Impact of Gamification on Intention to Donate Using Crowdfunding Platform: Evaluating the Mediating Roles of Affective User Experience and Trust

Crowdfunding platforms are seen as potential solutions to facilitate disintermediated giving, where people can go directly to the public for help with their difficulties. Although disintermediation is widespread and active in the crowdfunding industry, the fiercely competitive environment, combined with concerns about personal data use and unethical conduct, has resulted in an enormous number of campaigns failing. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate factors that influence contributors’ intention to participate in the crowdfunding platform. Using a self-administered survey, this research collected data from 339 individuals with initial knowledge of crowdfunding activities. The results of hypothesis testing indicate that gamification has a direct positive impact on affective user experience and trust in the platform but insignificantly affects donation intention on a crowdfunding platform. Interestingly, the mediating role of affective user experience and trust are established. The results lead to the discussion that gamification alone not directly impact donors' intentions to contribute on crowdfunding platforms, it significantly influences intention when mediated by affective user experience and trust in the platform. The substantial contribution of the relationship between gamification and trust in the platform, emphasizing the importance of user experience as a key precursor to positive behavioural intentions in online and gamified environments.