Signaling in Equity Crowdfunding
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Forthcoming
45 Pages Posted: 14 Feb 2015
There are 2 versions of this paper
Signaling in Equity Crowdfunding
Date Written: February 12, 2015
Abstract
This paper presents a first-ever empirical examination of the effectiveness of signals that entrepreneurs use to induce (small) investors to commit financial resources in an equity crowdfunding context. We examine the impact of venture quality (human capital, social (alliance) capital, and intellectual capital) and uncertainty on fundraising success. Our data highlight that retaining equity and providing more detailed information about risks can be interpreted as effective signals and can therefore strongly impact the probability of funding success. Social capital and intellectual capital, by contrast, have little or no impact on funding success. We discuss the implications of our results for theory, future research and practice.
Keywords: Equity Crowdfunding, Entrepreneurial Finance, Entrepreneurship, Signaling
JEL Classification: G24, G32, M13, K22, L26
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation