Review on the Impact of Social Media Users’ Participation on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Crowdfunding

Abstract

Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) often do not fit the criteria for financing since self-financing is challenging due to their margins, and external finance is not always a choice because they do not always meet the standards of banks or financial markets. However, crowdfunding (CF) can help these businesses stay afloat and thrive as a new form of financial aid. MSMEs benefit from CF in terms of the level of innovation, growth potential, and financial success. Because the audience may give direct input on a product, it may be more helpful to the company than expert investors' business development recommendations. Not only can CF provide a new source of capital for innovative enterprises, but it can also provide new ideas and input, allowing the company to expand and improve its performance. This paper provides an insight into the review of CF participation from social media users based on the related Information System (IS) Theory by reviewing 50 journal articles and five articles are chosen for further evaluation. At the end of this paper, the authors note that CF could be a useful alternative financing method for Malaysian MSMEs to support the capital formation and fill funding gaps on the condition that they have support from the funders. In short, social media can have a significant positive impact on CF efforts by the MSMEs, which can assist in identifying people who genuinely support the company’s idea, as well as promoting the campaign to others who could be interested in giving and providing services. The outcome of this study is to propose an integrated model that illustrates the gaps in current understanding and possible future directions for research on participation in crowdfunding.