Analysis and outlook of applications of blockchain technology to equity crowdfunding in China

Equity crowdfunding via the Internet is a new channel of raising money for startups.It features low barriers to entry,low cost,and high speed,and thus encourages innovation.In recent years,equity crowdfunding in China has experienced some developments.However,some problems remain unsolved in practice.Blockchain is a decentralized and distributed ledger technology to ensure data security,transparency,and integrity.Because it cannot be tampered with or forged,the technology is deemed to have great potential in the finance industry.This study examines current problems in the practice of equity crowdfunding in China.Based on the analysis of the characteristics of blockchain technology,this study further explores its practical applications in equity crowdfunding.1)Blockchain technology may be a secure,efficient,low-cost solution for the registration of stocks and shares of a firm financed by crowdfunding;2)Blockchain technology simplifies the transaction and transfer of crowdfunding equities,and thus facilitates their circulation;3)Blockchain technology enables peer to peer transactions between investors and entrepreneurs,and solves the problems of regulatory compliance and security of fund management;Blockchain technology can be used to develop a voting system for crowdfunders,which enables them to be involved in corporate governance.This helps protect the rights and interests of small investors;5)Blockchain technology helps regulators know about market conditions,and supports regulatory activities such as managing investors and fighting money laundering.

Government-incentivized crowdfunding for one-belt, one-road enterprises: design and research issues

Background:Local,state,and federal governments have started exploring the potential of crowdfunding in transforming conventional financing methods used previously to fund public projects and services.While crowdfunding has been applied to improve government financing methods in recent years,little is known about how this new model can be extended and applied in international collaboration among governmentincentivized projects.Methods:In this paper,we explores what roles crowdfunding can play as a financial intermediary to support government-incentivized multinational projects in the context of the One-Belt,One-Road initiative.Results:We conjecture that crowdfunding can offer an efficient mechanism to improve participatory budgeting and facilitate private-public collaboration while providing a high level of transparency in the budget decision process.Conclusions:The paper also discusses research issues and challenges,including features of the crowdfunding platforms that can affect the adoption and use of the crowdfunding platforms in multinational initiatives.

A hybrid heterogeneous Pythagorean fuzzy group decision modelling for crowdfunding development process pathways of fintech‑based clean energy investment projects

This study aims to evaluate the crowdfunding alternatives regarding new service development process pathways of clean energy investment projects.In this framework,a new model has been generated by considering the consensus-based group decisionmaking with incomplete preferences,Pythagorean fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory(DEMATEL)and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution(TOPSIS).Moreover,a comparative evaluation has been performed with Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I.Kompromisno Resenje methodology and sensitivity analysis has been made by considering 4 different cases.The main contribution is to identify appropriate crowdfunding-based funding alternatives for the improvement of the clean energy investments with a novel MCDM model.By considering the iteration technique and consensus-based analysis,the missing parts in the evaluations can be completed and opposite opinion problems can be reduced.Furthermore,with the help of hybrid MCDM model by combining DEMATEL and TOPSIS,more objective results can be reached.It is concluded that the analysis results are coherent and reliable.The findings indicate that the full launch is the most significant criterion for equity and debt-based crowdfunding alternatives.On the other side,the analysis has the highest weight for reward and donation-based alternatives whereas design is the most essential item regarding the royalty-based alternative.Additionally,it is also defined that equity-based crowdfunding alternative is the most significant for the service development process of clean energy investment projects.In this way,it will be possible to provide a continuous resource for clean energy investment projects.On the other hand,by providing financing with equity,there will be no fixed financing cost for clean energy investors.If these investors make a profit,they distribute dividends with the decision of their authorized bodies.

How text sentiment moderates the impact of motivational cues on crowdfunding campaigns

Arousing funders’motives for crowdfunding participation is a challenge for every entrepreneur.According to self-determination theory,crowdfunding involvement is driven by two kinds of motivations:extrinsic and intrinsic motives.Campaign narratives with different sentimental orientations could act as cues triggering funders’motives of capital-giving differently.Thus,we focus on the moderating effect of text sentiment on the motivational cues in crowdfunding campaigns.We hypothesize that the sentiment of campaign narratives moderates the relationship between motivational cues and fundraising success.Data are selected from 270,000 campaigns of the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.Empirical analysis demonstrates that the sentiment strength positively moderates the effect of intrinsic motives on fundraising success but negatively moderates the impact of extrinsic motives on fundraising success.The findings provide managerial insights for practitioners to stimulate specified motives by using the narratives with proper sentiment strength.

