“All that glitters is not gold!”: The (Unexplored) Determinants of Equity Crowdfunding

Abstract

Drawing from the rich literature in behavioural finance and extensive analysis of forum data from a UK equity crowdfunding platform, we present a comprehensive framework that delineates the investment decision-making process of equity crowdfunders. Our framework captures the utilitarian, emotional, and expressive investment motives that drive crowdfunders, their behaviours and actions during and after the campaign, as well as the challenges they encounter in fulfilling their investment goals. Our work highlights the crucial need to explore the extent to which entrepreneurs and crowdfunding platforms cater to the diverse investment motives and expectations of the crowd. We offer practical insights to entrepreneurs and platforms on how they can better align their strategies with the expectations and needs of equity crowdfunders.