei desi ed ou comes and he educ ion o in-
o ma ion asymme ies (Ag awal e al., 2010). C owd unding in ol es
decision-making by indi iduals o bene i , while in o ma ion asym-
me y has ye o be ully esol ed. Mo e speci ically, digi al c owd-
unding pla o ms di e signi ican ly om con en ional inancial
sou ces, as highligh ed by Ag awal, Ca alini, and Gold a b (2014) and
Bu ch e al. (2015). Speci ically, he online, luid, and
in o ma ion-in ensi e na u e o c owd unding pla o ms emphasizes less
eliable isual indica o s mo e p ominen ly han in con en ional
inancing me hods, which depend on ace- o- ace in e ac ions. Sup-
po e s equen ly do no ha e he esou ces, expe ise, o expe ience o
ho oughly assess he p ojec s hey und ( e e o Ahle s e al., 2015)
compa ed wi h mo e adi ional, non-digi al inance p o ide s.
Addi ionally, hose who p o ide unds a e ela i ely inexpe ienced
and do no gain equi y o hei inancial con ibu ions (as no ed by
O danini, Miceli, Pizze i, & Pa asu aman, 2011). Ins ead, indi iduals
supply capi al o an in angible bene i o a physical ewa d in e u n,
ypically he p oduc being unded (Schea e al., 2018). Such in-
di iduals commonly ely on cues o assess i hose ying o pe suade
hem will ul ill hei commi men s (Wang e al., 2021), leading o
g ea e eliance on less angible cues and pe cep ions o he pi ch (Da is
e al., 2017; Mahmood e al., 2019), like hose in ol ed in i s
imp essions.
While he esea ch on c owd unding o da e has been subs an ial
(see, o example, Bouncken, Komo ek, & K aus, 2015; He, T ¨
obinge , &
Mu ay, 2024), he esea ch on i s imp essions wi hin he c owd-
unding con ex is ex emely limi ed. Howe e , a ecen empi ical s udy
examining campaign ideo clips ound ha immedia e assessmen s o
en ep eneu ial pe sonali y ai s we e shown o posi i ely impac
c owd unding success (Mau e e al., 2024). Thei indings a e buil on
he p emise ha c owd unding backe s can e ec i ely use heu is ics o
guide unding decisions e en when in o ma ion and ime a e limi ed
(Sch a en e al., 2020). Ou hypo heses build upon his wo k.
Hypo hesis de elopmen
Tempo al aspec s in luence pe cep ions, ha is, he pi ch ideo se s
ini ial imp essions and cas s a halo e ec on subsequen e alua ions
(Schea e al., 2018). In con as , he quali y o pi ch ex is less signi -
ican because po en ial backe s ha e likely al eady ex ac ed c ucial
in o ma ion om he ea lie ideo cues (Schea e al., 2018). Indeed,
ideos a e subs an ially mo e in luen ial in molding pe cep ions and
decisions compa ed o ex in an online se ing (e.g., Lim, Sia, Lee, &
Benbasa , 2006). In unclea ci cums ances, people end o us hei gu
eelings (Sou h Paloma es & Young, 2018), and hose pe cep ions o he
en ep eneu a e us ed mos when making unknowable- isk decisions
(Huang & Pea ce, 2015). Simila ly, hose explo ing empo al aspec s o
c owd unding ideos ha e iden i ied he beginning as he mos in lu-
en ial o c ucial pa (e.g., Jiang e al., 2019) and ha hose ini ial im-
p essions c ea e a halo e ec in luencing he es o he decision p ocess,
hus limi ing he ele ance o he ex ual componen s (Schea e al.,
2018).
Fo ewa d-based unding, backe s a e mo e inclined o p io i ize
cues indica ing he en ep eneu ’s capabili y o e icien ly p o ide he
p omised ewa d (Cholako a & Cla ysse, 2015; Schea e al., 2018) and
o make hei unding choices based on non-mone a y bene i s (Allison
e al., 2017; Da is e al., 2017) such as p osocial mo i es (Dai & Zhang,
2019; Simpson, Sch eie , Bi e l, & Whi e, 2021) and a ying pa hs o
gaining legi imacy (Soublie e & Gehman, 2020; Taeusche e al., 2021).
These cues c ea e imp essions almos immedia ely (Ambady & Rosen-
hal, 1993; McAlee , Todo o , & Belin, 2014; Willis & Todo o , 2006),
c ea ing gu eelings and belie s be o e c i ical ac s and in o ma ion
ega ding he p ojec o en ep eneu can be unde s ood o ecei ed
(Schea e al., 2018). These ex emely sho obse a ions a e used o
judge a ec , cha ac e is ics, ai s, in en ions, us wo hiness, and
emo ions (Ambady, K abbenho , & Hogan, 2006; Sch a en e al.,
2020). Fi s imp essions a e also used as an immedia e ejec ion ech-
nique, educing e o equi emen s o assessmen s (Payne e al., 1988).
These ini ial imp essions also lead o con i ma ion bias, gi en ha
ini ial pe cep ions can shape la e assessmen s (Myna , Dohe y, &
Tweney, 1977; Nicke son, 1998; Oswald & G osjean, 2004; Rabin &
Sch ag, 1999). Indi iduals in e p e any new in o ma ion in a way ha
suppo s hei p e-exis ing iews a he han ques ioning hem. In
combina ion, he halo e ec and con i ma ion bias pain hose au o-
ma ically pe cei ed as ha ing desi able ai s in a con inued a o able
ligh while also dis ega ding con a y in o ma ion ound h ough la e
examina ion.
