An analysis of the relationship between venture capital and crowdfunding. Are they complementary or substitute forms to finance early-stage innovative firms? As part of this analysis we will propose recommendations on the most efficient way of channeling funds to growth companies in their early stages.

A study of the relationship between crowfunding and corporate governance. To the extent that crowdfunding encourages the participation of stakeholders in the financing of a company, the corporate governance of the financed firms will be affected. An extension of this line is the study of social crowdfunding and its impact on both the corporate governance and social responsibility policy of the companies receiving crowdfunding. Moreover, we also analyze the opposite direction of causality, namely what are the most appropriate forms of governance to stimulate crowdfunding.

An analysis of the kinds of innovations that are generated with crowdfunding: user innovations; radical innovations; incremental innovations.

A characterization of the pattern and type of participants in crowdfunding platforms. This will allow us to identify the most active stakeholders in this type of financing. In this context, we consider whether firms’ own employees provide funds through crowdfunding. Such workers will eventually receive in return a stake in the enterprise, which will favor their retention. In this setting, these workers may be more likely to provide the sort of intangibles that favor innovations.

The organization of crowdfuning through the online stakeholder engagement. How to measure the impact and influence of networks in the crowdfunding?