Laying the Foundations of Technology Startups– An Inquiry of Crowd-funding Investment Decisions in a Developing Country

• Published in: Technology in society 2025-06, Vol.81, p.102811, Article 102811
• Main Authors: Rizwan, Amina, Hanif, Muhammad Shehzad, Ahmad Khan, Talha Zubair
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Crowdfunding decision; Networks and Social Capital; Risk and Trust; Technology startups; Value Congruence
• ISSN: 0160-791X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.102811

This research gauges the actual investment behaviors of crowd-funding investors towards technology startups in Pakistan. We hypothesize that perceived risk will obstruct the crowdfunding investment decisions with the countervailing effect of trust in the presence of other boosters like technology awareness, value congruence, and social ties. Rooted in technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior, we employ structural equation modeling to quantitatively assess the data collected from 273 actual crowd-funding investors. Findings suggest that crowd-funders often rely on their technology awareness, trusted network and social interaction ties while they ignore the value congruence and informativeness for their investment decisions. The age of the funder has no effect but a higher qualification will increase the likelihood of investment decisions. •Crowd-funders often rely on their technology awareness, trusted network, and social interaction•ties•Value congruence and informativeness don't affect crowdfunding investment decisions.•A higher qualification of the investor will increase the likelihood of investment decisions.