Unlocking green crowdfunding for small hotels: the role of effectiveness and messaging

Purpose This study examines the socio-psychological mechanisms shaping support for sustainability-oriented crowdfunding campaigns in hospitality, focusing on small hotels seeking funding for smart energy management systems (SEMS). Specifically, it investigates how message framing, personal norms, and sustainable travel behavior relate to crowdfunding engagement through perceived effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model, dual-process theory and the norm-activation model, the study surveyed 230 US participants exposed to a reward-based crowdfunding campaign using either rational or emotional message framing with the mediating role of perceived effectiveness tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings Perceived effectiveness was strongly and positively associated with both financial support and information-sharing intentions. Contrary to the hypothesized direction, emotional rather than rational message framing was associated with higher perceived effectiveness. Perceived effectiveness also mediated the relationships of message framing, personal norms and sustainable travel behavior with crowdfunding engagement. Practical implications Small hotels seeking crowdfunding for sustainability initiatives should combine emotionally engaging communication with clear, tangible evidence of an initiative’s environmental impact, while facilitating both financial participation and information sharing. Environmentally conscious travelers may constitute a particularly relevant audience for such campaigns. Originality/value This study integrates persuasion-based and moral-motivational perspectives on sustainability-oriented crowdfunding by identifying perceived effectiveness as a common psychological mechanism linking campaign-level message framing and individuals’ pre-existing sustainability orientations with crowdfunding engagement. It further shows that the technical nature of a sustainability initiative does not necessarily imply the superiority of rational appeals when the initiative is embedded in a morally salient environmental context.