Judging a Crowdfunding Pitch by its Cover: The Influence of Signals and Presentation Quality

Crowdfunding represents a unique and increasingly common conduit for the acquisition of entrepreneurial startup capital. Through the integration of signaling theory and dual process theory, we develop a set of hypotheses regarding the role played by both costly signals and presentation quality in determining crowdfunding performance. Our hypothesized relationships were tested using a random sample 323 funding pitches drawn from Kickstarter...