Prosocial motivation and lending to the poor: evidence from an international crowdfunding platform (JIBS)

The podcast discusses how crowdfunders’ prosocial motivation shapes their decisions to lend money to poorer borrowers on international crowdfunding platforms like Kiva. It shows that higher prosocial motivation indeed leads to the lending choice of poorer borrowers across borders. However, cultural distance weakens this relationship by creating cognitive and emotional barriers, while crowdfunders’ platform experience and women-owned businesses strengthen it. It indicates how digital platforms facilitate the expression of prosocial motivations across national boundaries in efforts to reduce poverty, while also uncovering the factors that hinder or support cross-border prosocial lending. These insights can help policymakers develop frameworks that amplify the impact of prosocial crowdfunding on poverty alleviation.

Citation: Xie, L., Ding, Y., Li, J. et al. 2025. Prosocial motivation and lending to the poor: evidence from an international crowdfunding platform. Journal of International Business Studies 56, 530–541. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-024-00751-1