Posi i e i s imp essions educe in o ma ion asymme y and in-
c ease he p ojec ’s ex e nal alue due o pe cei ed deli e abili y and
quali y. The lack o au oma ically assigned posi i e ai s causes ambi-
gui y and, a i s wo s (nega i e ai assignmen ), assump ions o
limi ed abili y on he pa o he en ep eneu , causing ex e nal pa ies
o ques ion deli e abili y and quali y, leading hem o click away.
Indeed, he e is unce ain y associa ed wi h c owd unding campaigns,
especially ega ding hei quali y and po en ial o success (Ag awal
e al., 2010; Colombo e al., 2015). Resou ce p o ide s a e unsu e o an
en ep eneu ’s capabili ies and us wo hiness, which a e essen ial o
decision-making (Colombo e al., 2015). Howe e , his in o ma ion
asymme y is educed h ough unconscious ai assignmen s (e.g.,
compe ence and us wo hiness) ia i s imp essions and expec ancies.
The ou common ai s o agg essi eness, a ac i eness, compe-
ence, and us wo hiness ha e been shown o c ea e i s imp essions
p oducing a o able ou comes in en ep eneu ship (e.g., Ba on, Ma k-
man, & Bollinge , 2006; Buseni z, Fie , & Moesel, 2005; Todo o e al.,
2005; Wel e , 2012). These su i al ai s a e judged quickly and a e
associa ed wi h he e olu iona y igh o ligh esponse because hey
J.D. Mau e e al.
Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 10 (2025) 100672
4
a e immedia ely ecognizable using he amygdala
1
— he p ima y
s uc u e o he b ain esponsible o igh o ligh esponse (Rule e al.,
2010; Wins on, S ange, O’Dohe y, & Dolan, 2002). As such, hese
speci ic ai s a e impo an o economic and social in e ac ions as hey
help emo e in o ma ion asymme ies (Colombo e al., 2015; Willis &
Todo o , 2006).
Agg essi eness
Findings sugges ha e olu iona y p essu es shaped human minds
and he pe cep ual sys em o be pa icula ly a uned o ex e nal cues o
agg ession (Ca ´
e e al., 2009). Indeed, he abili y o dis inguish
agg ession is an e ol ed skill leading o success as i helps in judging
compe i ion o esou ces, po en ial ma es, and social s a us e sus i-
als, as well as adap ing s a egies (Macapagal e al., 2011). Fu he -
mo e, his ins inc ual in o ma ion is used no only o acc ue esou ces,
s a us, o ma es bu also o iden i y h ea s o esou ces, social s a us, o
pe sonal ela ionships, which in o ms decisions o asse social s a us o
p o ec ma es (Macapagal e al., 2011). Simila ly, indi iduals who a e
agg essi e o domina i e a e ad an aged in ecei ing alued esou ces
(i.e., hose impo an o p opaga ion and su i al) because hey a e
seen as physically and socially dominan by po en ial i als (Ca ´
e e al.,
2009).
Al hough i s imp essions o agg essi eness may ha e e ol ed o ac
as an ea ly wa ning signal o dange (nega i e s imuli), ecen esea ch
has illus a ed ha he con ex ma e s and ha nega i e s imuli can
p oduce posi i e iews o a s ange ’s ou comes (e.g., Todo o & Po e ,
2014) and a desi e o eam-membe ship, especially when ad an ages
can be gained (Melniko & Bayley, 2018). Tha is, ha ing someone ac
agg essi ely and ge hings done on you behal is o you ad an age.
Agg ession leads o success, o a leas pe cei ed supe io i y, in
compe i ion o sca ce ewa ds (G eenlees, B adley, Holde , & Thelwell,
2005) and can be iewed as posi i e and expec ed gi en he co ec
con ex (e.g., new en u es and en ep eneu s; Felson, 1978; Macapagal
e al., 2011). Tha is, agg essi eness may pain an en ep eneu in a
posi i e ligh because hey pose no immedia e h ea . Obse e s may
in e ha he en ep eneu is mo e likely o ge hings done o he ex en
ha hei in imida ing p esence may dissuade o he s om in e e ing.
Indeed, o en ep eneu s, agg essi eness is associa ed wi h he
abili y o ge he job done (Bolino & Tu nley, 2003) and, in u n, es ing
and emo ing aul s plaguing ini ial nascen ideas (Ca e e al., 1996).
In es o s look o agg essi eness as i ep esen s u u e expec a ions
because i is help ul o o e coming ba ie s, e iciency and p oduc
de elopmen . In he c owd unding con ex , agg essi eness is expec ed
by backe s and has been shown o esul in quicke unding imes
(Anglin, Milano , & Sho , 2023). Agg ession is immedia ely ecogniz-
able and ep esen s a desi ed en ep eneu ial a ibu e. I p o ides
posi i e u u e expec a ions abou he en ep eneu and po en ial e-
wa ds, hus inc easing he p ojec ’s likelihood o ecei ing unding.
Fo mally:
Hypo hesis 1. As i s imp ession pe cep ions o agg essi eness in-
c ease, so does he likelihood o c owd unding success.
