Does crowdfunding really foster innovation? Evidence from the board game industry

Crowdfunding offers inventors and entrepreneurs alternative access to resources with which they can develop and realize their ideas. Besides helping to secure capital, crowdfunding also connects creators with engaged early supporters who provide public feedback. But does this process foster truly innovative outcomes? Does the proliferation of crowdfunding in an industry make it more innovative overall? Prior studies investigating the link between crowdfunding and innovation do not compare traditional and crowdfunded products and so while claims that crowdfunding supports innovation are theoretically sound, they lack empirical backing. We address this gap using a unique dataset of board games, an industry with significant crowdfunding activity in recent years. Each game is described by how it combines fundamental mechanisms such as dice-rolling, negotiation, and resource-management, from which we develop quantitative measures of innovation in game design. Using these measures to compare games, we find that crowdfunded games tend to be more distinctive from previous games than their traditionally published counterparts. They are also significantly more likely to implement novel combinations of mechanisms. Crowdfunded games are not just transient experiments: subsequent games imitate their novel ideas. These results hold in regression models controlling for game and designer-level confounders. Our findings demonstrate that the innovative potential of crowdfunding goes beyond individual products to entire industries, as new ideas spill over to traditionally funded products

What makes equity crowdfunding successful in Japan? Testing the signaling and lack of financial literacy hypotheses

PURPOSE: The first objective of this study is to identify the factors that contribute to the success of equity crowdfunding (ECF) campaigns in Japan. We examined what makes a campaign successful using data from 217 campaigns conducted on FUNDINNO, Japan’s largest ECF platform, between February 2017 and May 2021. The second objective is to assess individual investors’ financial literacy based on the ECF campaign’s success or failure. This study is unique in that it focuses on funding method differences as well as the contents of the business plans disclosed in the ECF campaigns. In Japan, a common equity campaign and stock acquisition rights campaign are run on the same ECF platform, as if they were the same type of funding. Common stock and stock acquisition rights are treated differently by venture capitalists and other professional investors. By comparing the success or failure of the two Japanese projects, we can assess individual investors’ financial literacy after taking into account the project signals. METHODOLOGY: The “Signaling Hypothesis” and the “Lack of Financial Literacy Hypothesis” were tested. Nine and four variables were set as proxy variables for the Signaling Hypothesis and the Lack of Financial Literacy Hypothesis, respectively. This study first divides the qualitative data into success/failure dichotomies for the proxy variables that comprise the hypotheses and then uses a chi-square test to examine the composition ratio of each. The quantitative data among the hypotheses’ proxy variables are then tested for differences in means (t-test) and medians (Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Subsequently, we perform a probit analysis with the explained variable being “success (1)/failure (0)” and the explanatory variable being a proxy variable for the hypothesis. We begin with a probit analysis, and the Logit model is then introduced. Finally, a multiple regression analysis is run with the explained variables “fundraising rate” and “number of investors” and the hypothesized proxy variables as explanatory variables. FINDINGS: We found that the “number of directors” is an effective management ability indicator of ECF success. In terms of start-up fundamentals, investors appear to accept the signals “intellectual property”, “product releases” and “tax incentives.” Awards affected the size of the final funding round. In contrast, B2C companies negatively signaled to private investors. The proxy variable “in final year sales” was supported concerning the lack of a financial literacy hypothesis. Individual investors can be assumed to be financially literate if they perform due diligence. However, since “expected rate of return (Internal Rate of Return, hereafter abbreviated as IRR)” and “common stock dummy” are uncorrelated, we can conclude that they do not demonstrate financial literacy in “valuation,” nor whether or not the investment is profitable. Thus, individual investors’ financial literacy in the Japanese ECF can be considered to be limited. IMPLICATIONS: We have demonstrated which signals investors in Japan’s ECF campaigns respond to. These guidelines will be useful for future start-ups planning ECF campaigns. We were able to identify the lack of financial literacy among ECF individual investors. Therefore, for Japan’s equity capital market to grow in the future, individual investors’ financial literacy must be improved. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: With very limited analysis in Asia, home to the world’s second- and third-largest stock markets, we have identified the factors behind the success of Japan’s ECF. Identifying success factors in a country like Japan, where many individual investors are extremely risk averse, will provide new insights. By comparing the success or failure of the two types of Japanese ECF projects (common equity projects and stock acquisition rights), we could test the financial literacy of individual investors, taking into account the project signals

The Role of Novelty in Securing Investors for Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns

In recent years crowdfunding has diversified and grown beyond most experts' projections. Originally aiming to serve venture ideas and entrepreneurs outside the focus of traditional capital markets, the crowdfunding marketplace has developed a complicated relationship with novel ideas. Yet, there is little to no research on the relationship between project novelty and success in crowdfunding. This paper measures the novelty of crowdfunding campaigns using the content and language of their pitches, capturing their tendency to combine different venture sectors and topics in distinctive ways. Using a unique data set that covers four years of activity on a leading equity crowdfunding platform, we investigate the link between novelty and success, as well as how novelty appeals to different kinds of investors. We find that novelty derived from campaign pitches is negatively related with fundraising success even when controlling for quality and style of writing. We also find that novel campaigns are more likely to attract less-frequent, large-sum investors. Our findings contribute to the long-standing debate related to the trade-offs between innovativeness and conventionality in maximizing chances of startup survival. Our results also have important implications for entrepreneurs writing fundraising pitches and for platform providers who wish to facilitate successful innovation

