In crowdfunding we trust? Investigating crowdfunding success as a signal for enhancing trust in sustainable product features

Crowdfunding has been discussed as a tool for acquiring resources, a way of communicating information to potential investors, and a means of testing the market potential of entrepreneurial projects. Yet, little is known about how successful crowdfunding influences consumers' perceptions about a product or its features. We assume that mentioning a successful crowdfunding campaign in a product advertisement can provide valuable quality signals. Such signals are particularly relevant for sustainability-oriented products because sustainability attributes are often not directly accessible to potential consumers. Based on a 2 (crowdfunding: yes vs. no) × 3 (product category: low complexity vs. medium complexity vs. high complexity) experimental study (n = 530), we find that signaling crowdfunding success has an influence on product perceptions and on the credibility of sustainability attributes. Furthermore, we show that the effects of this signal depend on different levels of product complexity. •We argue that successful crowdfunding affects trust in sustainable product features.•We use an experimental design to test our hypotheses.•We find that signaling crowdfunding success influences consumer perceptions.•We show that the effects of this signal depend on product complexity.