A Research On Investors'initial Trust Of Reward-based Crowdfunding Platform

Crowdfunding is a new type of Internet investment and financing mode.In this mode,investors get the return from fund raisers by investing a small amount of money.These investors are usually the crowd,rather than professional investors.Reward-based crowdfunding is one of the important forms of crowdfunding,which is characterized by getting rewards instead of financial returns.The platform is an important third party that contributes to the success of the crowdfunding projects.At present,the reward-based crowdfunding platform is developing rapidly,but the projects on the platforms is difficult to pull off.There is a crisis of confidence on the reward-based crowdfunding platform.In the present research,the trust objects are mostly projects.Researchers ignored the fact that the trust of the platform is essential.As the investors are the crowd,initial relationships are common.It is realistic to study the initial trust of reward-based crowdfunding platform.Therefore,this paper focused on the trust theory,and studied the antecedent factors of reward-based crowdfunding platform initial trust.Moreover,the influence of trust-related factors on investment willingness is also considered.This paper falls into six parts:Chap.1 elaborates research background,objective,structure and main innovation etc;Chap.2 reviewed the trust theory,TRA and research literature of crowdfunding at home and abroad;Chap.3 established the model of the initial trust of the reward-based crowdfunding platform,analyzed the antecedent factors influencing the initial trust of the platform,studied the influence of trust-related factors on the investment intention,and put forward the hypothesis;Chap.4 defined the research variables,designed the questionnaires,and completed the preliminary research;Chap.5 empirically studied the initial trust of reward-based crowdfunding,using structural equation model on PLS algorithm,and put forward suggestions according to the research conclusion;Chap.6 explained the main research findings,inadequacy of the research and further prospects.The main findings of this paper are as follows:(1)The research points out the antecedent factors that affect the initial trust of investors on the reward-based crowdfunding platform.These factors include personal factors and situational factors.Disposition to participation reflects personality.Perceived risk and perceived similarity reflect the cognitive process.These factors belong to personal factors,which influence the initial trust of the platform differently.Other factors which belongs to situational factors include structural assurance and platform reputation.They also affect initial trust of the platform.(2)The study found that the initial trust of investors on the reward-based crowdfunding platform can lead to the willingness to invest;in addition,perceived risk and perceived similarity of the platform have a significant impact on the investment intention.Perceived risk in the platform will hinder the investment willingness of investors,but when investors perceive similarity,they are more willing to invest.(3)According to the conclusion of this paper,the author puts forward the specific suggestions for the construction managers and project initiators of the reward-based crowdfunding platform,which has certain sense for rising projects success rate and promoting the development of the reward-based crowdfunding in China.