Exploring the Co-operative Form’s Potential in Crowdfunding: A Non-monetary Perspective

Abstract

Technology-driven change has generated new, even revolutionary business models, characterized by high levels of user participation. In the finance field, business models based on crowdfunding have seen significant growth and entered use as an alternative means of extending access and gaining financing for various types of projects. Nonetheless, current crowdfunding practices have been subject to criticism for issues such as information asymmetry, lack of trust and transaction costs, spurring discussion of how to develop and improve these practices. One way of speaking to the criticism has been a suggestion that platforms could be owned by the ones who use them. While the associated way of thinking, referred to as platform co-operativism, has seen some inroads in practice, its novel and practical nature means that a clear knowledge gap remains with regard to its potential for dealing with challenges of platform economy. Consequently, the aim of this study is to examine the relevance and potential of the co-operative company form for crowdfunding arrangements. Our conceptual study utilizes existing research on co-operatives and considers features of crowdfunding from three different perspectives: asymmetry of information and of trust, interaction frequency and homogeneity of interests. As a result, we provide three taxonomies for outlining future research on co-operative platforms.