CORE Brown Bag Seminar - Giorgio Ferroni

Giorgio Ferroni

(UNamur)

invited by Paul Belleflamme

will give a presentation on :

Recurrent backers in crowdfunding

Abstract :

Crowdfunding platforms(CFPs) constitute a peculiar kind of 2-sided platformswhere multiple network effects are at work. A greater mass of project entrepreneurs looking for funds tends to attractmore backers, thereby increasing the pie, but as more project creators become visible, the number of competitors to share it with increases too. On the other hand, a greater number of funders, entices even further creators to join the platform. Among users of CFPs, recurrent backers, that is backers contributing more than once, have so far received comparatively modest attention. Yet, it has been suggested that their presence is actually a key driver in success of a CFPs as they are a stable presence on the platform, thereby attracting creators, and they contribute to create cascades of contributions. In this project I aim to empirically test whether these backers behave differently fromthe others (such as single-pledge backers and friends and family of the entrepreneurs) and whether they really contribute to stimulate contributions from other backers.