×

On the fixed and flexible funding mechanisms in reward-based crowdfunding. (English) Zbl 1430.90356

Summary: This study examines two types of crowdfunding mechanisms, namely, the fixed and the flexible funding mechanisms. Under the fixed funding mechanism, the pledges are returned to the backers if the crowdfunding project fails (All-or-Nothing), while under the flexible funding mechanism, the creators could keep all the raised pledges irrespective of whether the project succeeds or not (Keep-it-All). We show that the fixed and the flexible funding mechanisms have their own advantages under certain circumstances. Specifically, according to the basic model built for these two funding mechanisms, under each mechanism, we investigate the pledging strategies of the backers as well as the expected profit of the creator (e.g., the creator prefers flexible funding when the unit pledging cost is relatively low). Subsequently, we generalize our models by considering the product qualities. In addition to the main results consistent with those derived in the basic model, we also find some new interesting results, for example, the creator will always provide the backers with higher-quality products under the flexible funding mechanism when the product quality level is endogenous. Finally, we provide several interesting extensions of our studies on the fixed and the flexible funding mechanisms, including the following cases wherein: (i) the warm-glow takes effect, (ii) the number and the types of backers varies, (iii) the platform reacts to the flexible funding mechanism, and (iv) the backer’s valuation follows normal distribution. These investigations can effectively guide the decision makers during the crowdfunding activities.

MSC:

90B60 Marketing, advertising
91B26 Auctions, bargaining, bidding and selling, and other market models
Full Text: DOI

References:

[1] Agrawal, A.; Catalini, C.; Goldfarb, A., Some simple economics of crowdfunding, Innovation Policy and the Economy, 14, 1, 63-97 (2014)
[2] Anand, K. S.; Aron, R., Group buying on the web: A comparison of price-discovery mechanisms, Management Science, 49, 11, 1546-1562 (2003)
[3] Andreoni, J., Giving with impure altruism: Applications to charity and ricardian equivalence, Journal of Political Economy, 97, 6, 1447-1458 (1989)
[4] Andreoni, J., Impure altruism and donations to public goods: A theory of warm-glow giving, The Economic Journal, 100, 401, 464 (1990)
[5] Becker, G. S., A theory of social interactions, Journal of Political Economy, 82, 6, 1063-1093 (1974)
[6] Belleflamme, P.; Lambert, T.; Schwienbacher, A., Individual crowdfunding practices, Venture Capital, 15, 4, 313-333 (2013)
[7] Belleflamme, P.; Lambert, T.; Schwienbacher, A., Crowdfunding: Tapping the right crowd, Journal of Business Venturing, 29, 5, 585-609 (2014)
[8] Burtch, G.; Ghose, A.; Wattal, S., An empirical examination of the antecedents and consequences of contribution patterns in crowd-funded markets, Information Systems Research, 24, 3, 499-519 (2013)
[9] Cassar, G., The financing of business start-ups, Journal of Business Venturing, 19, 2, 261-283 (2004)
[10] Chang, J.-W., The economics of crowdfunding (2016)
[11] Chemla, G.; Tinn, K., Learning through crowdfunding (2018)
[12] Cordova, A.; Dolci, J.; Gianfrate, G., The determinants of crowdfunding success: Evidence from technology projects, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 181, 115-124 (2015)
[13] Cumming, D. J.; Leboeuf, G.; Schwienbacher, A., Crowdfunding models: Keep-it-all vs. all-or-nothing (2014)
[14] Du, L.; Hu, M.; Wu, J., Contingent stimulus in crowdfunding (2017)
[15] Fan-Osuala, O.; Zantedeschi, D.; Jank, W., Using past contribution patterns to forecast fundraising outcomes in crowdfunding, International Journal of Forecasting, 34, 1, 30-44 (2018)
[16] Guo, L.; Zhang, J., Consumer deliberation and product line design, Marketing Science, 31, 6, 995-1007 (2012)
[17] Hu, M.; Li, X.; Shi, M., Product and pricing decisions in crowdfunding, Marketing Science, 34, 3, 331-345 (2015)
[18] Hu, M.; Shi, M.; Wu, J., Simultaneous vs. sequential group-buying mechanisms, Management Science, 59, 12, 2805-2822 (2013)
[19] Jing, X.; Xie, J., Group buying: A new mechanism for selling through social interactions, Management Science, 57, 8, 1354-1372 (2011) · Zbl 1279.91085
[20] Kang, L.; Jiang, Q.; Tan, C.-H., Remarkable advocates: An investigation of geographic distance and social capital for crowdfunding, Information & Management, 54, 3, 336-348 (2017)
[21] Kuppuswamy, V.; Bayus, B. L., Crowdfunding creative ideas: The dynamics of project backers in kickstarter, In: Cumming D., Hornuf L. (eds) The Economics of Crowdfunding. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham (2018)
[22] Liang, X.; Ma, L.; Xie, L.; Yan, H., The informational aspect of the group-buying mechanism, European Journal of Operational Research, 234, 1, 331-340 (2014) · Zbl 1305.91160
[23] Mollick, E., The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study, Journal of Business Venturing, 29, 1, 1-16 (2014)
[24] Paschen, J., Choose wisely: Crowdfunding through the stages of the startup life cycle, Business Horizons, 60, 2, 179-188 (2017)
[25] Roma, P.; Gal-Or, E.; Chen, R. R., Reward-based crowdfunding campaigns: informational value and access to venture capital, Information Systems Research, 29, 3, 679-697 (2018)
[26] Shane, S.; Cable, D., Network ties, reputation, and the financing of new ventures, Management Science, 48, 3, 364-381 (2002)
[27] Strausz, R., A theory of crowdfunding: A mechanism design approach with demand uncertainty and moral hazard, American Economic Review, 107, 6, 1430-1476 (2017)
[28] Tran, T.; Desiraju, R., Group-buying and channel coordination under asymmetric information, European Journal of Operational Research, 256, 1, 68-75 (2017) · Zbl 1394.90381
[29] Wu, J.; Shi, M.; Hu, M., Threshold effects in online group buying, Management Science, 61, 9, 2025-2040 (2015)
[30] Yan, Y.; Zhao, R.; Lan, Y., Asymmetric retailers with different moving sequences: Group buying vs. individual purchasing, European Journal of Operational Research, 261, 3, 903-917 (2017) · Zbl 1403.90443
[31] Zheng, H.; Li, D.; Wu, J.; Xu, Y., The role of multidimensional social capital in crowdfunding: A comparative study in china and us, Information & Management, 51, 4, 488-496 (2014)
This reference list is based on information provided by the publisher or from digital mathematics libraries. Its items are heuristically matched to zbMATH identifiers and may contain data conversion errors. In some cases that data have been complemented/enhanced by data from zbMATH Open. This attempts to reflect the references listed in the original paper as accurately as possible without claiming completeness or a perfect matching.