Can crowdfunding creators learn from previous experiences to have a better future financing performance?

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to explore whether crowdfunding creators can learn from previous experiences to have a better financing performance of future crowdfunding projects. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses Python to capture the data of 6,267 crowdfunding projects from one of the largest crowdfunding platforms in China (JingDong Crowdfunding) and the author use the negative binomial regression model and the OLS model in this empirical study. Findings The empirical results show that both the early-stage experience of creating a crowdfunding project and the early-stage experience of supporting projects of other crowdfunding creators can improve the financing performance of their newly launched projects. The social network of the previous projects and the “Blockbuster” projects initiated before can also make the newly initiated projects obtain better financing performance. Originality/value Current research on entrepreneurial experience shows that serial entrepreneurs have significantly different success rates than novice or inexperienced entrepreneurs but there is limited literature on the learning effect of crowdfunding creators. This study adds to the literature on entrepreneurial learning and provides suggestions to crowdfunding creators.