Crowdfunding as a Tool of Financing: a Conceptual Analysis

Abstract

Crowdfunding has become a popular tool of financing for commercial and non-commercial projects. However the existing literature does not clearly demonstrate the difference between crowdfunding and other models of financing. It leads to confusion and incorrect assumptions that may hinder use of crowdfunding and development of crowdfunding-specific legislation. The goal of the present paper is to identify the distinctive features of crowdfunding and to position it within the system of direct financial interactions. Research methodology: method of strategic matrices, continuum approach. The paper contains a list of criteria that could be used to distinguish standard (typical) crowdfunding from other forms of financing. A continuum of forms of collective finance is proposed. This continuum is based on the criterion of formality. Crowdfunding can be described as a novel form of collective finance that offers a higher level of flexibility in comparison with other models of collective financing and better corresponds to requirements of entrepreneurs and investors. Difference between crowdfunding and P2P finance is explained. The paper introduces the concept of two-level centralization as a key distinctive feature of crowdfunding. This concept is used to build up a holistic taxonomy of collective direct financial interactions. The paper also describes a novel form of crowdfunding – stock exchange crowd game. The existence of this form of crowdfunding is supported by the GameStop case. The paper makes a distinction between standard crowdfunding (that has both levels of centralization) and non-standard crowdfunding (which has only one level of centralization).