Crowdfunding to Make A Difference: How the Number of Options Affects Prosocial Choice

Using field and laboratory studies, we examine prosocial decision making for crowdfunding social ventures. Our results reveal that for prosocial choices, the relationship between number of options provided to decision makers and funding outcomes is a U-shaped relationship --- the “prosocial choice hypothesis”--- and is mediated by the venture organizer’s perceived competence. Decision makers weigh the organizer’s competence more heavily when making prosocial (vs. non-prosocial) choices, and the U-shaped pattern is turned on with an intuitive processing style and turned off with an analytic processing style for prosocial choices. These findings provide guidance regarding how to influence potential contributors to social causes.