An empirical study of donors’ acceptance and behavioural intention in online crowdfunding platforms: extending UTAUT2 with trust / Saiyid Abdallah Syahir Al-Edrus

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors influencing the behavioural
intention to adopt crowdfunding platforms services by Malaysians. The proposed
model has assimilated factors from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of
Technology (UTAUT2), along with trust. The factors of UTAUT2 include
performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions,
hedonic motivation, price value, and habit. Apart from testing the direct relationships,
this study has also explored the moderating effect of generational cohorts and gender
on the respondents’ behaviour. This study empirically tested 200 respondents by using
Partial Least Square – Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) method. The
findings reveal that the model can explain 76.6% of the variance in donors’
behavioural intention. The results indicate that Performance Expectancy, Social
Influence, Habit, and Trust are direct determinants of behavioural intention. The
Multi-Group Analysis (MGA) of generational cohorts reveals that trust influences
Millennials and non-Millennials in the same manner in terms of behaviour. However,
the MGA also confirms that the effect between Habit, Performance Expectancy, and
Social Influence on behavioural intention differ significantly between the Millennials
and non-Millennials. Similarly, for gender groups, this study found that the effect
between Habit, Performance Expectancy, and Social Influence on behavioural
intention differ significantly between male and female donors. Future research might
want to look at users’ acceptance in suburban or rural areas. Another possibility in
enhancing the body of knowledge as a continuity in this area of research is to
provision samples from other cities in Malaysia. Data and result comparison can be
carried, either to reaffirm or argue. Future research may also want to consider the
impact of crowdfunding on financial institutions. Financial institutions could leverage
the outcome of the study to improve financing processes and make them better.