Engagement and Crowding-Out Effects of Leaderboard Gamification on Medical Crowdfunding

Prior research offers a minimal amount of direct evidence on the effect of gamification features such as top-donor leaderboards on medical crowdfunding, particularly regarding donor engagement, contributions per donor, and total campaign funds. The study analyzes data from 3,415 distinct medical campaigns, leveraging an unannounced change on GoFundMe. The findings reveal a complex scenario that defies simple expectations. The leaderboard is expected to increase donor engagement, but it appears to discourage larger contributions per donor, a phenomenon termed "crowding out." Despite these mixed outcomes, there is a positive correlation between the leaderboard's presence and the funds raised. These findings highlight the potential of leaderboards to increase engagement and total funds raised in medical crowdfunding campaigns. However, the crowding-out effect raises concerns about the Pareto efficiency of this motivation system. This research contributes insights to both practitioners and theorists, shedding light on the complex interplay between gamification features and crowdfunding outcomes in the medical context.