Is Wisdom of Crowds a Positive Signal? Effects of Crowdfinancing on Subsequent Venture Capital Selection

The seed funding gap is still a major obstacle for the initiation of new ventures and diffusion of innovation. Crowdfunding – an innovation in the market for startup finance – could offer a new market-based means of partly closing this gap. However, crowdfinancing cannot be regarded as a complete substitute for venture capital funding, e.g. since it is not likely to fully finance a technology-based venture over time and because professional venture investors provide crucial resources besides capital. It therefore appears important to study the interaction between crowdfunding and more traditional forms of start-up finance. We examine the impact and signaling effects that crowd-based funding has on subsequent venture capital financing rounds. Drawing on a choice experimental research design and data on 5,280 decisions of 120 venture investors, our results indicate that “the crowd” generally is a negative signal for professional venture investors, but that they do not ignore positive signals sent by the crowd. We find causal evidence that start-ups with a prior crowd-investing (securities-based crowdfunding) tend to be not selected by venture investors, while high sums of (reward-based) crowdfunding, collected fast by startups with a B2C business model, can have a positive effect on VC managers’ funding decisions. Our results also suggest that traditional forms of pre-funding, i.e., prior business angel investments, by contrast significantly increase the likelihood of subsequent financing rounds. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

Crowdfinancing as a Determinant of Venture Capitalists' Selection Decisions

Crowdfinancing is emerging as a novel way for entrepreneurs to secure early-stage financing. With venture capital still being the most important source of funding for growth-oriented ventures in later stages, this raises the question of potential interactions between crowdfinancing and traditional forms of start-up funding. In this study, we examine the impact and signaling effects that crowdfinancing has on subsequent venture capital funding rounds. Drawing on a choice experimental research design we find causal evidence that while the crowd itself is generally seen as a negative signal, it can generate certain positive signals to which professional venture investors react. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

The Crowd for Lemons: Venture Investors Perceptions of an Equity Pecking Order

Crowd-based means of financing are emerging as a novel way for entrepreneurs to secure scarce early-stage financing. With venture capital still being the most important source of funding for young innovative ventures in later stages, this raises the question of potential interactions between crowdfinancing and traditional forms of start-up funding. In this study we investigate whether professional venture investors perceive a seed-financing hierarchy by entrepreneurs, and whether this equity pecking order is affected by venture quality and could therefore serve as an uncertainty-reducing signal to prospective investors. Drawing on a choice experimental research design we find causal evidence that VCs believe that “lemons” (low-quality start-ups) have a higher relative likelihood of turning to crowd-based financing as first means of external equity funding rather than to traditional sources, than “peaches” (high-quality start-ups), suggesting a perceived negative selection bias for crowd-based financing. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

Zum Verhältnis von Spitzenforschung und Politikberatung: Eine empirische Analyse vor dem Hintergrund des Ökonomenstreits

Der vorliegende Beitrag trägt einige empirische Belege zum Verhältnis von wirtschaftspolitischer Beratung und ökonomischer (Spitzen-)Forschung in Deutschland zusammen, um die fortwährende Debatte über dieses Verhältnis mit einer - wenn auch nur etwas - breiteren Datenbasis zu versehen. Dazu haben wir ausgewertet, (a) in wie weit Publikationen deutschsprachiger Ökonomen in ökonomischen Top-Journalen einen expliziten Bezug zu wirtschaftspolitischen Problemen im deutschsprachigen Raum aufweisen und (b) welche Ökonomen in der deutschen Politikberatung aktiv sind. Für Frage (b) wurde ausgewertet, welche Ökonomen in der Legislaturperiode 2005 bis 2009 (i) gutachterlich für die drei wirtschaftsnahen Ministerien für Finanzen (BMF), für Wirtschaft und Technologie (BMWi) sowie für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS) tätig waren, (ii) um Stellungnahmen zu den korrespondierenden Anhörungen der Fachausschüsse im Deutschen Bundestag gebeten wurde und (iii) Aufsätze im Wirtschaftsdienst publiziert hat. Wie sich zeigt, sind dies größtenteils Ökonomen, welche weder aktuell noch in der Vergangenheit Spitzenforschung im Sinne des Handelsblatt-Rankings produziert haben. Zugleich zeigt unsere Inhaltsanalyse der Beiträge in Spitzenzeitschriften (Frage a), dass der Großteil der dort von deutschprachigen Ökonomen publizierte Beiträge keinen direkten Bezug zur Wirtschaftspolitik im deutschsprachigen Raum hat. Die Gesamtschau der Befunde legt nahe, dass nicht nur aktuell ein starkes Maß an Arbeitsteilung zwischen Politikberatung und Spitzenforschung existiert, sondern auch über den Lebenszyklus von Ökonomen hinweg

Zum Verhältnis von Spitzenforschung und Politikberatung: Eine empirische Analyse vor dem Hintergrund des Ökonomenstreits

