| dc.description.abstract | Purpose — Crowdfunding awareness is essential for potential investors and entrepreneurs seeking funding as it can influence their decision to participate in crowdfunding campaigns. Understanding factors affecting crowdfunding awareness can help researchers and practitioners better understand the dynamics of crowdfunding and develop effective strategies for promoting participation and success in crowdfunding campaigns. This final thesis aims to investigate the main factors affecting awareness of crowdfunding in Albania and Lithuania.
Design/methodology approach — This study applied a quantitative research design and employed an online survey as its primary data collection method. A 7-point Likert scale was selected to measure four main latent variables: social trust (SOT), familiarity (FAM), awareness (AWA), and economic and financial education (EED). A combination of random and snowball sampling was used, and distribution was conducted through various online channels without specific demographic targeting.
Findings — The results showed that two hypotheses were supported, and two were not supported. Firstly, economic education and familiarity have a positive and significant effect on crowdfunding awareness. Secondly, people’s trust has no significant impact on crowdfunding awareness. Furthermore, the level of crowdfunding market development was found to have no moderating effect on economic education, social trust, and familiarity with crowdfunding users. Regarding control variables, the results indicated that age significantly influences crowdfunding awareness, whereas gender did not.
Originality/value — The study analyzes scientific literature to reveal the factors affecting individuals' willingness to use crowdfunding. The research data is valuable as the crowdfunding situation, especially the factors affecting awareness and willingness to use crowdfunding in Lithuania and Albania, is not discussed. The findings and conclusions could be adapted to other countries.
Keywords: awareness, crowdfunding, social trust, familiarity, Lithuania, Albania | |
