Collective Action and the Financing of Innovation: Evidence from Crowdfunding

The emergent phenomenon of crowdfunding, whereby large groups of individuals act collectively to support creative and entrepreneurial endeavors, suggests an alternate model for the financing of innovation. Drawing from extensive field interviews and unique hand-collected datasets of crowdfunding campaigns, this dissertation explored the following question: Under what conditions and through what mechanisms do voluntary contributors freely support private enterprise in the absence of conventional financial incentives? The results of this study revealed the significance of relational factors in the funding outcomes for crowdfunded projects, thereby advancing our understanding of social influence in the context of innovation and entrepreneurial finance.