Keywords
crowdfunding, social projects, commercial projects, theory of planned behaviour, financial well-being
Abstract
A unique feature of crowdfunding is that it relies on numerous individuals contributing financially to the project, which sets it apart from traditional financing channels. Unlike banks, where funding decisions are subject to strict prudential criteria and the creditworthiness of the borrowing entity, crowdfunding projects appeal to various worldviews and values held by potential backers. Therefore, the financial decision to support the crowdfunding project becomes a unique problem in personal finance. This study aims to analyse the psychological and financial factors influencing crowdfunding participation, comparing social and commercial projects using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (hereinafter: TPB) and subjective financial well-being as key determinants. Specifically, it investigates how attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control (hereinafter: PBC) shape backers’ intentions across these two crowdfunding contexts, while also examining the role of financial perceptions in decision-making. For this study, we collected 379 responses from participants with prior crowdfunding experience from the United States and Europe, recruited through the Prolific platform. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (hereinafter: PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesised relationships. Results confirm the central role of attitudes toward crowdfunding in shaping the intentions to support social and commercial projects. The findings indicate that incorporating a personal finance perspective enhances our understanding of crowdfunding backers’ behaviour. Indeed, subjective financial well-being is significantly related to subjective norms and PBC. This result suggests that respondents who perceive their financial situation more positively are also more likely to believe that supporting crowdfunding is an easy process within their control. Finally, the study confirms that subjective norms significantly influence social project intentions but not commercial ones.
Acknowledgments
Funding
This research is funded by the National Science Center (Poland), research grant “Socio-Psychological motivations for supporting social and commercial crowdfunding campaigns” with the project identification number UMO-2021/43/D/HS4/00781.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of the article.
Declaration About the Scope of AI Utilization
The author did not use an AI tool in the preparation of the article.
Recommended Citation
Adamska, J., & Mrzygłód, U. (2025). Social and Commercial Crowdfunding Through the Lens of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Financial Well-Being. Journal of Banking and Financial Economics, 2025(1), 18-37. https://doi.org/10.7172/2353-6845.jbfe.2025.1.2
First Page
18
Last Page
37
Page Count
20
Received Date
15.12.2024
Revised Date
01.02.2025
Accept Date
05.03.2025
Online Available Date
15.05.2025
DOI
10.7172/2353-6845.jbfe.2025.1.2
JEL Code
G40; G41; G53
Publisher
University of Warsaw
