Purpose

Multiple crowdfunding platforms have been created over the last decade. Some have become extremely successful, but many others have failed. This study focuses on those strategic choices that founders of crowdfunding platforms need to make early on and which determine the basic characteristics of a platform. Specifically, it examines which combination(s) of these initial strategic choices shape(s) the survival of a platform.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative comparative analysis is used to analyze the design configurations that are especially relevant for the long-term survival of crowdfunding platforms. Several robustness checks are performed. The empirical setting consists of a unique dataset of all crowdfunding platforms created in Spain over a period of ten years.

Findings

Ten configurations are obtained (four in the case of reward and donation platforms, and six for equity and lending), suggesting different paths to platform survival. Although equity and lending platforms tend to be more likely to survive than donation and reward platforms, the type of platform is not definitive. Another interesting observation is that when platforms fail, they do so quite fast.

Practical implications

We acknowledge that strategic choices are a combination of different elements; therefore, our approach offers a holistic view that mirrors the heterogeneity of resources and capabilities of entrepreneurs. Our study derives a different set of recommendations for lending and equity platforms than for reward and donation platforms, underlining the importance of designing and treating each type of platform in a particular way.

Originality/value

Most crowdfunding literature has the individual crowdfunding project as the main level of analysis. Research to date has focused on the characteristics that projects must possess to succeed. The present study explores differences at the platform level. Our research brings new evidence on some of the decisions entrepreneurs need to confront when starting a crowdfunding platform and provides useful recommendations that might help them increase the chances of survival for their platform.

中文翻译：

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经久耐用：众筹平台长期生存的战略选择

 目的

在过去十年中，已经创建了多个众筹平台。有些已经变得非常成功，但许多其他人都失败了。本研究侧重于众筹平台创始人需要尽早做出的战略选择，这些选择决定了平台的基本特征。具体来说，它研究了这些初始战略选择的哪些组合塑造了平台的生存。

设计/方法/方法

定性比较分析用于分析与众筹平台的长期生存特别相关的设计配置。执行了几次稳健性检查。实证设置包括一个独特的数据集，其中包含十年来在西班牙创建的所有众筹平台。

 发现

获得了 10 种配置（奖励和捐赠平台为 4 种，股权和借贷为 6 种），表明了平台生存的不同路径。尽管股权和借贷平台往往比捐赠和奖励平台更有可能生存，但平台的类型并不是确定的。另一个有趣的观察结果是，当平台出现故障时，它们会非常快地出现故障。

 实际意义

我们承认，战略选择是不同要素的组合;因此，我们的方法提供了一个整体视图，反映了企业家的资源和能力的异质性。我们的研究为贷款和股权平台得出了一套与奖励和捐赠平台不同的建议，强调了以特定方式设计和处理每种类型平台的重要性。

 原创性/价值

大多数众筹文献都将个人众筹项目作为主要分析层次。迄今为止的研究主要集中在项目成功必须具备的特征上。本研究探讨了平台层面的差异。我们的研究为企业家在启动众筹平台时需要面临的一些决策提供了新的证据，并提供了有用的建议，这些建议可能会帮助他们增加平台的生存机会。