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Earlier research into crowdfunding adoption has drawn on social psychology, trust, signaling and well-being theories. Despite its wide appeal and use, the technology acceptance model (TAM) has received little attention in terms of explaining the adoption of crowdfunding platforms. The current study examines the applicability of two versions of this framework: the original TAM1 and the extended TAM2 frameworks.

Data were collected through a survey distributed to the users of Finland's leading reward crowdfunding website, Mesenaatti, who have backed crowdfunding campaigns previously. The authors employed structural equation modelling (SEM–lavaan package) and conducted a series of quality tests to alleviate concerns with certain biases.

Analyses of 556 observations exhibit support for all hypotheses underlying both TAM frameworks, with two exceptions. Contrary to expectations, voluntariness does not moderate the effect of subjective norms on contribution intentions, and the effect of perceived ease-of-use is primarily mediated by perceived usefulness, rather than directly influencing intentions.

First, the study extends the generalizability of TAM to the context of crowdfunding and with respect to financial contribution behavior. Second, it shows that backers' perceptions of platform usefulness and ease-of-use are important antecedents of crowdfunding contribution behavior, and that the former exerts greater influence than the latter. Third, it further clarifies the influences of relevant antecedents of crowdfunding backers' contribution intentions and behaviors. Specifically, the authors show that experience only weakly moderates the influence of subjective norms on contribution intentions, and voluntariness does not moderate this association. The authors discuss explanations for these findings and their implications for research and practice.

Crowdfunding has emerged as an alternative financing tool and recently gained attention to foster entrepreneurial dynamism and innovation. The current research has identified the determinants impacting the behavioral intentions of entrepreneurs to use crowdfunding for financing their small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The current article is based on a cross-sectional research design. This research collected the data of 422 owners and managers of SMEs through self-administered questionnaires in the Indian National Capital Region (NCR). The responses were collected from July 17 to October 27, 2022. This article used “partial least squares structural equation modeling” (PLS-SEM) for data analysis.

This article offered a robust model with a high explanatory value of 66% of behavioral intention and 62.1% variance in crowdfunding use behavior. The finding also highlighted that performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, trialability and perceived value significantly impact behavioral intention. However, effort expectancy and perceived risk insignificantly influence behavioral intention. Notably, facilitating conditions, trialability and behavioral intention positively impact use behavior.

The results of this study will bridge the gap in empirical research on crowdfunding adoption, shedding light on why entrepreneurs hesitate to adopt crowdfunding for financing. Moreover, these results will offer strategic insights for crowdfunding managers and policymakers, aiding them in making informed decisions.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this pioneering study built the theoretical framework using three credible technology determinant models. The authors examined crowdfunding-specific contextual factors to improve understanding of the positive effect of technological orientation. This addition assists in strategically arranging entrepreneurs' fundraising conversations more efficiently.