Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023;63(1):117-159.
doi: 10.1007/s11575-022-00493-y. Epub 2022 Nov 26.

How Can SMEs Use Crowdfunding Platforms to Internationalize? The Role of Equity and Reward Crowdfunding

Ciro Troise  1 , Enrico Battisti  1 , Michael Christofi  2 , Nina Jorien van Vulpen  3 , Shlomo Tarba  4
Affiliations

How Can SMEs Use Crowdfunding Platforms to Internationalize? The Role of Equity and Reward Crowdfunding

Ciro Troise et al. Manag Int Rev. 2023.

Abstract

Despite the exponential growth of crowdfunding in recent years, research on the role it plays in business internationalization is still embryonal. Building on the Resource Based View (RBV) and Knowledge Based View (KBV), this study explores how SMEs can use equity crowdfunding (ECF) and reward crowdfunding (RCF) to internationalize and the related potential limitations. Using an inductive qualitative research design, based on multiple case studies of Italian SMEs, our study showed that ECF and RCF models help SMEs in acquiring the financial resources needed to internationalize and, at the same time, offer significant added value to their internationalization. Our findings support the idea that ECF and RCF play a key role in helping companies to overcome their resource limitations in regard to internationalization, not only in terms of the provision of financial resources but, above all, by compensating for any lack of knowledge on aspects relevant to the internationalization process. Furthermore, our results show the limitations of SMEs use of crowdfunding in order to internationalize (i.e., a lack of ad hoc e-commerce policies in relation to equity crowdfunding and to the regulation of the pre-ordering mechanism in the reward model). This paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and managerial contributions to the international business domain, and highlighting fruitful avenues for future studies.

Keywords: E-commerce policy; Equity crowdfunding; Financial resources; International business; Internationalization; Reward crowdfunding; SMEs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Equity crowdfunding – data structure
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Reward crowdfunding – data structure
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Crowdfunding platforms framework
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Agrawal A, Catalini C, Goldfarb A. Crowdfunding: Geography, social networks, and the timing of investment decisions. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy. 2015;24(1):253–274.
    1. Ahlers GK, Cumming D, Gunther C, Schweizer D. Signaling in equity crowdfunding. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 2015;39(4):955–980. doi: 10.1111/etap.12157. - DOI
    1. Aldrich, H. (2014). The Democratization of Entrepreneurship? Hackers, Makerspaces, and Crowdfunding. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 24(1). Philadelphia, August. 10.5465/ambpp.2014.10622symposium.
    1. Alvarez SA, Barney JB. How entrepreneurial firms can benefit from alliances with large partners. Academy of Management Executive. 2001;15(1):139–148.
    1. Andersen O, Kheam LS. Resource-based theory and international growth strategies: An exploratory study. International Business Review. 1998;7(2):163–184. doi: 10.1016/S0969-5931(98)00004-3. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources