How to attract the crowd in crowdfunding

We use signalling theory to study a new capital market finance phenomenon: crowdfunding in China. Our finding indicates that signals such as the frequency of announcements and the amount of the highest bid have an impact on the success of crowdfunding projects. Based on a sample of 192 projects collected on a Chinese crowdfunding platform, demohour.com, we find that the amount of the highest bid has a positive effect on completing a successful crowdfunding project. However, for high-tech industry, our results indicate the amount of the highest bid is not as effective as the movie/music industries. We also find the frequency of announcements made by the project founders is a better predictor for funding success in the high-tech industry than in the movie/music industries.

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