IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bushor/v65y2022i1p33-42.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Administration of crowdfunding at Australian universities

Author

Listed:
  • O’Donnell, Jonathan

Abstract

Crowdfunding offers a new funding model for research activities at universities. It combines fundraising with public engagement and an entrepreneurial spirit. While universities might be expected to show enthusiasm for the possibilities of crowdfunding, support has not been widespread in Australia. Only a small number of Australian universities have provided active support for crowdfunding of research activities. Interviews with academics and administrators from two Australian universities with a history of providing strong support for research crowdfunding show that clear vision and firm leadership are required to overcome organizational inertia. Universities need to provide space for academics and administrators to innovate, try new approaches, and even fail as they learn whether crowdfunding works for them. Peer support and organized training can help academics as they seek to build an audience via social media engagement. Universities can also provide analysis of campaign progress and, in some cases, funding to support campaigns. The article concludes with best-practice advice for universities that wish to encourage research crowdfunding supported by a framework that describes a continuum of support, ranging from an outright ban to benign neglect to strong support for this new activity.

Suggested Citation

  • O’Donnell, Jonathan, 2022. "Administration of crowdfunding at Australian universities," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 33-42.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bushor:v:65:y:2022:i:1:p:33-42
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2021.09.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681321001646
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bushor.2021.09.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Douglas J. Cumming & Gaël Leboeuf & Armin Schwienbacher, 2020. "Crowdfunding models: Keep‐It‐All vs. All‐Or‐Nothing," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 49(2), pages 331-360, June.
    2. Cowden, Birton J. & Young, Susan L., 2020. "The copycat conundrum: The double-edged sword of crowdfunding," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 541-551.
    3. Paul Belleflamme & Thomas Lambert & Armin Schwienbacher, 2013. "Individual crowdfunding practices," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 313-333, October.
    4. Klammer, Adrian & Grisold, Thomas & Gueldenberg, Stefan, 2019. "Introducing a ‘stop-doing’ culture: How to free your organization from rigidity," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 451-458.
    5. Paschen, Jeannette, 2017. "Choose wisely: Crowdfunding through the stages of the startup life cycle," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 179-188.
    6. Wood, Matthew S., 2011. "A process model of academic entrepreneurship," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 153-161.
    7. Alexandra Moritz & Joern H. Block, 2016. "Crowdfunding: A Literature Review and Research Directions," FGF Studies in Small Business and Entrepreneurship, in: Dennis Brüntje & Oliver Gajda (ed.), Crowdfunding in Europe, edition 1, pages 25-53, Springer.
    8. de Beer, Jeremy & McCarthy, Ian P. & Soliman, Adam & Treen, Emily, 2017. "Click here to agree: Managing intellectual property when crowdsourcing solutions," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 207-217.
    9. Carnes, Christina Matz & Gilstrap, Frank E. & Hitt, Michael A. & Ireland, R. Duane & Matz, Jack W. & Woodman, Richard W., 2019. "Transforming a traditional research organization through public entrepreneurship," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 437-449.
    10. Nathalie Colasanti & Rocco Frondizi & Marco Meneguzzo, 2018. "Higher education and stakeholders’ donations: successful civic crowdfunding in an Italian university," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(4), pages 281-288, June.
    11. Wood, Matthew S., 2011. "A process model of academic entrepreneurship," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 153-161, March.
    12. Henry Sauermann & Chiara Franzoni & Kourosh Shafi, 2019. "Crowdfunding scientific research: Descriptive insights and correlates of funding success," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(1), pages 1-26, January.
    13. Jarrett E K Byrnes & Jai Ranganathan & Barbara L E Walker & Zen Faulkes, 2014. "To Crowdfund Research, Scientists Must Build an Audience for Their Work," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(12), pages 1-29, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christina Guenther & Sofia Johan & Denis Schweizer, 2018. "Is the crowd sensitive to distance?—how investment decisions differ by investor type," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 289-305, February.
    2. Peter Konhäusner, 2021. "Crowdsourcing in Sustainable Retail—A Theoretical Framework of Success Criteria," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Angela Mariani & Simona Monteleone & Donatella Privitera, 2017. "Crowdfunding as social innovation practice: Experiences in Italy," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(2), pages 67-82.
    4. Zhao, Liang & Shneor, Rotem & Sun, Zhe, 2022. "Skin in the game: Self-funding and reward crowdfunding success," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 89-100.
    5. Elena Madeo, 2021. "The Role of Crowdfunding for New Funding Challenges in Public Universities: An Italian Case Study," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 15(2), pages 186-205, September.
    6. Rippa, Pierluigi & Secundo, Giustina, 2019. "Digital academic entrepreneurship: The potential of digital technologies on academic entrepreneurship," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 900-911.
    7. Xin Tang & Haibing Lu & Wei Huang & Shulin Liu, 2023. "Investment decisions and pricing strategies of crowdfunding players: In a two-sided crowdfunding market," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 1209-1240, June.
    8. Fang, Xing, 2022. "Why we hide good deeds? The selfless and anonymous donation behavior in crowdfunding," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Thomas Clauss & Thomas Niemand & Sascha Kraus & Patrick Schnetzer & Alexander Brem, 2019. "Increasing Crowdfunding Success Through Social Media: The Importance Of Reach And Utilisation In Reward-Based Crowdfunding," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(03), pages 1-30, May.
    10. Bi, Gongbing & Geng, Botao & Liu, Lindong, 2019. "On the fixed and flexible funding mechanisms in reward-based crowdfunding," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 279(1), pages 168-183.
    11. Francisco Javier Miranda & Antonio Chamorro & Sergio Rubio, 2018. "Re-thinking university spin-off: a critical literature review and a research agenda," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 1007-1038, August.
    12. Renwick, Matthew J. & Mossialos, Elias, 2017. "Crowdfunding our health: Economic risks and benefits," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 48-56.
    13. Swati Oberoi & Smita Srivastava & Vishal K. Gupta & Rohit Joshi & Atul Mehta, 2022. "Crowd Reactions to Entrepreneurial Failure in Rewards-Based Crowdfunding: A Psychological Contract Theory Perspective," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-26, July.
    14. Friedemann Polzin & Helen Toxopeus & Erik Stam, 2018. "The wisdom of the crowd in funding: information heterogeneity and social networks of crowdfunders," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 251-273, February.
    15. Aileen Huang-Saad & Jonathan Fay & Lauren Sheridan, 2017. "Closing the divide: accelerating technology commercialization by catalyzing the university entrepreneurial ecosystem with I-Corps™," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(6), pages 1466-1486, December.
    16. Victoria Galan-Muros & Todd Davey, 2019. "The UBC ecosystem: putting together a comprehensive framework for university-business cooperation," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 1311-1346, August.
    17. Bernardino, Susana & Freitas Santos, José & Oliveira, Sílvie, 2021. "The impact of social media and e-WOM on the success of reward-based crowdfunding campaigns," Cuadernos de Gestión, Universidad del País Vasco - Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa (IEAE).
    18. Guillochon, Justine, 2022. "The role of media, policy and regional heterogeneity in renewable energy project crowdfunding," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    19. Ivana Bilić & Vlatka Škokić & Marina Lovrinčević, 2021. "Academic Entrepreneurship in Post-transition Country—Case Study of Croatia," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(1), pages 41-55, March.
    20. Sabia, Luca & Bell, Robin & Bozward, David, 2022. "Big fish: Leveraging the fear of missing out in equity crowdfunding in the post-COVID-19 era," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 59-67.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:bushor:v:65:y:2022:i:1:p:33-42. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/bushor .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.