Signaling effect in social network and charity crowdfunding: Empirical analysis of charity crowdfunding of Sina MicroBlog in China

Abstract

With the increasing number of online charity donations, research on the influencing factors of individual donation behavior has become an important topic. Social interaction information in crowdfunding has become an essential basis for potential backers to make decisions. It provides new research space for charity crowdfunding and social capital theory. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the influence of social capital, social recommendation, and other signals on charity crowdfunding performance. We obtain 4,780 project information on the charity crowdfunding of Sina MicroBlog through data collection procedures. Our research found that both external social capital and internal capital can significantly improve the fundraising performance of crowdfunding projects. Projects with more social recommendations are more likely to obtain financial support. In the case of Medical aid crowdfunding projects, the positive promotion effect of social recommendations on project fundraising ability is enhanced. To get more effective support for crowdfunding projects, it is necessary to pay attention to the construction of social capital and the cultivation of its reputation to obtain the recognition of potential backers.

Keywords: Sina MicroBlog; crowdfunding performance; online charity crowdfunding; prosocial behavior; reciprocity; social capital; social recommendation.