An empirical investigation of repeated donations on crowdfunding platforms during COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the financial well-being of people and the world’s economy. Crowdfunding is a prominent contributor to this pandemic's adverse effects. Donations on crowdfunding platforms have received attention; however, repeated donations, especially during COVID-19, need to be studied. This study aims to understand the role of reward-based gamification as a tool for understanding repeated donation behaviour on crowdfunding platforms during COVID-19. The study uses the self-determination theory to propose the conceptual framework and uses cross sectional data from 514 donors using survey based instruments. This study aims to understand the role of social relatedness with donors’ intrinsic motivation to make repeated donations. Similarly, it tries to establish the role of social relatedness and engagement with repeated donation behaviour. The study uses reward-based gamification as moderating variables, and the model controls the experience of donating on crowdfunding platforms. The results confirm the relationship between social relatedness impacting a donor’s intrinsic motivation and engagement in crowdfunding platform activities leading to repeated donation behaviour. The study further establishes that reward-based gamification moderates the relationship between intrinsic motivation and repeated donation behaviour. The results reveal that the experience of donating impacts the users' repeated donations. The study presents new insights on the role of gamification in inducing repeated donations on crowdfunding platforms during COVID-19.