Success factors and complex dynamics of crowdfunding: An empirical research on Taobao platform in China

In recent years, as a novel financing mechanism, crowdfunding has gained popularity worldwide. In China, Crowdfunding started in 2011 and has experienced extremely fast growth since then. Several studies have identified success factors for crowdfunding. While these studies help infer the dynamics of crowdfunding, such dynamics have not been sufficiently examined, particularly by large-scale empirical studies. In addition, the relationship between crowdfunding market characteristics and project funding success remains fuzzy. In this research, we first empirically assessed the effect of crowdfunding success factors using a large sample (N = 5128) collected from Taobao.com, a leading crowdfunding platform in China. Built upon these factors, we conducted a multi-period, multi-party simulation study that evaluate crowdfund raisers’ project positioning decisions and investors’ project funding decision in a massive market. In the simulation study, we varied market characteristics such as the number of projects, number of investors per project, entrepreneurs’ moral risk, and ratio of community over financial benefits, to observe their effect on participants’ decisions and consequently, project funding success rate. Results reveal that dynamics of a crowdfunding market are rather complex. These insights contribute to a more in-depth theoretical understanding of crowdfunding, as well as provide useful guidance for crowdfund raisers, investors, and administrators.