The determinants of the web user’s trust in the context of crowdfunding

The role of trust in the success of crowdfunding campaigns remains an unexplored field. This study seeks to understand the factors of trust among web users. The literature on the motivations of the project creators and the contributors, as well as the success factors of a campaign, is enriched by research on trust and its characteristics in a context of online purchasing and monetary investment. A conceptual model of web users’ trust determinants in a crowdfunding campaign is suggested. A questionnaire is administered through an online survey, targeting French communities with an interest in crowdfunding. The results show that the web user’s trust in a crowdfunding context is determined by factors related to the quality of the project, the relational characteristics and behavior of the project creator, as well as the behavior of the web user.