Participatory Governance as a Success Factor in Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns for Cultural Heritage

Abstract

This study seeks to address a research gap about the role of participatory governance as a success factor in successful equity crowdfunding (ECF) campaigns in the cultural heritage sector. The research stems from calls coming from both equity crowdfunding and cultural heritage research. Concerning equity crowdfunding research, academics have pointed out the need for more research on specific economic sectors and topics related to governance. Concerning cultural heritage and equity crowdfunding, our investigation is in line both with the calls for differentiation of funding schemes that could increase the financial resilience of cultural heritage organizations and with the academic and policy debate on the need to promote engagement and participation, also through participatory governance. Via QCA (Qualitative Comparative Analysis), this research investigates the peculiarities and success factors of equity crowdfunding for cultural heritage, with a special focus on participatory governance. The results indicate that ECF campaigns in this field can raise more funds than the targeted ones if they propose participatory governance schemes and enhance emotional and cultural heritage-related signals, thus differentiating ECF in cultural heritage from ECF in other sectors.