Publications
Publications
- July 2016
- Journal of Management Studies
Kicking Off Social Entrepreneurship: How A Sustainability Orientation Influences Crowdfunding Success
By: Goran Calic and Elaine Mosakowski
Abstract
Research generally suggests that, relative to commercial entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs stand at a disadvantage at acquiring resources through traditional financial institutions. Yet interest in social entrepreneurship appears to be at an all-time high. The current paper advances the argument that an innovative institutional form – crowdfunding – has emerged to address the needs of social entrepreneurs and other entrepreneurs with limited access to traditional sources of capital. To examine this, we study whether and how a sustainability orientation affects entrepreneurs’ ability to acquire financial resources through crowdfunding and hypothesize that a venture's sustainability orientation will enhance its fundraising capability. We also suggest that project legitimacy and creativity mediate the relationship between a sustainability orientation and funding success. Our analysis produces two key findings: 1) a sustainability orientation positively affects funding success of crowdfunding projects, and 2) this relationship is partially mediated by project creativity and third party endorsements.
Keywords
Crowdfunding; Entrepreneurial Finance; Social Entrepreneurship; Capital; Environmental Sustainability
Citation
Calic, Goran, and Elaine Mosakowski. "Kicking Off Social Entrepreneurship: How A Sustainability Orientation Influences Crowdfunding Success." Journal of Management Studies 53, no. 5 (July 2016): 738–767.