Fintech Attaining Sustainable Development: An Investor Perspective of Crowdfunding Platforms in a Developing Country

Crowdfunding is a successful disruptive innovation of fintech that substitutes financial intermediaries and contributes toward financial inclusion and sustainable development. The present research aimed at exploring the underlying determinant factors that shape the investors' intentions to fund in a crowdfunding platform, a phenomenon still under-researched in the developing world. To bridge this void in the literature, we investigated how calculus and relational trust mediate the effects of perceived accreditation, blockchain technology, structural assurance, and third-party seal on the investors' intention using the SEM technique to analyze the data collected from 110 platform investors in Pakistan. Findings suggest that third-party seal and blockchain technology strongly influence the calculus trust. While the investors' intention to invest is mediated by calculus trust, the relational trust fails to show any mediation effect, suggesting that investors make investment decisions based on what makes sense to them cognitively instead of affectively. The research was concluded with implications for both theory and practice.