Effective entrepreneurial narrative design in reward crowdfunding campaigns for social ventures

Veronica Crescenzo (), Angelo Bonfanti (), Paola Castellani () and Alfonso Vargas-Sánchez ()
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Veronica Crescenzo: University of Verona
Angelo Bonfanti: University of Verona
Paola Castellani: University of Verona
Alfonso Vargas-Sánchez: University of Huelva

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2022, vol. 18, issue 2, No 12, 773-800

Abstract: Abstract One of the most important challenges for social venture entrepreneurs is acquiring resources. Reward crowdfunding is considered a suitable tool for meeting the financing needs of social ventures, whose backers are particularly interested in firm ideas and core values rather than in collaterals or business plans. A strategic factor that is able to influence the outcome of crowdfunding campaigns is the entrepreneurial narrative. Very few scholars have examined the key factors that support a crowdfunding campaign, particularly those on reward-based crowdfunding platforms, and the effects of entrepreneurial narratives on investors’ decisions. Aiming to fill this research gap, this paper investigates how entrepreneurs in the technology industry describe their social ventures and projects on Eppela, an Italian reward-based crowdfunding platform. Thematic analysis was applied to detect the five following key factors of effective entrepreneurial narratives in reward-based crowdfunding campaigns for social ventures: 1) problem/need; 2) project; 3) product; 4) team; and 5) venture. Each key factor includes specific subfactors. Lexical data analysis was then performed to identify the following expected effects of the examined entrepreneurial narratives on potential investors, leading these investors to understand, trust, and approve the project proposal, and thus, finance the social venture’s project: 1) reassurance, 2) reliability, and 3) credibility. Based on these results, this study proposes an explanatory model about how to design effective entrepreneurial narratives to be presented to contribute as much as possible to the success of projects in crowdfunding platforms.

Keywords: Narrative text; Social crowdfunding campaigns; Reward-based crowdfunding platforms; Social venture; Project design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11365-021-00774-2

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