Passion and attractiveness on display: an examination of gender bias in crowdfunding

Surface cues such as displays of passion and physical attractiveness can affect crowdfunding outcomes. Yet the efficacy of these cues may be contingent on other attributes of the entrepreneur, such as their gender. We integrate insights from the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion with those of expectancy violation theory to develop and test a theoretical framework in which the benefit of these cues is contingent on the gender of the entrepreneur and expectancies associated with it. Furthermore, we introduce a novel measurement technique to assess individuals’ implicit gender-based biases related to passion and attractiveness.