참신성에 따른 스타트업 크라우드펀딩 창업 자금 조달 전략

학위논문(박사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 공과대학 협동과정 기술경영·경제·정책전공, 2023. 2. 황준석.This thesis explores startups' fundraising and development strategies that started from novel ideas to sustainable companies through crowdfunding. From the stage of persuasion by presenting novel ideas to subsequent business development, the study analyzes the factors that enable startups to grow successfully through crowdfunding and accordingly reveals what an effective action strategy from the entrepreneur's point of view is. The purpose of the thesis is to understand the cycle of the campaign, value delivery, and subsequent development while focusing on the strategic perspective of entrepreneurs using crowdfunding as an entrepreneurial fundraising tool. First, at the fundraising point, which is the beginning of crowdfunding startups, the study focuses on indicators that can measure an idea's novelty and explore the behavioral strategies of founders during crowdfunding campaigns according to the degree of novelty. This study proposes a machine learning-based methodological measurement to understand the novelty and presents a behavioral strategy using the method. The study demonstrates that the novelty of an idea is a crucial element in changing the direction project founders must act for successful fundraising in reward-based crowdfunding. The second study proposes a framework for a satisfactory crowdfunding experience for reward-based crowdfunding participants. Through the framework of utilitarian-hedonic value delivery borrowed from consumer research, the study finds the determinants of how founders deliver value to crowdfunding participants after realizing business ideas. This study explores the post-campaign idea implementation and satisfaction delivery process, taking preliminary steps to broadly understand the subsequent business processes after fundraising. The third study examines the differences in characteristics of crowdfunding startups that have attracted follow-up venture funds. In particular, the study analyzes how the timing and valuation of follow-up venture financing are affected by the characteristics of the crowdfunding campaign process. This study in-depth finds the relationship between the process of crowdfunding and long-term sustainable startups.Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Research Background 1 1.2 Research Objectives 4 1.3 Research Outline 5 Chapter 2. Literature Review 8 2.1 Entrepreneurial Financing 8 2.1.1 Venture Capital 8 2.1.2 Crowdfunding 11 2.1.2.1 Crowdfunding in entrepreneur perspectives 12 2.1.2.2 Crowdfunding in investor perspectives 14 2.2 Idea Realization 16 2.2.1 Signaling theory 18 2.3 Contribution of the study 19 Chapter 3. Effective Strategies to Attract Crowdfunding Investment Based on the Novelty of Business Ideas 23 3.1 Introduction 24 3.2 Literature Review 27 3.2.1 Crowdfunding as entrepreneurial financing and signaling theory 27 3.2.2 Novelty of an idea and crowdfunding success 29 3.2.3 Measuring novelty and innovation performance 31 3.3 Theoretical framework and hypotheses development 33 3.3.1 Ideas novelty 34 3.3.2 Target diversification and an ideas novelty 36 3.3.3 Information updates and two-sided communication 39 3.3.4 Method 45 3.3.4.1 Data sources 45 3.3.4.2 Descriptive statistics 46 3.3.4.3 Dependent and explanatory variables 47 3.3.4.4 Control variables 49 3.3.4.5 Empirical model 51 3.3.5 Results 54 3.3.6 Discussion 66 Chapter 4. Delivering Satisfaction after Crowdfunding through Utilitarian and Hedonic Value Structure 74 4.1 Introduction 75 4.2 Theoretical Background 77 4.2.1 Idea realization in crowdfunding 77 4.2.2 Market feedback from funder satisfaction after fundraising 78 4.2.3 Idea implementing capacity: delivering the utilitarian value 81 4.2.4 Emotional satisfaction of participating innovation: improving the hedonic value 84 4.3 Research objective, Methodology, and Data 88 4.3.1 Research objective and data source 88 4.3.2 Dependent variable 89 4.3.3 Explanatory variables 90 4.3.4 Control variables 91 4.3.5 Descriptive statistics 92 4.3.6 Empirical model 93 4.4 Results and Discussion 96 4.4.1 Empirical results 96 4.4.2 Discussion 99 4.5 Conclusion 102 4.5.1 Limitations and further studies 103 Chapter 5. Subsequent funding of crowdfunded startups: Focusing on factors affecting follow-up funding amount and timing 105 5.1 Introduction 106 5.2 Theoretical framework and hypotheses 109 5.2.1 Crowdfunding as entrepreneurial financing 109 5.2.2 Venture financing performance: amount and timing 112 5.2.3 Research framework 113 5.2.4 Feedback aspect and follow-up financing 114 5.2.4.1 Securing market expectation 114 5.2.4.2 Securing market satisfaction/dissatisfaction 117 5.2.5 Relationships with investors and follow-up funding 119 5.3 Data and method 122 5.3.1 Data sources 122 5.3.2 Descriptive statistics 123 5.3.3 Dependent and explanatory variables 124 5.3.4 Control variables 127 5.3.5 Empirical model 128 5.4 Results 130 5.5 Discussion with case studies 135 5.6. Limitations and further research 141 Chapter 6. Conclusion 144 6.1 Overall Summary 144 6.2 Implications and Contributions 148박

Advances in Crowdfunding: Research and Practice

publishedVersio

Advances in Crowdfunding

This open access book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of knowledge on the state of crowdfunding research and practice. It considers crowdfunding models and their different manifestations across a variety of geographies and sectors, and explores the perspectives of fundraisers, backers, platforms, and regulators. Gathering insights from a wide range of influential researchers in the field, the book balances concepts, theory, and case studies. Going beyond previous research on crowdfunding, the contributors also investigate issues of community, sustainability, education, and ethics. A vital resource for anyone researching crowdfunding, this book offers readers a deep understanding of the characteristics, business models, user-relations, and behavioural patterns of crowdfunding