Entrepreneurial finance markets are in a dynamic state. New market niches and players have developed and continue to emerge. The rules of the game and the methods for receiving financial backing have changed in many ways. This editorial and the special issue of Small Business Economics focus on...

European stock exchanges have repeatedly opened second markets to list small companies. We explain the motivation for the creation of these second markets, and the reasons why many of them have failed. We find that the average long-run performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) on second...

This manuscript positions the study of signals in crowdfunding within the broader literature on signaling in entrepreneurial finance. I deliver a theoretical discussion and definition of signals in crowdfunding, including examples of penalty and handicap signals, differentiating them from...

Despite the growing popularity of investment-based crowdfunding, we know little about what platforms do before the campaign. This is one of the first studies to provide cross-platform evidence on investment-based crowdfunding. First, we describe the regulation and development over time of...

Using a European private firm sample, we conduct a dynamic empirical analysis of private firm exit choice, previously modeled as a one-time IPO versus acquisition decision. Going public may yield firms a valuation premium (over a direct acquisition) through a post-IPO acquisition, but may also...

This paper investigates whether gender, age, ethnicity, and geography affect the choice of equity crowdfunding offerings vs initial public offerings (IPO) on traditional stock markets and whether these characteristics increase the likelihood of a successful offering. Using 167 equity offerings...

This is one of the first studies to investigate corporate governance in investment-based crowdfunding. Our cross-platform analysis reveals a large variety in corporate governance mech-anisms, in particular with regard to voting rights delivery. Some platforms assign voting rights to individual...

Policy-makers expect equity crowdfunding to democratize entrepreneurial finance, by providing access to funding to underrepresented groups of potential entrepreneurs. This paper investigates whether gender, age, ethnicity, and geography affect the choice of equity crowdfunding offerings vs...

In this chapter, we review the literature that investigates firms or projects after they have successfully raised funds (or failed to raise funds) on crowdfunding platforms. For this purpose, we first focus on firm outcomes, including firm failure, follow-on fundraising, and firm performance....

Security-based crowdfunding has recently emerged as a novel market that allows small investors to engage directly in financing entrepreneurial ventures. However, a certain level of financial literacy is required to understand and manage these digital finance tools. A better understanding of the...