A ac i eness
Heu is ics a e used o e icien ly judge ini ial eac ions, and a ac-
i e, likable en ep eneu s a e e alua ed mo e posi i ely (Ba on e al.,
2006). P e ious esea ch consis en ly indica es ha a ac i e in-
di iduals ha e an ad an age o e o he s (Judge, Hu s , & Simon, 2009)
and ecei e mo e a o able ou comes han una ac i e indi iduals in
almos e e y aspec o li e (Hame mesh & Biddle, 1994; Zeb owi z,
1999). Indeed, a ac i eness has been linked o a o able ea men and
g ea e a en ion (Zeb owi z, Collins, & Du a, 1998), educa ion
a ainmen (Judge e al., 2009), and highe ea nings o inancial success
(F ieze, Olson, & Russell, 1991; Judge e al., 2009). Wi hin he con ex
o en ep eneu ship, new ideas and p ojec s a e iewed as ha ing mo e
po en ial when mo e a ac i e people back hem (Ba on e al., 2006;
B ooks, Huang, Kea ney, & Mu ay, 2014). A ac i eness also s ongly
in luences people’s e alua ions o en ep eneu s (Ba on e al., 2006;
Langlois e al., 2000).
Some esea che s a gue ha an en ep eneu ’s a ac i eness shapes
he way people eac o hem and hei p oposed new en u e (B ooks
e al., 2014). In line wi h his no ion, Ba on e al. (2006) ind suppo o
hei hypo hesis ha p oposals o new p oduc s and se ices a e a ed
mo e a o ably when hey a e coupled wi h an a ac i e en ep eneu
(negligible di e ences o he wise). Speci ically, a ac i eness can
s ongly in luence e alua ions o en ep eneu s by o he s and hei
p oposed new en u e (Langlois e al., 2000). A ac i eness can se e as
an e icien way o judge eac ions o indi iduals and conclude hei
likeabili y (Fo gas, 1998).
When unde s wa ch c owd unding ideos o see he image o an
en ep eneu , hey de elop an ini ial imp ession o ha en ep eneu .
En ep eneu s who a e mo e physically appealing a e judged mo e
posi i ely (Jackson, Hun e , & Hodge, 1995; Langlois e al., 2000),
ecei e mo e a en ion, and a e judged less ha shly in compa ison o
hei less a ac i e coun e pa s (Judge e al., 2009; Langlois e al.,
2000). F om a i s imp ession pe spec i e, his bias owa d a ac i e-
ness allows o igno ed aul s and in la ed belie s abou o he a ibu es.
Thus, when c owds iew p ojec s con aining an a ac i e en ep eneu ,
hey igno e he nega i es and iew he en ep eneu mo e a o ably. As
such, unde s a e likely o pay mo e a en ion o and sc u inize less
se e ely any p ojec s con aining an a ac i e en ep eneu . Subse-
quen ly, we a gue ha an en ep eneu ’s a ac i eness inc eases he
likelihood o c owd unding success. This a gumen aligns wi h ecen
esea ch showing acial a ac i eness, especially o women, inc eases
ewa d-based c owd unding pe o mance (Seigne & Milano , 2023).
A ac i eness is immedia ely ecognizable, in la es he desi ed a i-
bu es o en ep eneu s, and p o ides posi i e u u e expec a ions
( h ough in la ed a ibu e assignmen ) abou he en ep eneu , po en-
ial ewa ds, and he new en u e. Consis en wi h hese a gumen s, we
hypo hesize:
Hypo hesis 2. As i s imp ession pe cep ions o an en ep eneu ’s
physical a ac i eness inc ease, so does he likelihood o c owd unding
success.
Compe ence
Judgmen s o compe ence in luence unding decisions (Ca e e al.,
2003; Ciuch a Le win, S e enson, McMahon, & Hu aj, 2018) because an
en ep eneu ’s pe cei ed abili y leads in es o s o belie e hey ha e a
highe chance o es ablishing a p ospe ous en e p ise (Johnson, S e-
enson, & Le win, 2018). The pe cep ion o compe ence plays a ole in
de e mining i lis ene s belie e ha hose pe suading hem will mee
hei objec i es (Fiske, Cuddy, & Glick, 2002, 2007; Ke yn, Fiske, &
Malone, 2012; Wang e al., 2021).
Funde s expec en ep eneu s o be compe en o b ing hei ewa ds
o ui ion. I en ep eneu s lack compe ence, unde s will a oid in-
es men due o limi ed expec a ions o a ewa d, he lack o pe cei ed
p oduc de elopmen , and/o he unlikelihood o on- ime deli e y
wi hou in e en ion. Compe ence can be pe cei ed quickly om
1
The amygdala is in ol ed in immedia e ex e nal alua ions o o he s’
a ac i eness, agg essi eness, compe ence and us wo hiness, p o iding e-
sponses o he assignmen o ai s and an o e a ching belie abou he pe son
o i ems judged, as con i med by s udies using unc ional magne ic esonance
imaging ( MRI; Rule e al., 2010; Wins on e al., 2002). Damages o his egion
o he b ain can al e he abili y o de e mine i s imp essions o pa icula
ai s (e.g., us wo hiness; Adolphs, T anel, & Damasio, 1998). The amygdala
plays a i al ole in p ocessing bo h nega i e ( ea ul, h ea ening and a e si e
s imuli) and posi i e alence e en s (pleasan ) (Ande son, Ch is o , S appen,
Pani z, Ghah emani, Glo e , & Sobel, 2003; Hamann, Ely, G a on, & Kil s,
1999; Hamann, Ely, Ho man, & Kil s, 2002) leading o an o e all posi i e o
nega i e imp ession o he p ojec and o belie s abou u u e ac ions o
pe o mance.
