Reward-based crowdfunding broadens the scope of e-commerce transactions, as prototypical products are pre-sold under conditions of considerable uncertainty. To date, we know little about the mechanisms that underlie decisions to back reward-based crowdfunding campaigns. However, it is likely that startup founders’ possibility of showcasing their personalities in video pitches signals their trustworthiness, particularly, as other features, such as quality seals and customer testimonials, are often unavailable. We use signaling theory to reinforce the move from a feature-oriented perspective to a signaling perspective, as signals can transmit information about startup founders’ otherwise imperceptible qualities and abilities. Based on a survey (N = 108), we investigate how perceived hubris – proven to be particularly salient in startup contexts – influences the funding decision of potential backers. We find that abilities and legitimacy of a startup founder are rated positively when s/he is perceived as hubristic. These results have implications for crowdfunding campaigns and highlight the relevance of personality traits in electronic markets.

基于奖励的众筹扩大了电子商务交易的范围，因为原型产品是在相当不确定的条件下预售的。迄今为止，我们对支持基于奖励的众筹活动的决策机制知之甚少。然而，初创公司创始人可能会在视频宣传中展示他们的个性，这表明了他们的可信度，尤其是在其他特征（例如质量印章和客户推荐）通常不可用的情况下。我们使用信号理论来加强从面向特征的角度到信号角度的转变，因为信号可以传递有关初创公司创始人在其他方面难以察觉的品质和能力的信息。根据一项调查 ( N = 108)，我们调查了感知到的狂妄自大——被证明在创业环境中尤为突出——如何影响潜在支持者的融资决策。我们发现，当初创公司创始人被认为是傲慢自大时，他/她的能力和合法性会得到积极评价。这些结果对众筹活动有影响，并突出了人格特征在电子市场中的相关性。