Herding dynamics and multidimensional uncertainty in equity crowdfunding: The impacts of information sources

Abstract

This study investigates the temporal dynamics of herding behavior in equity crowdfunding, and especially when herding momentum is likely to occur during a funding campaign under the influence of different information disclosures. Our results are consistent with the multidimensional uncertainty theory in which herding does not occur in the first stage of funding campaigns but arises in the later stages. We further show that information from investors’ discussions may be noisier than information disclosure from project founders, and thus is more likely to bring on uncertainty and accentuate herding. Our findings highlight the importance of information resource management, in which different information sources may require different information disclosure policies.