Legitimacy and emotions in crowdfunding campaign pitches

Abstract

Crowdfunding solicits small investments over the internet from a variety of supporters. But, the lack of a proven track record leaves crowdfunding entrepreneurs struggling to convince others of their new venture. The online campaign pitch is the only way to articulate the competitive advantage of the proposed venture and motivate funders into becoming abiding investors. Through their discourse, project creators try to persuade prospective investors of the legitimacy of their venture. In this study we explore legitimation strategies used in reward-based crowdfunding. We argue that, in the context of a multimodal environment with both text and video, emotions are an undeniable part of the legitimation process. Three distinct emotionalization sub-strategies were identified: building relationships, solving problems, and defying the crowd. Evidence for the study was gathered through assessing campaigns on the crowdfunder platform. This inductive study contributes to crowdfunding and entrepreneurship literature. Implications for practice are discussed.

Citation

Mariën, Y., & Mitra, A. (2019, July). Legitimacy and emotions in crowdfunding campaign pitches. Paper presented at 35th EGOS Colloquium Enlightening the future: The challenge for organisations, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, Scotland

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: 35th EGOS Colloquium Enlightening the future: The challenge for organisations
• Conference Location: Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, Scotland
• Start Date: Jul 4, 2019
• End Date: Jul 6, 2019
• Acceptance Date: Feb 14, 2019
• Deposit Date: Feb 18, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 1-12
• Keywords: emotional appeal, crowdfunding, legitimacy, competitive advantage, entrepreneurship, project creators
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/852281
• Publisher URL: https://www.egosnet.org/2019_edinburgh/colloquium
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : 35th EGOS Colloquium Enlightening the future: The challenge for organisations