Crowdlending for renewable energy projects: key factors to improve performance

Abstract

PurposeThe importance of crowdfunding has grown considerably in recent years. Its potential as a source of financing has captured the attention of academia. In view of the challenge of creating a cleaner energy system and the considerable investments required to reach this goal, the literature has pointed to crowdlending as a viable alternative due to its social qualities. However, the literature on this regard is still scarce. This paper aims to contribute to this gap by examining some of the critical factors that determine the performance of financing renewable energy projects through crowdlending.Design/methodology/approachThe data collected from the ECrowd! platform is studied through fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) as research method.FindingsThe results emphasize the importance of the founders’ presence in social networks and the amount of information provided in the description. They also suggest that investors do not react negatively to projects of larger amounts and terms and that giving rewards does not have a significant impact on the campaigns results.Originality/valueThe literature linking crowdfunding and sustainability is still scarce, which is why this paper contributes to filling this gap by identifying some of the factors that have a significant impact on the performance of campaigns. Critical conditions used are grouped into three categories: loan characteristics, project description and social capital. Conclusions help promoters and platforms to know what actions they should take in order to enhance their campaigns performance.