J.D. Mau e e al.
Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 10 (2025) 100672
5
appea ance and ma e s because unde s’ decisions ely on i . In elec ion
s udies, which a e also decision-based ou comes, compe ence is
pe cei ed as he mos impo an a ibu e o ob aining o es, and he
isual-based pe cep ion o compe ence alone can p edic cong essional
elec ions (Todo o e al., 2005). By examining he aces o hose unning
agains each o he o one second, in e ences abou compe ence ha e
accu a ely p edic ed Sena e elec ion ou comes (Willis & Todo o ,
2006). This esul is no unexpec ed because compe ence is a desi ed
ai o poli ical ep esen a i es; i is equi ed o basic social in e ac-
ion and hoped o among hose making decisions on one’s behal .
Simila ly, unde s look o an en ep eneu who is compe en enough o
ake esponsibili y o p og ession and quali y and ensu e ou comes o
p ojec de elopmen ( hei po en ial ewa d o eason o ini ial in-
es men ). Like how a depic ed le el o us is necessa y o be success ul
in c owd unding campaigns (Colombo e al., 2015), unde s a e unlikely
o back en ep eneu s who lack compe ence, deli e abili y, and execu-
ion. Indeed, unding an en ep eneu who is pe cei ed o be no capable
enough o c ea e and deli e as expec ed (Wang e al., 2021) seems
illogical.
New en u e pe o mance and unding a e o en p edica ed on he
compe ence o he co esponding en ep eneu (e.g., Buseni z e al.,
2005; Chandle & Hanks, 1994; Chandle & Jansen, 1992). Wi hin he
con ex o c owd unding, educa ion and expe ience send aluable sig-
nals ha educe in o ma ion asymme ies ep esen ing aspec s o
compe ence and inc ease he likelihood o c owd unding success (Hsu,
2007; Knigh , 1994). When c owd unding backe s pe cei e compe ence,
i ein o ces he idea ha he en ep eneu has he skillse s necessa y o
ca y ou a c owd unding campaign (Kulka ni, Tzabba , & Lo, 2024).
Compe ence ep esen s a desi ed ai ha s imula es eac ion and in-
luences decisions. I is alued as an indica ion o p oduc de elopmen
o scale deli e y and is e icien ly ecognized and used in he selec ion
p ocess. Compe ence is also immedia ely ecognizable. Thus, we posi
ha immedia e pe cep ions o compe ence help en ep eneu s ga ne
suppo in c owd unding:
Hypo hesis 3. As i s imp ession pe cep ions o compe ence inc ease,
so does he likelihood o c owd unding success.
T us wo hiness
“As soon as a ace is he e, you know whe he o us i ” (Willis &
Todo o , 2006 p. 597). Neu oimaging s udies, h ough e alua ions o
ac i i y in he amygdala, show ha indi iduals de ec us wo hiness
h ough an au oma ic and spon aneous p ocess (Wins on e al., 2002).
Th ough images, indi iduals ecognize us wo hiness and, in many
cases, do so in less han a en h o a second (Willis & Todo o , 2006).
Thus, he human mind almos ins an aneously de e mines he pe cei ed
us wo hiness o unknown indi iduals encoun e ed. Simila ly, e olu-
iona y psychologis s a gue ha immedia e ecogni ion o us wo hi-
ness is bene icial, gi en ha i acili a es he ecogni ion o dange ous
s imuli (Ama al, 2002). These indings suppo he no ion ha e alua-
ions o us wo hiness a e especially e icien .
Like in o he o ganiza ional se ings (e.g., Colqui , G eenbe g, &
Zapa a-Phelan, 2005) and nea ly all social in e ac ion, “ us is c i ical
o en ep eneu ship and has he po en ial o ul il di e en oles; i can
educe some isks inhe en wi hin en ep eneu ial ac i i ies and ac as a
go e ning mechanism o a ious en ep eneu ial ela ionships”
(Wel e , 2012, p. 205). Indeed, us is necessa y o coope a ion o
occu (Low & S i a san, 1995), aids in economic ela ions (Fukuyama,
1995; Gambe a, 1990; K ame , B ewe , & Hanna, 1996), lowe s
ansac ion cos s (C eed & Miles, 1996; Mish a, 1996) and is necessa y
o he c ea ion o social capi al and aluable ne wo ks ha p o ide
en ep eneu s key esou ces (Wel e , 2012; Wel e & Smallbone, 2006).
All o hese a e essen ial ing edien s o expec a ions abou con inued
success. Simila ly, us is gene ally ega ded as a key ac o in he
unde -en ep eneu ela ionship (Sapienza & Ko sga d, 1996). A p i-
o i y o en u e capi alis s is o de e mine i hey can us new en u e
eam membe s (Swee ing, 1991). Simila ly, pe spec i es abou us -
wo hiness a e c ucial in he de e mina ion o suppo o c owd unding
campaigns (Colombo e al., 2015). The p ima y eason o his is ha
us in ol es a ecip oci y expec a ion (C eed & Miles, 1996; Lewicki &
B ins ield, 2011). Tha is, when p o iding unds o an en ep eneu ,
he e is an expec a ion o us ha some hing is ecei ed in e u n (e.g.,
a p omised ewa d, on- ime deli e y, o comple ion o an in e es ing
p oduc ). When he e is no expec a ion o ecip oci y, po en ial backe s
a e mo e likely o wi hhold unds. The e o e, c owd unding ideos ha
po ay an en ep eneu o be us wo hy indica e ha a p oduc will be
de eloped and deli e ed. T us is impe a i e in en i onmen s in ol ing
online ansac ions (Moysidou & Hausbe g, 2020). The absence o us
ende s an online c owd unding campaign and any p omised deli e -
ables moo . As such, us wo hiness ep esen s a desi ed ai ha
s imula es eac ion and in luences decisions by indica ing ha a ewa d
will be gi en, and he p oduc will be de eloped and deli e ed. Mo e-
o e , us is quickly and au oma ically ecognized and used in he se-
lec ion p ocess. Thus:
Hypo hesis 4. As i s imp ession pe cep ions o us wo hiness in-
c ease, so does he likelihood o c owd unding success.
