“Spreading the Good News Where It's Needed Most”: Understanding Pre-Adoption Crowdfunding Engagement Through Information Sharing in Emerging Markets

Abstract

Purpose Crowdfunding adoption remains uneven in emerging markets characterized by low awareness, high uncertainty, and weak social trust. Prior research has focused on financial participation in mature ecosystems, overlooking how engagement begins in nascent contexts. This study conceptualizes crowdfunding information sharing as a pre-adoption, non-financial form of engagement and examines its drivers. Study Design Grounded in the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), the study extends the framework by incorporating crowdfunding awareness, interest, and social trust. A conceptual model linking these antecedents to attitudes, information-sharing intentions, and behavior is tested using survey data from 471 respondents in Tanzania. Covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) is employed. Findings Results support the extended TRA model. Attitudes toward crowdfunding are shaped by awareness, interest, subjective norms, and social trust. Information-sharing intentions are primarily driven by attitudes and interest, while behavior is predicted by intentions and interest. Interest emerges as the strongest predictor across all stages. Awareness and subjective norms influence intentions indirectly via attitudes, while social trust mainly shapes attitudes. Originality/Value The study reframes information sharing as a distinct pre-adoption engagement mechanism, extending crowdfunding literature beyond financial participation and providing evidence from an underrepresented Sub-Saharan African context.