The role of attractiveness and gender in the making of a crowdfunder

: an experimental study on stereotypical perceptions

Abstract

The benefits of attractiveness have been reported in a wide range of studies, and provento exist in many areas of life. Attractive people are perceived as more intelligent and successful, they receive better salaries, more favorable legal outcomes, and are more socially desirable, among many other positive attributes. However, there is a smaller body of research that indicates attractive women can experience a lack of fit phenomenon, meaning they are perceived as unsuitable for fields that require typically masculine qualities, such as entrepreneurism, due to their feminine appearance. Female entrepreneurs in general are in a minority among business owners and often face barriers in important areas, such as accessing funding through traditional means, including bank loans or private equity funding. However, the rise of online platforms has created new ways for startup entrepreneurs to collect funding for their businesses, and especially crowdfunding in its many different forms has gained extensive popularity. This study examines the role of entrepreneur's attractiveness and gender in crowdfunding, and more specifically, it aims to understand how attractiveness and gender relate to funding outcomes, perceived competence, and perceived likeliness to succeed in crowdfunding platforms. The study sample consists of 166 participants and the results showed that attractive female entrepreneurs were seen as less likely to succeed compared to attractive male entrepreneurs. However, unattractive entrepreneurs were perceived as the most likely to succeed, which could reflect a change in stereotypes of what a successful entrepreneur is expected to look like.

Date of Award	13 Jan 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rui Costa Lopes (Supervisor)