Pe cei ed success and ac ual unding success
The i s imp essions li e a u e del es in o people’s abili y o make
swi assessmen s abou un amilia indi iduals (Todo o & Po e ,
2014), esul ing in h ee ela ed ypes o esponse (G eenlees e al.,
2005; Wa & Knappe , 1968). The i s esponse, he “a ibu i e
esponse,” ocuses on judgmen s ela ed o cha ac e is ics such as
agg essi eness, a ac i eness, compe ence, and us wo hiness. This
unde s anding o ms he heo e ical basis o ou ea lie hypo heses. The
second, he “a ec i e esponse,” ep esen s a b oade e alua ion o he
indi idual, e lec ing a gene al posi i e o nega i e sen imen —o en an
unconscious o e all judgmen in luenced by speci ic ai s. The hi d
esponse, he “expec ancy esponse,” in ol es p edic ions abou he
indi iduals’ u u e beha io (G eenlees e al., 2005; Wa & Knappe ,
1968).
Posi i e o nega i e a ec i e esponses o i s imp essions can aid in
shaping expec a ions ega ding po en ial ou comes. In o he wo ds, a
a o able a ec migh esul in he expec a ion ha a c owd unding
campaign will be success ul, while an un a o able a ec could lead o
he expec a ion ha he campaign will ail. Due o he in e connec ed
na u e o esponses o i s imp essions, a ious cues—such as agg es-
si eness, a ac i eness, compe ence, and us wo hiness—a e iden i-
ied as in luen ial ac o s in o ming hese imp essions (A gyle, 1994;
Knapp, 1978). These cues con ibu e o a gene alized emo ional
esponse owa d ano he indi idual, such as eelings o in imida ion,
hos ili y, o espec (G eenlees e al., 2005; Wa & Knappe , 1968),
which subsequen ly shape expec a ions o success o ailu e. Conse-
quen ly, i s imp essions allow indi iduals o pe cei e speci ic ai s
ha o m an o e all opinion o he p ojec , se ing pe o mance expec-
a ions o bo h he en ep eneu and hei campaign.
Empi ical esea ch indica es ha indi iduals a e mo e inclined o
suppo en u es hey belie e will succeed (Colombo e al., 2015), which
aligns wi h ea lie indings sugges ing ha indi iduals ely on heu is ic
sho cu s such as i s imp essions o make decisions abou inancing
new en u es and ha hese decisions equen ly emain unchanged
e en when addi ional in o ma ion is a ailable (Zacha akis & Meye ,
1998).
Po en ial backe s a e also mo e inclined o suppo p ojec s hey
pe cei e as ha ing a high chance o success due o ime and esou ce
cons ain s. This endency is o en in luenced by he ding beha io ,
whe e people ac based on wha hey belie e o he s will do (Bane jee,
1992), e en when making unding decisions. Resea ch shows ha in-
es men a es inc ease as he pe cei ed likelihood o a p ojec ’s suc-
cess ul unding inc eases (Ag awal e al., 2010). In c owd unding,
backe s who an icipa e a campaign’s success end o iew hei
J.D. Mau e e al.
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6
con ibu ions as ha ing a mo e signi ican impac (Kuppuswamy &
Bayus, 2015). Howe e , backe s s ill occasionally con ibu e o cam-
paigns ha appea less likely o succeed. Such con ibu ions can suppo
he en ep eneu and p o ide insigh s in o ma ke demand, al hough he
pe cei ed impac o hese con ibu ions is gene ally less han ha o
pa icipa ing in a success ul campaign.
Speci ically, a ibu i e esponses igge an a ec i e and expec-
ancy esponse in ega d o he ou come o he campaign. When posi i e
a ec i e esponses a ise om a o able au oma ic ai assignmen s
(a ibu i e esponse), i leads o posi i e iews o expec a ions abou
he campaign, he eby inc easing he likelihood o suppo ing i .
Con e sely, nega i e eelings associa ed wi h hese au oma ic ai as-
signmen s gene a e nega i e a ec i e esponses, which diminish ex-
pec a ions abou he campaign’s po en ial. These posi i e o nega i e
belie s abou he campaign’s success o unding p ospec s in luence
whe he indi iduals decide o ac (by unding) o emain inac i e (by
no unding). Thus, a posi i e a ec (s emming om an a ibu i e
esponse) os e s posi i e expec a ions abou he p ojec ’s ou comes,
p omp ing indi iduals o suppo and und p ojec s hey belie e a e
likely o succeed:
Hypo hesis 5. Pe cei ed (a) agg essi eness, (b) a ac i eness, (c)
compe ence, and (d) us wo hiness indi ec ly a ec ac ual c owd-
unding pe o mance ia pe cei ed success.
