In equity crowdfunding, human capital is an important signal of a venture’s quality, as early-stage companies are risky and opaque to the market, and the crowd of investors is financially unsophisticated. Using a sample of 521 funded companies between 2011 and September 2017 on the platform Crowdcube, we show that the education, professional experience, and—more mildly—gender of team members materially affect the total capital raised, as well as the number of investors backing the initiative. Other attributes of human capital (such as volunteering experience) are instead ineffective.
Barbi, M. (2019). Human capital, investor trust, and equity crowdfunding. RESEARCH IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND FINANCE, 49, 1-12 [10.1016/j.ribaf.2019.02.005].
Human capital, investor trust, and equity crowdfunding
Barbi Massimiliano
;
2019
Abstract
In equity crowdfunding, human capital is an important signal of a venture’s quality, as early-stage companies are risky and opaque to the market, and the crowd of investors is financially unsophisticated. Using a sample of 521 funded companies between 2011 and September 2017 on the platform Crowdcube, we show that the education, professional experience, and—more mildly—gender of team members materially affect the total capital raised, as well as the number of investors backing the initiative. Other attributes of human capital (such as volunteering experience) are instead ineffective.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
