Crowdfunding – an innovative corporate finance method and its decision-making steps

Abstract

Crowdfunding represents a rather novel alternative of funding new ventures, and has gained increased attention during recent years. However, a distinct positioning of crowdfunding within the range of alternative financial methods and a systematization and preparation of complex decision-structures of the crowdfunding concept in terms of decision making aspects has remained largely unexplored. This research (i) gives a well-defined classification of crowdfunding compared to other financing methods and (ii) provides a clear picture of decision-making steps within the triadic relationship of involved actors.