Me hods
Da a and p ocess
In 2017, we used Kicks a e o ga he a andom sample. Kicks a e
is he la ges c owd unding pla o m (i.e., by 2020, Kicks a e acili-
a ed nea ly i e billion USD in unding) and has also been used in many
p io s udies (e.g., Mollick, 2014; Mollick & Kuppuswamy, 2014;
Soubli`
e e, Lo, & Rhee, 2023). Like o he pla o ms, such as S a nex o
Indiegogo, Kicks a e connec s p ojec c ea o s wi h backe s (Bü ge &
Kleine , 2021). We andomly selec ed 2045 ideos om Kicks a e
campaigns, ollowing he ecommenda ions o Colombo e al. (2015)
and Mollick and Kuppuswamy (2014). These esea che s sugges
excluding ce ain ca ego ies ha di e signi ican ly om ypical new
en u es o lack compa abili y wi h hose en u es commonly ecog-
nized by en u e capi alis s. Based on hese ecommenda ions and
conside ing ha some ca ego ies may inhe en ly equi e speci ic a i-
ables (e.g., a ac i eness in ilm), ca ego ies such as a , dance, ashion,
ilm & ideo, pho og aphy, hea e, and music we e excluded om he
analysis.
As ou esea ch ocuses on examining i s imp essions, we a ge ed
ideos appea ing a he op o he campaign page. On Kicks a e , a
ideo ypically occupies a p ominen posi ion a he op o each
campaign page, making i he i s subs an ial con en encoun e ed on a
p ojec page. Addi ionally, he sample was u he e ined o include
only ideos whe e he en ep eneu appea s o a minimum o se en ou
o en seconds. This p ocess esul ed in a inal sample o 234 ideo clips.
Following es ablished ideo es ing me hodologies (Da is e al., 2017;
Elpe s, Mukhe jee, & Hoye , 2004), esponden s iewed and e alua ed
he en ep eneu ’s pi ch h ough a andomized ideo o de (i.e., using
one o i e andomly de e mined o de se s). This app oach helped
minimize po en ial biases om o de e ec s.
The s udy in ol ed 387 pa icipan s who esponded o an open
in i a ion on Amazon Mechanical Tu k, speci ically a ge ing in-
di iduals wi h p e ious c owd unding expe ience. Some demog aphic
in o ma ion was collec ed ega ding pa icipan s, including sex (247
men; 140 women), ace (262 whi e; 125 non-whi e), and age (31-yea -
old a e age). App oxima ely 86 pe cen o pa icipan s epo ed ha ing
p e iously backed a c owd unding campaign, wi h a ound 40 pe cen
suppo ing mo e han one campaign. These demog aphics a e consis en
wi h p e ious indings on c owd unding con ibu o s, which indica e
ha he a e age age o unde s ypically alls be ween 24 and 35 yea s,
and app oxima ely 31 pe cen ha e unded mul iple en u es (Da is
e al., 2017; Fundable, 2014). All pa icipan s we e in o med ha hei
esponses would emain anonymous and used only o esea ch; in e-
u n o hei in ol emen , pa icipan s ecei ed a wo USD incen i e.
P e ious s udies ha e analyzed c owd unding campaign ideos o
assess ou comes (e.g., Da is e al., 2017). Using ac ual unding pi ches
in oduces a ia ion among he en ep eneu s, ha is, 83 pe cen Whi e,
82 pe cen male, and wi h a median age o 30. Alongside da a om a
p op ie a y su ey conduc ed ia Qual ics (e.g., Sahaym, Da a, &
B ooks, 2021), we also ga he ed addi ional da a poin s om Kicks a e ,
he c owd unding pla o m. Kicks a e is ecognized as he la ges
ewa ds-based c owd unding pla o m globally, bo h in e ms o o al
unds pledged and en ep eneu engagemen (Da is e al., 2017), mak-
ing i an ideal con ex o s udying he i s imp essions o new en e-
p eneu s and hei ea ly-s age en u es. En ep eneu ship esea ch has
simila ly employed da a om Kicks a e o examine nascen en ep e-
neu s and hei success (e.g., Colombo e al., 2015; Mollick, 2014). Ou
s udy, howe e , di e s in ocusing speci ically on he ini ial en seconds
(e.g., Alb igh e al., 1997; Be y, 1990; Eisenk a , 2013) o he main
ideo wi hin each campaign. To ensu e consis ency, each ideo was
edi ed o include exac ly he i s en seconds using comme cial ideo
edi ing so wa e.
Ten seconds
Resea ch in ze o-acquain ance con ex s (Alb igh , Kenny, & Malloy,
1988) and he hin slices o beha io amewo k (Ambady & Rosen hal,
1993) consis en ly shows ha jus a " ew seconds" a e su icien o
people o e alua e o in e ano he pe son’s pe sonali y ai s o likely
pe o mance (e.g., Eisenk a , 2013; P ae o ius e al., 2015). No ably,
obse e s end o show consensus in hei ai judgmen s wi hin a six o
en-second window (Tho esen, Vuong, & A kinson, 2012). Fo ins ance,
a six-second ideo clip o eache s was used o assess pe sonali y ai s,
wi h a ings aligning closely wi h ac ual eache e alua ions (Ambady &
Rosen hal, 1993). Simila ly, an eigh -second in e al was employed o
s udy i s imp essions and he in luence o dis ac ions (Wa oquie ,
Ma chio i, Klein, & Clee mans, 2010). Recen s udies also used an
eigh -second ime ame o examine i s imp essions ela ed o webpage
aes he ics and us (Lim e al., 2006; Sia e al., 2009). Mo eo e ,
obse ing o 10 s—whe he in pe son (Alb igh e al., 1997), ia
pho og aphic exposu e (Be y, 1990), o h ough ideo (Eisenk a ,
2013)—is conside ed su icien o indi iduals o ex ac cues and each
a consensus ega ding a ious ai s.
