We add richness and depth to investor decision-making research by exploring the influence of entrepreneurs' use of ingratiation rhetoric in their investor pitch presentations on investor funding decisions. Drawing on ingratiation theory, we model the effects of flattery, self-deprecation, opinion conformity, and self-promotion as distinct forms of ingratiation rhetoric. We do so independently and in tandem, conceptualizing the confluence of ingratiation forms as driving an overall aggregate effect on the amount of funding allocated by investors. We then theorize that entrepreneur charisma and entrepreneur performance are moderators of the aggregate effect. We test our model in the angel investment context with data from 789 entrepreneur pitch presentations to 27 investors on the Shark Tank television program from 2009 through 2020. We find that on their own, the different forms of ingratiation rhetoric have mixed effects, with flattery and self-deprecation negatively impacting investor funding amount and opinion conformity and self-promotion positively relating to funding amount. When used together, we find an overall negative effect, and this effect is positively moderated by entrepreneur charisma and entrepreneur performance. These findings shed new light on ingratiation rhetoric as a powerful force in entrepreneurs' efforts to secure funding.

通过探究企业家在其投资者推介活动中使用引诱性言论对投资者融资决策的影响，我们为投资者决策研究增加了丰富性和深度。借鉴灌输理论，我们将奉承，自我贬低，意见一致和自我促进的效果建模为灌输修辞的不同形式。我们独立并串联地这样做，将掺入形式的融合概念化为对投资者分配的资金总量产生总体总体影响。然后，我们推论出企业家的魅力和企业家的绩效是总体效应的调节器。我们使用从Shark Tank上的789位企业家推介演讲给27位投资者的数据，在天使投资环境中测试了我们的模型从2009年到2020年的电视节目。我们发现，不同形式的迷恋言论本身具有混合的影响，受宠若惊和自卑自负对投资者的供资额产生负面影响，意见的一致性和自我推销与供资额成正比关系。当一起使用时，我们发现总体上会产生负面影响，而这种影响会因企业家的魅力和企业家的业绩而得到正向缓和。这些发现为在企业家努力获得资金方面的强大力量提供了令人振奋的言论，这为人们提供了新的思路。