Pure and hybrid crowds in crowdfunding markets

Background:Crowdfunding has risen rapidly as a way of raising funds to support projects such as art projects,charity projects,and new ventures.It is very important to understand how crowds in the crowdfunding market are organized to carry out various activities.This study documents and compares two crowd designs for crowdfunding,namely pure crowds,where all crowd members participate as equals,and hybrid crowds,where crowd members are led by an expert investor.The hybrid design is rarely studied in the crowdfunding literature despite its large presence in equity crowdfunding.Methods:We examine industry practices from various countries in terms of crowd designs,review relevant literature on this topic,and develop a conceptual framework for choosing between pure and hybrid crowds.Results:We identify several inefficiencies of pure crowds in crowdfunding platforms and discuss the advantages of hybrid crowds.We then develop a conceptual framework that illustrates the factors for choosing between pure and hybrid crowds.Finally,we discuss the issue of how to manage and regulate lead investors in hybrid crowds.Conclusions:Pure crowds have several shortcomings that could be mitigated by a hybrid crowd design,especially when the proposed project suffers from greater risks,a high degree of information asymmetry,concerns about information leakage,and a high cost of managing the crowds.But for the hybrid crowd to work well,one must carefully design mechanisms for lead investor selection,compensation,and discipline.Our study contributes to the crowdfunding literature and to crowdfunding practice in multiple ways.

Team rivalry and lending on crowdfunding platforms:an empirical analysis

Background:Prosocial crowdfunding helps the underprivileged obtain non-profitseeking loans from multitudinous lenders.Some platforms introduce teamcompetition to motivate member participation and may thus induce team rivalry.Methods:We investigate how team rivalry affects lending decisions using data fromKiva.org.We argue that a rivalry relationship may engage teams to compete directlyagainst rivals by lending to the same project or prevent them from doing sobecause they intend not to cooperate.Result:We find that a team is less likely to lend to a project that has receivedfunding from its rival team,suggesting that rival teams tend to avoid cooperation.Conclusions:We discuss the implications of our findings for crowdfundingand competition-based motivation mechanisms in general.

Signals in equity‑based crowdfunding and risk of failure

This study investigates signal validity in equity-based crowdfunding by examining whether signals that increase crowd participation are associated with higher postoffering success.Post-offering success is measured as the probability of survival.We use a hand-collected data set of 88 campaigns with over 64,000 investments and 742 updates from a well-established and leading German equity-based crowdfunding platform,Companisto.We find that indicating that the chief executive officer holds a university degree and a higher number of business-related updates are associated with a lower risk of failure,which is in line with recent research on offering success.The number of updates on external certification,promotions,and the team is associated with a higher risk of failure.In contrast to recent findings on offering success,we find that the equity share offered is positively related to post-offering success,whereas a high number of large investments or updates on campaign development are accompanied by a higher probability of failure.Our results provide guidance for entrepreneurs and investors regarding which signals are worth sending or using.Furthermore,these results suggest that investors are partly using wrong signals and challenge the rationality and wisdom of the crowd.

Exploration on the Crowdfunding Mode of Rural Memory Project

In the past decades of industrialization and urbanization,a plenty of Chinese villages have passed out of existence.The amount of the existing ancient villages in China only accounts for 1.9% of the amount of Chinese administrative villages.Chinese traditional villages include tangible cultural heritage like traditional residential architecture and cultural relics,as well as intangible cultural heritage like folk customs and handcraft,which are of extremely important values and demand proper conservation immediately."Rural Memory Project" is not only a carrier project of "memorizing nostalgia" and "retaining passion for home",but also the original protection project of tangible cultural heritage like rural historic streets and traditional resident courtyard,as well as intangible cultural heritage like production and living customs.At present,"Rural Memory" Project launched by Shandong province was primarily funded by the government sectors whose investment was far from sufficient for the great appetite of the project,thus massive social capital has to be absorbed to ensure a sustainable implementation of the project.Featured with low threshold,strong inclusivity and stable mass basis,crowdfunding which could adapt to the characteristics of the current "Rural Memory" Project is regarded as a feasible fund-raising channel.In the exploration of crowdfunding mode,the authorities could focus on establishing a specialized crowdfunding platform for Rural Memory Project,select proper crowdfunding mode according to the characteristics of the project,adhere to the macro orientation and policy of the government,and commit themselves to dissolving the institutional constraints in crowdfunding.