C owd unding campaigns a e usually p esen ed as webpages, so
simila easoning can be applied o he i s imp essions o med ia
online ideo pi ches. Lim e al. (2006) emphasize he c i ical ole o i s
imp essions, no ing ha he ini ial ew seconds a e decisi e in whe he a
use chooses o s ay on a si e o mo e on (E e a d & Galle a, 2005;
Robins & Holmes, 2008). Eigh y pe cen o consume s ake only a ew
seconds on a si e be o e na iga ing away (Pe acchio & Luna, 2006). The
imp essions o med in hese sho pe iods a e i al o he success o
websi es o he i ms behind hem (E e a d & Galle a, 2005; Low y
e al., 2008).
The i s en seconds o c owd unding ideos a e use ul because hey
ep esen a conse a i e h eshold o ai a ibu ion, aligning wi h he
li e a u e on i s imp essions om websi es. P ac ically, en seconds is
su icien o o m an ini ial imp ession wi hou o e ing much addi ional
in o ma ion. This ime ame allows iewe s o quickly de elop a i s
imp ession while deciding whe he o emain in e es ed in he en e-
p eneu o mo e on o ano he campaign o websi e. C ucially, i also
limi s he possibili y ha iewe s who would ha e exi ed soone ecei e
ex a in o ma ion ha could al e hei ini ial judgmen .
J.D. Mau e e al.
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7
Measu es o cons uc s
We analyzed ideo clips because body language, exp essi eness, and
mo emen s a e also aken in o conside a ion ega ding i s imp essions
(Tho esen e al., 2012). “These include “s a ic” cues (such as heigh ,
appea ance, and clo hing s yle) and “dynamic” cues (such as acial
exp ession, pos u e, body mo emen ), all o which ha e been shown o
communica e accu a e imp essions o pe sonali y” (Howle , Pine,
O akçioglu, & Fle che , 2013, p. 39). Simila ly, sound o an en ep e-
neu ’s oice has been indica ed as impo an in o ming i s imp essions
(McAlee , Todo o , & Belin, 2014) and ai p edic ions in he c owd-
unding con ex (Allison, Wa nick, Da is, & Ca don, 2022). Exis ing
measu es we e used o his s udy. P io esea ch using hese measu es
has p ima ily ocused on s ill pho og aphs o e a ious ime ames (e.g.,
Todo o , Pak ashi, & Oos e ho , 2009; Willis & Todo o , 2006).
In e - a e eliabili y was measu ed using K ippendo ‘s alpha, a eli-
abili y coe icien used by p e ious en ep eneu ship esea ch (e.g.,
Chan & Pa k, 2014) speci ically de eloped o measu e he ag eemen
among code s (K ippendo , 2004). The sco es indica ed eliabili y:
Agg essi e (0.865), a ac i e (0.927), compe ence (0.805), us wo -
hiness (0.919), and pe cei ed success (0.817).
Va iables
The su ey unde wen p e- es ing wi h 54 esponden s on Amazon
Mechanical Tu k, a e which i was deemed sui able o u he use. The
inal su ey was adminis e ed o 289 pa icipan s, who e alua ed hese
a ibu es based on i e ideos sou ced om Kicks a e ’s a chi es o
eal campaigns, culmina ing in 1878 usable obse a ions (36 e-
sponden s epo ed ha he ideo did no play).
Dependen and media ing a iables
Ac ual c owd unding success. C owd unding success is iden i ied as
c owd unding pe o mance in p e ious s udies (Colombo e al., 2015;
Mollick, 2014) and was coded 1 i he campaign was success ul (passed
i s goal and ecei ed unding) o 0 o he wise (i.e., he goal was no me ,
and no unds we e ecei ed).
Pe cei ed c owd unding success. Using scales om B ooks e al.
(2014), simila o hose used by Da is e al. (2017), wo code s a ed he
p ojec ’s likelihood o success in c owd unding whe e all judgmen s
we e made on a 9-poin scale anging om 1 ( e y unlikely o succeed)
o 9 ( e y likely o succeed). K ippendo ‘s alpha was 0.817. Disc ep-
ancies we e esol ed h ough discussion be ween he code s. Re-
sponden s hen judged pe cei ed success using he same scale.
Independen and con ol a iables
Independen a iables. All he independen measu es we e sco ed
using a nine-poin scale anging om 1 (no a all) o 9 (ex emely).
These a iables and hei scales ha e been widely used and documen ed
in he i s imp essions li e a u e (e.g., Macapagal e al., 2011; Todo o
e al., 2005, 2009; Willis & Todo o , 2006). In acco dance wi h his
li e a u e, esponden s had o judge he deg ee o which he pe son in
he ideo was agg essi e, a ac i e, compe en , o us wo hy.
