Does the cognitive effort required to process complex metaphors influence the amount of funding raised through Initial Coin Offerings across different cultural contexts?
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- The Initial Coin Offering (ICO) industry is growing fast and becoming popular, emerging as a crucial element of business models and alternative sources of financing. To raise funds, ICOs rely on white papers. In these documents, the choice of language, particularly in financial discourse, plays a central role in shaping investor perceptions and decisions. Metaphorical language possesses cognitive value and communicative functions. Metaphors can facilitate the understanding of complex concepts by a wider audience and strengthen reader engagement. Furthermore, metaphors convey emotional attitudes and contribute to persuasive communication strategies. Combining the use of metaphors in financial texts offers advantages, therefore it's worth taking a closer look at how ICOs raise funds and what factors influence them. This thesis focuses on the impact of metaphor use in ICO white papers on funds raised and highlights the role of figurative language in financial decision-making. The various regressions carried out show that a higher number of metaphors is associated with increased fundraising amounts, confirming that figurative language can enhance communication and engagement. Furthermore, empirical research has demonstrated that metaphors in white paper containing moderate semantic distance generate higher positive impact compared to those with higher semantic distance. Moreover, metaphors with positive connotations led to greater fundraising success than negative ones. And lastly, the effectiveness of metaphorical language varies by geographical region, showing that culture influences how investors respond to language. The overall results support the importance of linguistic choices in financial communication, particularly in the ICO sector. Metaphors are a valuable tool to explore and consider during the ICO fundraising process.