Do “Rewards” tab on crowdfunding platforms increase project success? Unexpected insights from inattentional blindness

Publication Type

Conference Proceeding Article

Publication Date

7-2025

Abstract

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.

Discipline

Databases and Information Systems | Finance and Financial Management | Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces

Research Areas

Data Science and Engineering

Publication

Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS 2025): Kuala Lumpur, July 5-9

Publisher

Association for Information Systems

City or Country

Atlanta

Additional URL

https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2025/hci/hci/17

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