Analysing Educational Campaign’s Outcome in Donation-Based Crowdfunding: Social Capital as a Determinant Factor

Abstract

A new financing alternative, known as crowdfunding, has expanded rapidly. Not all crowdfunding projects or campaigns can successfully reach the desired funding amount. Many studies have shown that social capital is a determinant of crowdfunding success, and some of it could be applied to the education domain. This study investigates the influence of the multidimensional social capital on the donation-based crowdfunding within the scope of educational campaigns belonging to higher education institutions students. This study uses the primary data extracted from the Skolafund crowdfunding site, a specialised third-party platform for higher education. This study, using the theory of multidimensional social capital as the theoretical foundation, develops a logit model linking all three social capital dimensions. The findings imply that only two social capital dimensions, namely structural and relational, are significant factors influencing the crowdfunding success likelihood. This study also finds that campaigns with lower funding targets are more likely to succeed. The practical implications of this study suggest the students should leverage their social capital to increase the fundraising amount. Higher education institutions also should consider to set up their crowdfunding platforms quickly or encourage students to utilise a third-party platform, such as Skolafund.