Technology Management of Capital Assets and Risks in the Service Sharing Economy： Cases of Uberization of Crowdfunding and Transportation in Mexico

Firms such as Airbnb, Uber, Blablacar have platforms for connecting owners of underused assets with clients through, the internet, thus allowing people to rent out their spare rooms, or book relay rides by acting as matchmakers, allocating resources where they are needed and charging a percentage of the cost in return. This phenomenon could be regarded from the point of view： （1） of Internet technology evolution from a network of computers to a network of people devoted to sharing their knowledge and user experience, coming further, as the Internet of Things （IoT）, and （2） as part of the increasing involvement of the user （consumer/client） in production and innovation processes. These approaches allow us to analyze service-user platform firms according to the different kinds of specific assets distribution and risks. The new organization is based on internet platform tools which integrate information, machinery, energy, and science, and costumer collaboration. We conclude that there are large profits for those firms based on platforms, as there are not yet any counterbalances through competition, posing the question about the needed or not of technology management regulation during this phase of service sharing economy. A selection of 17 service platform firms in Mexico involved in transportation and crowdfunding are described on the basis of their business model, the market and the distribution of assets and income

Research on the Operation Mechanism and Promotion Path of Crowdfunding for Rural Tourism

This paper studies the operation mechanism of crowdfunding for rural tourism from three aspects:the main body of crowdfunding for rural tourism,driving factors and operating stage.At the same time,this paper analyzes the operation risk of crowdfunding for rural tourism from five aspects:legal risk,information asymmetry risk,capital security risk,interest subject conflict risk and industry development risk.It also puts forward measures and suggestions on the promotion of crowdfunding for rural tourism from four aspects:improving market awareness,providing professional services,issuing relevant laws and regulations and regulating the development of the industry.

The Evolution of Crowdfunding Towards an Impact Investing Logic： The Case of Paulownia Social Project

In the last years, crowdfunding is arising as a widespread financing and fundraising tool, allowing to turn a large audience of customers into investors, individuals who can supply financial capital. Thus, crowdfunding represents a novel mechanism of fundraising embedded in the current fmancial innovation, which operates in order to produce convergent innovations that produce both economic and social outcomes. Studies are mainly aimed to understand which factors led a crowdfunding campaign towards the success. The whole research aims to analyse the new emerging financial tool, known as crowdfunding, with the purpose to understand and explain how it collaborates with the main traditional financial mechanisms used by enterprises. This study leds the author to recognize a new emerging shape for the crowdfunding, a structure which allows to take advantage of the traditional limits of funds of investment. Thus, both the capability to attract a great number of investors and the social content of the project-to-fund represent the push to move the crowd investment towards impact investing. The newness of the topic, the lack of certain and various data, the youth of the analyzed phenomenon, and the explorative nature of the research, pushed the authors to choose a case study approach.

The argument against crowdfunding Alzheimer’s disease research

With pharmaceutical companies’ repeated failures at finding effective interventions for Alzheimer’s disease, together with an increasing reliance on the growing Federal funding for research, there is an emergent opportunity for financing alternate research through crowdfunding. Crowdfundingwhere funding is obtained from small donations from a large group of peoplehas become a new source of funding for medical research. By understanding how the research community has evolved to study Alzheimer’s disease the pitfalls of this strategy can be highlighted. Alzheimer’s disease research is complex. From its inception in the early 1900s, Alzheimer’s disease has been at the center of movement within psychiatry to define the disease on the basis of its biology. Recent emphasisthrough the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), RDoC (Research Diagnostic Criteria), RDoC (Research Domain Criteria) as well as the more recent Framework from the U.S. National Institute on Aginghave supported an exclusive emphasis on biology. But by excluding other aspects of the disease, such as its clinical expression, this research approach will be shown to be faulty and contradictory. So far this approach has resulted in 100% failures. By examining the historical and financial circumstances of the industry centered on Alzheimer’s disease a strong warning is given to the public to mistrust crowdfunding Alzheimer’s disease research. A broader and more inclusive approach is likely to generate a better understanding of the disease and therefore hold better promise for understanding the disease in the long term. Such a nuance approach competes badly with the more binary search for a cure and is less receptive to public support through crowdfunding.

