Motivations behind backers’ contributions in reward-based crowdfunding for movies and web series

Purpose - Crowdfunding as an alternative financing method has recently gained ground and become a legitimate and feasible option for supporting creative and cultural projects. Whereas the reasons behind raising money on crowdfunding platforms are easy to understand, there is still a knowledge gap concerning backer’s motivations to fund creative projects. The aim of this study is to investigate backers’ main motivations to contribute to movies and web series crowdfunding projects. Design/methodology/approach - Using PLS-SEM, we analyzed the influence of intrinsic motivation, inner innovativeness, shared values and campaign involvement on perceived trust and perceived risk; the last two were further analyzed in relation to their influence on participation intention (N = 432). Data was collected from Europe and Asia using convenience and snowball sampling through a structured questionnaire. Findings - Perceived trust was found to be positively influenced by intrinsic motivation, shared values and campaign involvement, and perceived risk was surprisingly found to be positively influenced by campaign involvement. Also, perceived trust as generated by platform and crowdfundraiser jointly and perceived risk have a positive influence on participation intention. Research limitations/implications - This study is a useful tool in the hands of filmmakers and web series producers in the process of crowdfunding campaign design and for the crowdfund platform owner, who will seek to enhance perceived trust in order to attract larger audiences and increase profitability. Originality/value - This is an original first study to examine the intentions of people from Europe and Asia toward movie and web series crowdfunding projects.