Post by Ahlers on Oct 19, 2013 3:54:15 GMT 4
Signaling in Equity Crowdfunding
Gerrit K.C. Ahlers
A.T. Kearney GmbH
Douglas J. Cumming
York University - Schulich School of Business
Christina Guenther
Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Economics
Denis Schweizer
WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management
October 14, 2012
Abstract:
This paper presents an initial empirical examination of which start-up signals will induce small investors to commit financial resources in an equity crowdfunding context. We examine the impact of firms’ financial roadmaps (e.g., preplanned exit strategies such as IPOs or acquisitions), external certification (awards, government grants and patents), internal governance (such as board structure), and risk factors (such as amount of equity offered and the presence of disclaimers) on fundraising success. Our data highlight the importance of financial roadmaps and risk factors, as well as internal governance, for successful equity crowdfunding. External certification, by contrast, has little or no impact on success. We also discuss the implications for successful policy design.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 49
download at: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2161587