Public Welfare Crowdfunding in the Context of the ＂Charity Law＂

The formulation and promulgation of the ＂Charity Law＂ provides the legal basis for various forms of charitable activities, and also makes more and more commonweal activities go forward.And It also provides legal guidelines and direction for the increasingly active but ＂mixed＂ Internet public crowdfunding, and ensures smooth operation. Although the ＂Charity Law＂ still lacks certain aspects of public crowdfunding, it still outweighs its disadvantages and is Respected. Based on the relevant articles of the ＂Charity Law＂, this article elaborates on the ＂Charity Law＂ brought to public welfare crowdfunding from the main bodies of fund-raising, the flow of charity, charity donation and personal assistance.

An overview of Fintech applications to solve the puzzle of health care funding:state-of-the-art in medical crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is emerging as an alternative form of funding for medical purposes,with capital being raised directly from a broader and more diverse audience of investors.In this paper,we have systematically researched and reviewed the literature on medical crowdfunding to determine how crowdfunding connects with the health care industry.The health care industry has been struggling to develop sustainable research and business models for economic systems and investors alike,especially in pharmaceuticals.The research results have revealed a wealth of evidence concerning the way crowdfunding is applied in real life.Patients and caregivers utilize web platform–based campaigns all over the world to fund their medical expenses,generally on a spot basis,using donation-based or even reward-based schemes,regardless of the health care system archetype(public,private insurance-based or hybrid).Academics have also focused on funding campaigns and the predictors of success(which range from social behaviour and environment to the basic demographics of the campaigners and their diseases)and on social and regulatory concerns,including heightened social inequality and stigma.While equity crowdfunding is disrupting the way many ventures/businesses seek capital in the market,our research indicates that there are no relevant or consistent data on the practice of medical equity crowdfunding in health care,apart from a few anecdotal cases.

Analysis of crowdfunding platforms for microgrid project investors via a q-rung orthopair fuzzy hybrid decision-making approach

Effective crowdfunding platforms positively contribute toward improving micro-grid energy management systems.Therefore,a comprehensive analysis is required to understand the key factors responsible for success in crowdfunding systems by considering various criteria.This study evaluates crowdfunding platforms for microgrid project investments.In this context,a novel fuzzy decision-making model that includes two different stages is proposed.First,the selected criteria for the crowdfunding platforms for microgrid project investments are evaluated.Second,alternatives,regarding the microgrid project investments,are ranked.In this process,a multi-stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis(M-SWARA)approach based on q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets(q-ROFSs)is considered.Intuitionistic and Pythagorean fuzzy sets are also used in the calculation process to make a comparative evaluation.Similarly,a sensitivity analysis of the ranking alternatives is also conducted with 12 different q values.All the results are rather similar;thus,the findings are reliable.Another model is also created for this purpose with the help of the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory(DEMA-TEL)and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution methodologies to check the performance of the proposed model.It is defined that by considering the q-ROF DEMATEL weights,the ranking results vary for different cases.The proposed model with a M-SWARA is more reliable than the model created via the DEMATEL method.This situation provides information regarding the superiority of the model proposed in this study.It is concluded that security is the most important factor in crowdfunding platforms for smart-grid project investors.Additionally,solar panels and energy storage systems/batteries are the most significant alternatives for microgrid project investors.Necessary measures should be taken to forestall the risk of fraud that may occur on this platform.Therefore,the website to be established must be secure against possible hacking attacks.Another important conclusion of this study is that solar panels should be preliminarily developed to increase the effectiveness of microgrid systems.

How do emotions affect giving?Examining the effects of textual and facial emotions in charitable crowdfunding

Drawing on emotional contagion theory and language-mediated association theory,this study develops a research model to examine how textual and facial emotions affect charitable crowdfunding performance.We use computer-aided techniques to extract and measure specific textual and facial emotions in pitches.The proposed model is tested via regression analysis with a sample of 1372 campaigns collected from the largest charitable crowdfunding platform in China—Tencent Gongyi.Moreover,we conducted a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to examine the complementarity of textual and facial emotions,which supplements the regression analysis results.Our findings show that both textual and facial emotions can impact funding outcomes.However,the effects of specific emotions vary:some(e.g.,textual sadness and facial anger)are positive,some(e.g.,textual anger and facial fear)are negative,and others(e.g.,textual fear,textual disgust,and facial sadness)are insignificant.Moreover,facial emotions complement textual emotions in their effects on funding outcomes.This research outlines a framework to offer a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of emotions in charitable crowdfunding.It also contributes to existing research by revealing the vital but complex role of emotions in the persuasive process of prosocial behaviors and by uncovering the different cognitive mechanisms underlying the impacts of textual and facial emotions.