Con ol a iables. In his s udy, we con olled o en ep eneu de-
mog aphics o educe bo h al e na i e explana ions o i s imp essions
and he possibili y o homophily (Da is e al., 2017; Willis & Todo o ,
2006). Speci ically, we con olled o en ep eneu gende , e hnici y,
and age. Gende was coded 0 o emale-led campaigns and 1 o
male-led ones. E hnici y was coded 0 o hose iden i ied as Caucasian
and 1 o he wise. Age was coded based on he ollowing anges: 18–25
yea s, 26–35 yea s, 36–45 yea s, 46–55 yea s, and 56 yea s o olde .
To accoun o di e ences in he i s en seconds o unding pi ches,
we con olled o idea quali y, p ojec quali y, and en u e ype. Fo idea
quali y, we elied on he alida ed h ee-i em scale de eloped by
Ciuch a e al. (2016). Two a e s wa ched each ideo in he sample o
judge he ex en o which he idea was p ac ical, cle e , and high
quali y. An assessmen o in e - a e eliabili y sugges ed s ong ag ee-
men be ween he a e s (Cohen’s kappa =0.804), and any disag ee-
men s we e hen esol ed h ough discussion. P ojec quali y and
en u e ype a e con olled o using he na u al log o unding goals and
dummy a iables o ca ego ies (c a s, p oduc design, oods, compu e
games, and echnology), espec i ely. These con ols ha e been used in
p e ious c owd unding li e a u e (e.g., Colombo e al., 2015; Da is
e al., 2017; Jose y, Dean, Albe , & Fi za, 2017) and may in luence i s
imp essions o pe cei ed c owd unding success.
Analysis
To es ou hypo heses, we elied on gene alized s uc u al equa ion
modeling (GSEM). The e a e se e al ad an ages o using his s a is ical
analysis in ou s udy. Fi s , allowance o clus e ing. Speci ically, we
clus e ed analyses by a e since ou 387 su ey pa icipan s a ed a
o al o 1878 ideos. Second, in con as o simple s uc u al equa ion
models, which only wo k wi h con inuous ou come a iables, dicho o-
mous ou comes can easily be in eg a ed (Visma a, 2018).
Resul s
Desc ip i e s a is ics and co ela ions a e p esen ed in Table 1. All
ou e olu iona y ai s a e signi ican ly co ela ed wi h pe cei ed and
ac ual success. As mul icollinea i y is o en associa ed wi h i s
imp ession ai s (Todo o & Po e , 2014), a iance in la ion ac o s
we e examined. All we e 2.5 o less; hus, we p oceeded o es ou
hypo heses. Table 2 p esen s ou gene alized SEM models. Models 1
h ough 4 depic he ou e olu iona y ai s indi idually, and Model 5
p esen s hem oge he . Hypo hesis 1 sugges ed ha pe cep ions o
agg essi eness in en ep eneu s would be posi i ely ela ed o c owd-
unding success. The posi i e and signi ican coe icien s in Models 1
and 5 suppo his no ion. Simila ly, he compe ency coe icien s in
Models 3 and 5 a e posi i e and signi ican , suppo ing Hypo hesis 3.
En ep eneu s pe cei ed as a ac i e (Model 2) o us wo hy (Model
4) we e no signi ican ly mo e likely o succeed; we hus ailed o sup-
po Hypo heses 2 o 4.
Fo obus ness, we e an ou models, his ime including de-
mog aphic quali ies collec ed om he pa icipan s ( a e ace, gende ,
and age). The inclusion o hese a iables did no change ou esul s, no
we e any o hem s a is ically signi ican on hei own.
Table 3 displays he esul s o he indi ec e ec s o he e olu iona y
ai assignmen s on ac ual c owd unding success ia pe cei ed c owd-
unding success. To es Hypo hesis 5 (5a-5d), we again elied upon
GSEM. While Table 3 does no depic con ol a iables, hey we e
included in each o he ou models. The indi ec e ec o agg essi eness
pe cep ions on ac ual c owd unding success ia pe cei ed belie s abou
success was posi i e bu no signi ican ly so (p =0.241; 95% CI: -0.003
o 0.011). Thus, Hypo hesis 5a was no suppo ed.
Fo pe cep ions o physical a ac i eness, he indi ec e ec on
ac ual c owd unding success ia pe cei ed belie s abou success was
posi i e and signi ican (p =0.007; 95% CI: 0.007 o 0.042), suppo ing
Hypo hesis 5b. In combina ion wi h he di ec e ec inding, hese e-
sul s indica e indi ec -only media ion. Tha is, he media ed e ec does
exis , bu he di ec e ec does no (Zhao e al., 2010). This inding
sugges s ha he pe cep ion o physical a ac i eness con ibu es o
ac ual c owd unding success only h ough i s e ec s on belie s abou
po en ial success.
Table 3 also shows a posi i e, signi ican indi ec e ec o pe cei ed
compe ence on ac ual c owd unding success ia pe cei ed belie s abou
success (p =0.002; 95% CI: 0.029 o 0.135), suppo ing Hypo hesis 5c.
In combina ion wi h he di ec e ec (Table 2), complemen a y medi-
a ion appea s o exis : bo h e ec s a e signi ican and poin in he same
di ec ion (Zhao e al., 2010). This inding implies ha pe cep ions o
compe ence con ibu e o ac ual c owd unding success bo h di ec ly and
h ough i s e ec on belie s abou po en ial success.
J.D. Mau e e al.
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8
