Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that determine two forms of crowdfunding campaign success: success in securing the necessary financial resources and personal success in terms of the entrepreneur’s satisfaction. Specifically, it studies factors linked to the relationship between entrepreneurs and funders (co-creation and feedback) and factors linked to the campaign’s content (dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR)). Design/methodology/approach An empirical study of 52 crowdfunding entrepreneurs was conducted. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis was performed. Findings For financial and personal success, all factors, except the social dimension of CSR, are necessary conditions. Two configurations are sufficient for entrepreneurs to achieve financial success. The first configuration that is sufficient for personal success is the same as the first configuration for financial success. The second configuration for personal success is similar to the second configuration for financial success, except that it also includes financial success itself. Research limitations/implications Entrepreneurs should invest in CSR and seek to improve the quality of their relationships with their funders. Crowdfunding platforms should design and manage co-creation and feedback tools that are capable of providing deep knowledge of users’ opinions and concerns whilst generating value. The limitations of this study are that only the reward-based crowdfunding model was considered, and the data covered just two platforms. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by presenting empirical analysis of the factors that influence financial success and personal success in reward-based crowdfunding. It examines aspects that strictly refer to the content of the project and aspects that refer to the entrepreneur–funder relationship. Specifically, the roles of the four dimensions of CSR were considered. Moreover, the fsQCA method provides a fresh approach to research in this area.

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Potential franchisees encounter difficulties in gaining knowledge about a franchise before embarking on their first start-up venture. For this reason, it is necessary to research which information signals help potential franchisees choose the franchise chains with which they wish to enter into business. Working within the framework of signaling theory, this study's aim is to analyze the relationship between franchise choice and brand, price and participation in franchise fairs. The dynamic signaling model deployed to achieve the study´s aim draws on panel data methodology. This methodology allows us to analyze franchise chains over the period in which their parent franchises were using signaling to reveal information about their quality to potential franchisees. The results show that franchise fairs and up-front entry fees influence franchisee´s decisions. Therefore, it is concluded that potential franchisees prefer to garner information directly from franchise fairs, as opposed to heeding the other signals under study, and that when macroeconomic variables are exerting a strong influence on potential franchisees, up-front entry fees also constitute a signal that they consider. Finally, the managerial implications of the study are that franchise chains seeking franchisees should participate in franchise fairs to ensure that they are among the chosen franchises. Additionally, a franchisor should appropriately manage up-front entry fees as a signal, especially during periods of economic turmoil and recession.