Discovering the underlying dynamics of crowdfunding networks: entrepreneurs’ ties, crowdfunders’ connections and community spin-offs

Author(s):  
Ciro Troise

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the underlying dynamics of crowdfunding networks. The study examines the impact of actors’ connections, i.e. entrepreneurs’ ties and connections between crowdfunders, on funding success, i.e. the funding amount collected at the end of crowdfunding campaigns. Furthermore, this research explore the role of communities within crowdfunding platforms. Design/methodology/approach The study leverages the network theory and uses a quantitative methodology based on a regression analysis (ordinary least squares). Data collection was done through Ulule, a leading crowdfunding platform in Europe. Findings The research provides a description of the structure of crowdfunding networks and their communities. The results show that actors’ connections play a key role in affecting the funding success. Both the entrepreneurs’ ties, i.e. the connections of the entrepreneur before the launch of the campaign and the connections between crowdfunders, i.e. the ties established within crowdfunding communities (redundancy and effective size), positively affect the funding amount collected at the end of the campaign. Research limitations/implications This paper has useful implications for several stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, platform managers, communities’ managers, policy makers and authorities. Entrepreneurs should expand and strengthen their ties before the launch of the online call, while managers of platforms/communities should stimulate connections between actors, in particular between crowdfunders within communities, and improve the online spaces of campaigns with new dedicated sections or specific forums. Policy makers and authorities should design specific policies, favor the rise of new types of entrepreneurship (e.g. community spin-off) and support the development of new tools and communities. Originality/value This is one of the first empirical studies that explore the underlying dynamics of crowdfunding networks. Results revealed by the analysis might steer other scholars’ interest towards this research path. The connections between crowdfunders within the communities have been neglected so far. This research proposes an original network approach based on typical network parameters. The study sheds some light on the importance of actors’ connections and adds new knowledge in a recent research stream that is still in its infancy.

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 410-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sruthi Rajan ◽  
Shijin Santhakumar

Purpose The innovations in fundamentals coupled with noise traders induce co-movement in diverse markets. This co-movement in equity markets which is evidenced higher during the turmoil period influences economic fundamentals of a country dissimilar in nature. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether economic fundamentals or investors’ behavior attributable to disturbances across the world are the rationale behind the crisis transmission, and thereby distinguish fundamental-based contagion from investor-induced contagion. Design/methodology/approach Initially, the study investigates the role of macroeconomic fundamentals and stock returns on crisis occurrence using panel probit estimates. Additionally, ordinary least squares estimates controlling the influence of fundamentals on domestic return capture the discrete country effect measuring the influence of domestic as well as foreign economic fundamentals along with foreign returns on the domestic stock index. Findings The empirical results reveal that foreign country stock index returns are having a significant influence on domestic returns besides a prominent role in crisis occurrence. The binary probit model confirmed the influence of both macroeconomic factors and foreign returns in crisis occurrence. The OLS estimates found evidence for investor-induced contagion in the crisis period where the effects of economic fundamentals are small in comparison to foreign market returns that are mainly dominant in pre- and post-crisis period. Research limitations/implications The propagation of crisis from one market to other would enable the policy makers to make clear regulations at right time to control for the crisis in future. The results can help the policy makers as well as investors in reducing the impact of the crisis in future by clearly monitoring the behavior of the factors under study. Originality/value The current study addresses the role of macro fundamentals and investors influence in crisis propagation. Adopting subprime crisis of 2008-2009 as a reference point and separating the sample period into pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis period, the study explains how badly the other 30 markets impacted the crisis that emerged in the USA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 865-882
Author(s):  
Leiqing Peng ◽  
Shaohui Lei ◽  
Yulang Guo ◽  
Fei Qiu

