Paper Type
Short
Paper Number
PACIS2025-1220
Description
Many reward-based crowdfunding platforms update the presentation of rewards information to attract backers' attention and facilitate pledge decisions. Given the diverse information of crowdfunding project, such updates mainly enhance the visibility and comparison for rewards information. However, psychological research suggests that focusing attention on a specific object can lead to inattentional blindness, where individuals fail to perceive other relevant information. In this study, we propose that the introduction of a new "Rewards" tab on project pages may negatively impact crowdfunding success by causing backers to focus on reward comparisons while neglecting other decision support cues. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) approach, we analyze the effects of this feature change in a natural experiment on Kickstarter. Leveraging a large language model (LLM) for attribute classification of comment texts, we analyze the backers’ awareness of non-reward information. Further, a lab experiment incorporating eye-tracking technology validates the attentional mechanism with additional evidence.
Recommended Citation
HUANG, Shiqing and Siau, Keng, "Do “Rewards” Tab on Crowdfunding Platforms Increase Project Success? Unexpected Insights from Inattentional Blindness" (2025). PACIS 2025 Proceedings. 17.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2025/hci/hci/17
Do “Rewards” Tab on Crowdfunding Platforms Increase Project Success? Unexpected Insights from Inattentional Blindness
Many reward-based crowdfunding platforms update the presentation of rewards information to attract backers' attention and facilitate pledge decisions. Given the diverse information of crowdfunding project, such updates mainly enhance the visibility and comparison for rewards information. However, psychological research suggests that focusing attention on a specific object can lead to inattentional blindness, where individuals fail to perceive other relevant information. In this study, we propose that the introduction of a new "Rewards" tab on project pages may negatively impact crowdfunding success by causing backers to focus on reward comparisons while neglecting other decision support cues. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) approach, we analyze the effects of this feature change in a natural experiment on Kickstarter. Leveraging a large language model (LLM) for attribute classification of comment texts, we analyze the backers’ awareness of non-reward information. Further, a lab experiment incorporating eye-tracking technology validates the attentional mechanism with additional evidence.
Comments
HCI