Information disclosure and funding successof green crowdfunding campaigns:a studyon GoFundMe

Crowdfunding has become important in increasing financial support for the development of green technologies.Self-disclosed information significantly affects supporters’decisions and is important for the success of green project funding.However,current studies still lack investigations into the impact of information disclosure on green crowdfunding performance.This research aims to fill this knowledge gap by exploring eight information disclosure-relevant factors in green crowdfunding performance.Applying machine learning techniques(e.g.,Natural Language Processing and Computer Vision)and logistic regression,this study investigates 720 green crowdfunding campaigns on GoFundMe and empirically finds that the duration,length of campaign introductions,and length of the title influence fundraising outcomes.However,no evidence supports the impact of goal size,emotion of campaign introduction,or image content on funding success.This study clarifies the information disclosure-related data that green crowdfunding campaigns should consider and provides founders with a constructive guide to smoothly raise money for a green crowdfunding campaign.This study also contributes to data processing methods by providing future studies with an approach for transferring unstructured data to structured data.

Crowdfunding innovative but risky new ventures:the importance of less ambiguous tone

Crowdfunding provides a novel and potential way for innovative but risky new ventures to fund their new product development(NPD)projects.To help potential investors evaluate the projects and enhance the credibility of disclosure,founders are struggling with how to phrase the project description.The rapidly growing cleantech crowdfunding projects provide an ideal context to study this issue.We collected information on cleantech crowdfunding projects and matched non-cleantech crowdfunding projects from Kickstarter.The sample period extends from January 2013 to October 2018.Using signaling research as a theoretical lens and a dictionary-based,computerized text mining method,we found that founders of high-quality cleantech crowdfunding projects could create a reliable signal of quality by providing a project description with a less ambiguous tone and thus boost the success of crowdfunding.Moreover,the signaling effectiveness of a less ambiguous tone is more pronounced in cleantech crowdfunding than in matched non-cleantech crowdfunding,suggesting that the marginal benefit of using a less ambiguous tone is larger when the industry information environment is noisier.Further evidence shows that the signaling effectiveness of a less ambiguous tone in cleantech crowdfunding could be strengthened by backers’endorsements.Our findings imply that tone ambiguity in project descriptions is related to founders’information-concealing behavior.Potential investors could search ambiguous words in project descriptions and just allocate their limited attention into projects with a low percentage of ambiguous words to avoid information overload.Founders of high-quality projects could boost crowdfunding success by using a less ambiguous tone to describe their projects.The marginal effect is larger when there is greater uncertainty about project prospects.

Effects of attention and reliability on the performance of online medical crowdfunding projects: The moderating role of target amount

Medical crowdfunding platform helps numerous patients access enthusiastic donors and address financial difficulties,but many crowdfunding projects fail to reach their target amount.Thus,how a crowdfunding project can attract considerable donors is question-able.This study examines the effects of attention and reliability on the performance of online medical crowdfunding projects and how target amount changes such effects.Based on objective data of 1177 crowdfunding projects from 2016 to January 2018 in a large medical crowdfunding platform in China,we find that the project donor's attention(the number of forwards and comments)and reliability(the number of dynamic updates,empirical users,and pictures)positively affect the medical crowdfunding performance of the projects.However,target amount weakens the positive effects of the number of for-wards and comments in online medical crowdfunding projects.Therefore,project spon-sors should set reasonable target fundraising amounts while showing attention and reliability to donors.Compared with previous research that mainly explores the influence of external factors on crowdfunding outcomes from the perspective of donors,this paper focuses on the internal project factors and explores the concerns and trustworthiness of crowdfunding projects,enriching the literature related to fundraising ability in the project.

Should Crowdfunding Platforms Establish Criterion for Project Initiators?

Shuidichou, a crowdfunding platform for patients with critical medical conditions, has recently been thrown in the eye of the storm after it allowed a proj-ect for a patient allegedly with two houses in Beijing, a car and catastrophic medical insurance.