PurposeAs an essential personality charm of leaders, humor can bring a series of positive outcomes to both users and receivers. However, there is also evidence that the impact of leaders’ humor (LH) is constrained by individuals, teams and organizational factors. The aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between LH and subordinates’ service creativity. Based on social learning theory and previous literature on LH, this paper identifies role modeling as the mediator and suggests that subordinates’ sensitivity to favorable interpersonal treatment (SFIT) moderates these relationships.Design/methodology/approachIn order to test the proposed moderated mediation model, this study employed hierarchical multiple regression and path analyses with valid data of 348 samples.FindingsResults revealed that LH positively affects role modeling and service creativity of subordinates, while subordinates' SFIT positively moderates the relationship between LH and subordinates' service creativity via role modeling.Practical implicationsIn compliance with these findings, this research suggests that enterprises should pay attention to the role of humor from middle managers and strengthen managers' role modeling through multiple measures to establish a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere in the workplace.Originality/valueBuilt on the conceptual framework, this study contributes to the literature on LH and employees’ service creativity by treating role modeling as the mechanism and SFIT as the moderator. This research is one of the first few empirical studies to investigate the relationship between LH and service creativity of service personnel in the service industry.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 895-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nura Sani Yahaya ◽  
Mohd Razani Mohd‐Jali ◽  
Jimoh Olajide Raji

PurposeThis study examines the role of financial development and its interaction with corruption in the environmental degradation of eight Sub-Saharan African countries from 2000–2014.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilizes Pedroni cointegration and fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) techniques for the estimation of the models.FindingsThe results of the cointegration test reveal that there exist long-run relationships among the variables in the model with the interaction of financial development and corruption, and in the model without interaction. The FMOLS estimates show that in the former model, the interaction of financial development with corruption is positively significant in determining the level of environmental degradation in those countries. Moreover, in the latter, financial development, trade openness, and corruption have a positive effect on their environmental degradationResearch limitations/implicationsUnavailability of data, the study was limited to only eight Sub-Saharan African nationsPractical implicationsThe finding that financial development and its interaction with corruption have an adverse effect on the environments of the Sub-Saharan African countries implies the need to focus on how efficient credits are being allocated in those countries. For better management of environmental quality, this may require the implementation of policies that enhance credit allocation to users with energy-efficient technology and appliances that promote the quality of environments. In addition, stringent policies could be embarked upon to curtail all acts of corruption in the region for an efficient credit allocation and a better environment in the development of Sub-Saharan African society.Originality/valueThe dearth in empirical studies on the Sub-Saharan African countries motivates this study. In particular, little is known about the interaction effect of corruption and financial development on the environmental degradation of those countries, as the work on this is limited in the existing literature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 1358-1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoye Chen ◽  
Rong Huang ◽  
Zhiyong Yang ◽  
Laurette Dube

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the impact of different types of corporate social responsibility (CSR; i.e. value-creating CSR, promotional CSR and philanthropic CSR) on consumer responses and the moderating role of corporate competence.Design/methodology/approachThe authors tested the hypotheses by using two empirical studies – a survey and an experimental study. The evidence is generated based on generalized linear model repeated-measures ANOVAs for the survey study and two-way factorial ANOVAs for the experimental study.FindingsThe findings show that in general, consumers respond to value-creating CSR more favorably than to philanthropic CSR or promotional CSR. In addition, corporate competence moderates consumers’ responses to different types of CSR in such a way that promotional CSR is more likely to have the desired effects when carried out by low-competency rather than by high-competency firms, whereas value-creating CSR is more effective for high-competency firms than for low-competency ones. Philanthropic CSR works equally in both types of firms.Research limitations/implicationsThis research answers a long-term call to study the differential consumer effects of various CSR types. It also identifies perceived corporate competence, an important consumer-based corporate factor, as a potential moderator of consumers’ response to CSR types.Practical implicationsArmed with the findings, companies can choose CSR practices that fit with their company characteristics. This research offers important and specific managerial implications to firms with different company profiles on their CSR choices.Originality/valueGiven that today’s managers are faced with the challenge of selecting desirable CSR activities from a group of options, the authors answered the call by studying the differential effects of a wide array of CSR choices and provide important practical guidance to managers. For the first time in the literature, the study also investigates the potential interactive effects between specific CSR types and corporate competence on consumer reactions. This inquiry bears significant relevance to the ongoing discussions concerning whether and how company characteristics generate influences on the outcomes of CSR strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Rossolini ◽  
Alessia Pedrazzoli ◽  
Alessandro Ronconi

