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Communications of the Association for Information Systems

Author ORCID Identifier

Nicholas Valentin Lingnau: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4596-6672

Hendrik Jöntgen: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7357-4481

Richelle Oakley DaSouza: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4294-6286

E. Mitchell Church: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0990-6979

Abstract

Subscription-based crowdfunding offers an alternative to advertisement-driven compensation as it allows supporters to directly compensate content creators on a recurring basis. Among those supporters, certain high-value supporters make significant financial contributions. We call these supporters “whales”, borrowing terminology from large investors in capital markets. Over time, creators depend greatly on these reliable high-value supporters. Therefore, attracting and retaining whales is fundamental to long-lasting, subscription-based crowdfunding success. Motivation theory, signaling theory, and goal-based behavior provide a framework to examine factors associated with engaging high-value campaign supporters. Using a unique data set collected from Patreon, a leading subscription-based crowdfunding platform, we identify aspects of a creator’s content’s presentation that are most associated with maximizing patronage from high-value supporters. Key results from this study show that whales are explicitly drawn to campaigns that can effectively create an interpersonal relationship with the supporter through customized rewards and increasingly personal access and communication with the content creator themselves. Interestingly, the study also shows that some aspects of crowdfunding campaigns that were once thought to be essential may be of less importance to high-value supporters. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

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