Crowdfunding platforms: What factors influence the success of attracting investments

Abstract

Subject. The article addresses crowdfunding being a method of collective financing of projects by end–users. According to statistics, every year the number of projects that do not collect the declared amount of funding on crowdfunding platforms is growing rapidly. This is due to the lack of proper experience among project initiators, as well as the fragmentation of existing studies. Objectives. The study aims at filling the identified scientific gaps and defining the key factors that influence the success of fundraising through crowdfunding platforms. Methods. We employed general scientific methods of research. The study rests on data collected on Russian crowdfunding platform Planeta.ru. Results. We analyzed 1,452 projects and constructed two types of regression models, i.e. linear and logarithmic. A factor was considered statistically significant, if it was present in one of final regression models. Thus, we revealed the importance of such factors as the amount of declared funds for project implementation, previous experience of project initiator, time duration of fundraising, number of news and comments recorded on project page, number of sponsors and money transfers. We also unveiled the importance of project orientation. Conclusions. The findings may be useful for project initiators when raising funds through crowdfunding platforms.