PurposeRecognising the growing importance of environmental and sustainable activities and the role of communication strategies in soliciting their financing, this work investigates the influence of message framing, green emphasis and quantitative information on the probability of green crowdfunding campaigns' success.Design/methodology/approachThis analysis is based on crowdfunding campaigns published between 2015 and 2020 on the Indiegogo platform in the category “Community projects – Environment”. The study develops an in-depth qualitative content analysis of the projects before performing an empirical examination to determine funding causes.FindingsCommunication strategies (message framing, green emphasis and quantitative goals) affect funding success. However, project category moderates the impact of message framing and green emphasis on campaign success. While positive framing increases agri-food campaign success, negative framing is more effective for clean energy and climate preservation projects. Moreover, indication of a quantitative goal and a marked green emphasis in a project's presentation increase campaign success, but a too marked green emphasis is only effective for agri-food projects.Practical implicationsGreen entrepreneurs and campaign managers must work carefully on their projects' communication, accounting for the type of product proposed, emphasising green components in its description and utilising quantitative information to present future goals. These strategies maximise backers' responses and enable entrepreneurs to obtain funding. The authors’ findings may be extended to other contexts, including the banking sector, to craft effective communication strategies for green financial products.Originality/valueBy applying framing theory in a new context (i.e. the online financing of green entrepreneurs), this study identifies new campaign success determinants and provides evidence for the moderating role of project category. Furthermore, the study highlights the need to develop different communication strategies for social and environmental-oriented projects.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eman Elish

Purpose The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of the gender gap on the ecological footprint (EFP) corresponding to its different quantiles. Design/methodology/approach Quantile panel regression for 24 countries from the period 2006 to 2017 will be used, for the gender gap and other determinants of EFP. Findings Each factor affecting EFP differs in its impact depending on the level of EFP quantile it corresponds to. Gender gap was found to be increasing EFP for the higher quantiles and decreasing EFP for the lower quantiles. Research limitations/implications Environmental institutions should be considering the role of gender equality as a factor affecting the environment. Socioeconomic factors sometimes hamper the role of the female gender in preserving the environment. There are variations on how EFP factors differ between individual countries and this opens areas for further studies. Originality/value This research contributes to the current research studies by testing the impact of the gender gap on EFP instead of CO2 emission which is widely used in the literature. This topic is considered understudied and one of the few that uses the quantile panel regression to investigate this impact, none of which is used in gender and environment studies. Finally, the model used in the study uses a more comprehensive extension of the “Stochastic Impact by Regression on Pollution, Affluence and Technology” model compared to the existing empirical studies in this area.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehsan Poursoleyman ◽  
Samira Joudi ◽  
Gholamreza Mansourfar ◽  
Saeid Homayoun

PurposePrevious literature posits that corporate governance and information asymmetry are the main factors in making efficient investments. Meanwhile, a growing body of studies is of the opinion that corporate governance can also mitigate the problem of information asymmetry and consequently exerts significant impacts on the association between information asymmetry and investment efficiency. This study aims to analyze the impact of corporate governance and information asymmetry on investment efficiency. It also tests the moderating role of corporate governance in the relationship between information asymmetry and investment efficiency.Design/methodology/approachThe sample consists of 4,082 firms domiciled in 20 developed countries over the years from 2003 to 2019, including 33,812 firm-year observations. The bid–ask spread is used as a proxy for information asymmetry. To measure corporate governance performance, a proxy provided by ASSET4 is employed, and to determine the optimal levels of investments, we relied on the growth opportunity. To estimate the models, ordinary least squares and generalized method of moment are used.FindingsThe results reveal that information asymmetry is inversely related to investment efficiency, and, corporate governance mitigates this negative association.Originality/valueThis paper sheds light on the role of corporate governance in firms as a lever for mitigating information asymmetry and tries out information asymmetry and agency theories in relation to the impact of information asymmetry on investment efficiency. It also confirms the theory stating that corporate governance can be considered as a determinant of investment efficiency.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haseeb Ur Rahman ◽  
Muhammad Zahid