Der vorliegende Beitrag trägt einige empirische Belege zum Verhältnis von wirtschaftspolitischer Beratung und ökonomischer (Spitzen-)Forschung in Deutschland zusammen, um die fortwährende Debatte über dieses Verhältnis mit einer - wenn auch nur etwas - breiteren Datenbasis zu versehen. Dazu haben wir ausgewertet, (a) in wie weit Publikationen deutschsprachiger Ökonomen in ökonomischen Top-Journalen einen expliziten Bezug zu wirtschaftspolitischen Problemen im deutschsprachigen Raum aufweisen und (b) welche Ökonomen in der deutschen Politikberatung aktiv sind. Für Frage (b) wurde ausgewertet, welche Ökonomen in der Legislaturperiode 2005 bis 2009 (i) gutachterlich für die drei wirtschaftsnahen Ministerien für Finanzen (BMF), für Wirtschaft und Technologie (BMWi) sowie für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS) tätig waren, (ii) um Stellungnahmen zu den korrespondierenden Anhörungen der Fachausschüsse im Deutschen Bundestag gebeten wurde und (iii) Aufsätze im Wirtschaftsdienst publiziert hat. Wie sich zeigt, sind dies größtenteils Ökonomen, welche weder aktuell noch in der Vergangenheit Spitzenforschung im Sinne des Handelsblatt-Rankings produziert haben. Zugleich zeigt unsere Inhaltsanalyse der Beiträge in Spitzenzeitschriften (Frage a), dass der Großteil der dort von deutschprachigen Ökonomen publizierte Beiträge keinen direkten Bezug zur Wirtschaftspolitik im deutschsprachigen Raum hat. Die Gesamtschau der Befunde legt nahe, dass nicht nur aktuell ein starkes Maß an Arbeitsteilung zwischen Politikberatung und Spitzenforschung existiert, sondern auch über den Lebenszyklus von Ökonomen hinweg

In-hospital time to treatment of patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary angioplasty: determinants and outcome. Results from the registry of percutaneous coronary interventions in acute myocardial infarction of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Leitender Kardiologischer Krankenhausärzte

Objective: To determine the predictors of time between presentation and primary angioplasty and the influence of this delay time on in-hospital mortality in clinical practice. Design: Analysis of data from the registry of percutaneous coronary interventions in acute myocardial infarction of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Leitender Kardiologischer Krankenhausärzte (ALKK). Patients: Data of 4815 patients registered at 80 hospitals between 1994 and 2000 were analysed. Results: Mean age of the patients was 61.4 (12.5) years. Cardiogenic shock was present in 14.1%. Mean time from admission to primary angioplasty (“door to angiography” time) was 83 (122) minutes. Logistic regression analysis showed the presence of a bundle branch block (odds ratio (OR) 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15 to 3.29), prior coronary artery bypass grafting (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.59), pre-hospital delay > 3 hours (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.37 to 1.89), and female sex (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.45) to be independently associated with longer door to angiography times, whereas a higher hospital volume of performing primary angioplasty (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.62) and the year of the investigation (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.00) were independently associated with shorter door to angiography times. Independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were cardiogenic shock (41.6% v 4.0% without cardiogenic shock, p < 0.0001), technical success (29.2% with TIMI (thrombolysis in myocardial infarction) flow < 3 v 6.5% with TIMI flow 3, p < 0.0001), age (16.5% ⩾ 70 years v 6.6% < 70, p < 0.0001), three vessel disease (16.5% v 6.8% with < 3 vessel disease, p < 0.0001), anterior location of infarction (12% v 7.4% without anterior infarction, p < 0.0001), year of inclusion (adjusted OR 0.92 per year, p  =  0.011), and volume of primary angioplasty at the hospital (11% for < 20 angioplasty procedures/year v 8.3% for ⩾ 20/year, p  =  0.027) but not the door to angiography time (adjusted OR 1.14 per tertile, p  =  0.397). Conclusions: In current clinical practice in Germany median door to angiography time is quite short (83 (122) minutes). Some patients and hospital factors are independently associated with a longer door to angiography time. Within the observed short in-hospital delays door to angiography time did not influence in-hospital mortality. However, efforts to keep them as short as possible should be continued

Ab Initio study of magnetic interactions in the KCuF3 and K2CuF4 low-dimensional Systems

The ab initio cluster model approach has been used to study the electronic structure and magnetic coupling of KCuF3 and K2CuF4 in their various ordered polytype crystal forms. Due to a cooperative Jahn-Teller distortion these systems exhibit strong anisotropies. In particular, the magnetic properties strongly differ from those of isomorphic compounds. Hence, KCuF3 is a quasi-one-dimensional (1D) nearest neighbor Heisenberg antiferromagnet whereas K2CuF4 is the only ferromagnet among the K2MF4 series of compounds (M=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) behaving all as quasi-2D nearest neighbor Heisenberg systems. Different ab initio techniques are used to explore the magnetic coupling in these systems. All methods, including unrestricted Hartree-Fock, are able to explain the magnetic ordering. However, quantitative agreement with experiment is reached only when using a state-of-the-art configuration interaction approach. Finally, an analysis of the dependence of the magnetic coupling constant with respect to distortion parameters is presented