PurposeA network of partners helps and assists a crowdfunding platform (CFP) in scouting, assessing and selecting projects. This cooperation increases the number of successful projects by attracting a sizable number of investors, proponents and attracting marginal investors when a campaign falls short of the threshold for success. This study examines the role of partner networks in a platform ecosystem, specifically in terms of number of different partners and their diversity in the performance of the crowdfunding campaign.Design/methodology/approachUsing logistic and linear regressions, we analyze a sample of 233 projects, both funded and not funded, launched by 10 Italian equity CFPs between 2014 and 2018.FindingsOur findings indicate that the variety of partners in a platform's network influence the probability of campaign success and how much capital the proponent company raises. CFPs are resource-constrained new ventures, and a network with a wider variety of partners ensures the strategic resources and competencies that are required in an early stage market, thus facilitating campaign funding.Practical implicationsThe variety of partner networks could help CFPs to offer unique and strategic value propositions and define the competitive positioning of platforms.Originality/valueThis study provides a deeper understanding of the determinants of equity crowdfunding campaign performance by emphasizing the role of CFP's network of partners on the entire crowdfunding ecosystem and its underlying organizational elements.

Equity crowdfunding is an emerging financing tool that can help social start-ups and firms to bring people and resources together around a project. This paper focuses on equity crowdfunding. We look at this as a complementary financing channel useful for promoting innovation and social change by paring down the traditional features of financial investment. Our unique dataset regards all the Italian Equity Crowdfunding campaigns launched by different platforms on the Italian equity crowdfunding market from 2013 to 2018. Our aim is twofold: a) to describe some characteristics of the Italian Equity crowdfunding market; b) to describe the characteristics of the social firms which have had recourse to equity crowdfunding, in order to investigate which factors influence the campaign's success. The results suggest that social firms' investment offerings are not different from those of non-social ones, but so far, the Italian equity crowdfunding market does not seem suitable for supporting the financial needs of this type of firm, on the side of either investors or firms.

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