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of women directors on corporate performance (CP) and the mediating role of board monitoring in their relationship. Design/methodology/approach The ordinary least squares with panel corrected standard errors are used as a primary estimator along with three other estimators to check the robustness of the estimations and address the potential endogeneity in a stratified random sample of 320 non-financial Malaysian companies listed on Bursa Malaysia (Stock Exchange) between 2010 and 2014. Findings It is found that women directors on the board not only improve firms’ return on assets but also reduce the volatility of their stocks. However, these findings are more applicable in small firms as compared to large firms. Besides, it is also noted the board monitoring significantly mediates the relationship between women directors and CP. Practical implications As the monitoring role of women directors improves CP, substantial efforts may be put in to increase their meritorious representation on the boards. The regulators could pay equal attention to the small firms. Additionally, the number of board meetings may also be increased for strengthening the monitoring abilities of the board to improve CP. Originality/value The study contributes to the existing literature, as little attention has been paid to the mediation of board monitoring in the nexus of women directors and CP in the past.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Khalid Anser ◽  
Zahid Yousaf ◽  
Muhammad Sharif ◽  
Wang Yijun ◽  
Abdul Majid ◽  
...  

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between employee polychronicity and employee creativity. This study also explores the mediating role of employee resilience in the relationship between employee polychronicity and employee creativity.Design/methodology/approachThis study was based on a quantitative research design, and a survey instrument was used to collect data from doctors and nurses. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and four-step Baron and Kenney (1986) approaches were used to check the impact of nurses’ polychronicity on creativity through resilience.FindingsResults proved that employee polychronicity positively influences employee creativity. The finding indicates that employee resilience acts as a mediator in the relationship between employee polychronicity and employee creativity.Originality/valueThe worth of this study rests on the deeper understanding of the employee polychronicity–employee creativity link in the health-care sector. Moreover, by bringing to the fore employee resilience as a mediator of the polychronicity–creativity relationship, this study provided a new vantage point to explore the intricacies concerned with the relationships between polychronicity, resilience and creativity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2137-2154
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shahrul Ifwat Ishak ◽  
Fathullah Asni

Purpose This paper aims to explore the practical role of maqasid al-Shari’ah in applying fiqh muamalat to the reality of modern banking practices. As the modern financial environment is complicated and not too conducive for Islamic banking operations, a special approach based on maqasid al-Shari’ah is needed to harmonize between revelation and reality. Design/methodology/approach The data of this study are obtained through literature and empirical data. As for the empirical, the exploratory qualitative approach is applied in which three members of the Shari’ah Advisory Council (SAC) of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) as well as three Shari’ah committees (SC) of Islamic Finance Institutions are selected as interviewees. As a result, several themes are defined from the interview data before they are analyzed based on the concept of maqasid al-Shari’ah. Findings The findings reveal that several practices are prevalent in developing Islamic banking products, including replicating conventional products to be Islamic ones, imposing wa’ad (unilateral promise) to strengthen the combination of different contracts into one product, and adopting floating rate with ibra’ (rebate) for financing price, which are needed to sustain this industry in modern financial system. In this regard, maqasid al-Shari’ah is applied to reconcile between rulings in fiqh muamalat and banking environments, so that these rulings can be adopted pragmatically without compromising Shari’ah principles. Research limitations/implications This study has its limitations, as it focuses on the extent of the role of the maqasid al-Shari’ah in Islamic banking operations, excluding other segments of Islamic finance such as Islamic capital markets and Islamic insurance. Moreover, as data are collected from only six interviewees from SAC and SC of Malaysia, the results cannot be represented for the whole Islamic banking practices of this country. Practical implications This study provides several policy recommendations regarding the practice of the maqasid al-Shari’ah in Islamic banking. These may be useful for all Islamic finance players, including regulators and bankers in introducing policies and products in this area. Social implications This study has the potential to enhance the confidence of the Muslim community, particularly in Islamic banking to support its existence and practices. The impact of such optimism will lead to an increase in demand for Islamic banking products, hence encouraging Islamic banking to sustain and update its activities in line with maqasid al-Shari’ah. Originality/value This paper offers a practical approach as regards to how the maqasid al-Shari’ah can play a significant role in sustaining the Islamic banking industry, particularly in circumstances that are not favorable to its progress. It is indispensable to prevent the Islamic rulings from being diverted in the name of human well-being and to avoid basing them on a literal textual approach. Moreover, as it provides empirical studies on the issue of replication, wa’ad, floating rate and ibra’, the discussion on this subject becomes more practical.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document