Descrizione Progetto
Dataset
Unique and proprietary dataset comprising 140 homogenous crowdfunding projects supported by a social crowdfunding platform in the period January 2016–July 2018.
Methodology and Results
In our model the social crowdfunding success, is proxied by three measures that we use as dependent variables in our probit and ordinary least square (OLS) empirical setting. The first one is represented by a dichotomous variable based on whether the funding goal was achieved through the crowdfunding campaign (i.e., success of campaign).
The second one is represented by the amount of funds pledged (i.e., funding). The third one reflects the percentage of funds raised compared to the funding target (i.e., funding ratio). Our regression
models control for unobserved characteristics that might affect the dependent variables other than our covariates of interest, such as the. year of the crowdfunding campaign, the campaign’s rating attributed by the platform, and the length of the crowdfunding campaign expressed in months.
Highlights
The success of social crowdfunding, as an alternative source of funding for social enterprises, depends on platform intervention in project promotion and the use of physical channels to engage the community of potential donors.
Our findings highlight the critical role of social crowdfunding platforms in providing professional services to social enterprises, acting as central coordination points.
We also uncover the “digital immaturity” of charitable giving, as crowdfunding transactions still rely heavily on physical channels that connect communities to projects.
From a practical level, our findings offer valuable insights for improving social enterprises’ fundraising strategies and optimizing the performance of social crowdfunding platforms.
