What goes around comes around: fundraiser's backing history drives reward-based crowdfunding

Purpose Reward-based crowdfunding platforms frequently rely on digital interface cues to shape the decisions of potential backers. How to leverage these cues in order to maximize support from backers is a critical question for the fundraisers themselves, as well as for researchers. This study aims to address the unanswered question concerning how the fundraiser's backing history, specifically the number of projects they have supported, influences campaign outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Three independent studies were conducted, comprising a secondary dataset of 2,107 Kickstarter crowdfunding campaigns for the project-level test and two preregistered experiments (N = 754) for the individual-level test. Findings A more extensive backing history strongly augments campaign performance, as measured by greater backer engagement, higher amounts of money raised and increased willingness to contribute to the campaign. This potentiating effect emerges because the fundraisers' prior backing behavior enhances their perceived prosocial reputation, which, in turn, activates the prosocial motivation of backers. Strikingly, this positive effect is inversely correlated with the visibility of backed-project profiles, being stronger when those profiles are hidden from public view. Originality/value We propose that downstream reciprocity – an evolutionary cooperative mechanism – enhances reward-based crowdfunding performance through the causal effect of a digital cue: the fundraiser's backing history. We also delineate the boundary condition of this effect. This insight into the interactions between economic agents in crowdfunding provides important guidance for practitioners seeking to optimize interface design and boost campaign outcomes.