Communication and the role of third-party endorsement in social crowdfunding

Many studies have underlined the role of updates, pictures, videos, and narrative sections in reducing information asymmetry and producing positive signaling effects for crowdfunding projects. However, research on the role of external entities that partially co-finance projects and thus mitigate information asymmetry problems is almost non-existent. Based on fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study focuses on two groups of factors capable of mitigating asymmetric information problems: content communication (measured by words, videos, pictures, and updates) and endorsement from third-party. The study sample consists of 114 successful social crowdfunding projects posted on Eppela, an Italian crowdfunding platform launched in 2011. The study provides new evidence of the role of third-party investors. In social crowdfunding, the relevance of content communication seems to vary depending on the presence or absence of a third-party investor. The study also highlights the role of a broad content communication approach in fundraising in the social crowdfunding market.