Crowdfunding in Europe: determinants of platform creation across countries

Dushnitsky, G, Guerini, M, Piva, E and Rossi-Lamastra, C (2016) Crowdfunding in Europe: determinants of platform creation across countries. California Management Review, 58 (2). pp. 44-71. ISSN 0008-1256

Abstract

While the crowdfunding phenomenon has attracted considerable practitioner and scholarly attention, existing research predominantly reflects a U.S.-centric perspective. This article examines crowdfunding platform creation in 15 European countries. Despite the omnipresent reach of the internet, national boundaries shape the evolution of the European crowdfunding industry. Specifically, crowdfunding platform creation varies across countries and distinct national patterns emerge for crowdfunding activity in general. Moreover, econometric analyses suggest that country-level factors influence platform creation in European countries, with interesting variations across four crowdfunding models: Donation, Reward, Lending, and Equity.