IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v49y2017i3d10.1007_s11187-017-9839-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Should securities regulation promote equity crowdfunding?

Author

Listed:
  • Lars Hornuf

    (Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
    University of Trier)

  • Armin Schwienbacher

    (Université Côte d’Azur - SKEMA Business School)

Abstract

In this paper, we show that too strong investor protection may harm small firms and entrepreneurial initiatives, which contrasts with the traditional “law and finance” view that stronger investor protection is better. This situation is particularly relevant in equity crowdfunding, which refers to a recent financial innovation originating on the Internet that targets small and innovative firms. In many jurisdictions, securities regulation offers exemptions to prospectus and registration requirements. We provide an into-depth discussion of recent regulatory reforms in different countries and discuss how they may impact equity crowdfunding. Building on a theoretical framework, we show that optimal regulation depends on the availability of an alternative early-stage financing such as venture capital and angel finance. Finally, we offer exploratory evidence from Germany on the impact of securities regulation on small business finance.

Suggested Citation

  • Lars Hornuf & Armin Schwienbacher, 2017. "Should securities regulation promote equity crowdfunding?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 579-593, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:49:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-017-9839-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-017-9839-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-017-9839-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-017-9839-9?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. repec:ces:ifodic:v:14:y:2016:i:2:p:19235736 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Zoltán J. Acs & David B. Audretsch & Erik E. Lehmann & Georg Licht, 2016. "National systems of entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 527-535, April.
    3. Shleifer, Andrei & Wolfenzon, Daniel, 2002. "Investor protection and equity markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 3-27, October.
    4. La Porta, Rafael & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "Legal Determinants of External Finance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(3), pages 1131-1150, July.
    5. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    6. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2006. "What Works in Securities Laws?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 1-32, February.
    7. Lars Hornuf & Matthias Schmitt, 2016. "Success and Failure in Equity Crowdfunding," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 14(2), pages 16-22, 07.
    8. Gerrit K.C. Ahlers & Douglas Cumming & Christina Günther & Denis Schweizer, 2015. "Signaling in Equity Crowdfunding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(4), pages 955-980, July.
    9. Lars Hornuf & Matthias Schmitt, 2016. "Success and Failure in Equity Crowdfunding," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 14(02), pages 16-22, July.
    10. Gompers, Paul & Lerner, Josh, 2000. "Money chasing deals? The impact of fund inflows on private equity valuation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 281-325, February.
    11. Silvio Vismara, 2016. "Equity retention and social network theory in equity crowdfunding," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 579-590, April.
    12. Armin Schwienbacher, 2016. "Crowdfunding and the “Alternativfinanzierungsgesetz†in Austria," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 14(2), pages 33-36, 07.
    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. Johannes Wallmeroth & Peter Wirtz & Alexander Peter Groh, 2017. "Institutional Seed Financing, Angel Financing, and Crowdfunding of Entrepreneurial Ventures: A Literature Review," Working Papers hal-01527999, HAL.
    2. Goethner, Maximilian & Hornuf, Lars & Regner, Tobias, 2021. "Protecting investors in equity crowdfunding: An empirical analysis of the small investor protection act," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    3. Djankov, Simeon & La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei, 2008. "The law and economics of self-dealing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 430-465, June.
    4. Alessandra Bonfiglioli, 2004. "Equities and Inequality," 2004 Meeting Papers 256, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    5. An, Zhe & Li, Donghui & Yu, Jin, 2016. "Earnings management, capital structure, and the role of institutional environments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 131-152.
    6. Arie L Melnik & Steven E. Plaut, 2007. "The Institutional Structure and the Cost of Bank Loans: an International Comparison," ICER Working Papers 22-2007, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    7. Andrei Shleifer & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Rafael La Porta, 2008. "The Economic Consequences of Legal Origins," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(2), pages 285-332, June.
    8. Espenlaub, Susanne & Goyal, Abhinav & Mohamed, Abdulkadir, 2016. "Impact of legal institutions on IPO survival: A global perspective," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 98-112.
    9. Lars Hornuf & Matthias Schmitt & Eliza Stenzhorn, 2017. "Equity Crowdfunding in Germany and the UK: Follow-up Funding and Firm Failure," CESifo Working Paper Series 6642, CESifo.
    10. Doidge, Craig & Karolyi, G. Andrew & Stulz, René M., 2013. "The U.S. left behind? Financial globalization and the rise of IPOs outside the U.S," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(3), pages 546-573.
    11. Gur Aminadav & Elias Papaioannou, 2020. "Corporate Control around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(3), pages 1191-1246, June.
    12. Craig Doidge & G. Andrew Karolyi & René M. Stulz, 2011. "The U.S. Left Behind: The Rise of IPO Activity Around the World," NBER Working Papers 16916, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Mr. Luc Laeven, 2014. "The Development of Local Capital Markets: Rationale and Challenges," IMF Working Papers 2014/234, International Monetary Fund.
    14. Atanasov, Vladimir & Black, Bernard & Ciccotello, Conrad & Gyoshev, Stanley, 2010. "How does law affect finance? An examination of equity tunneling in Bulgaria," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 155-173, April.
    15. Parigi, Bruno M. & Pelizzon, Loriana, 2008. "Diversification and ownership concentration," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1743-1753, September.
    16. Cumming, Douglas & Knill, April & Richardson, Nela, 2015. "Firm size and the impact of securities regulation," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 417-442.
    17. Espenlaub, Susanne & Goyal, Abhinav & Mohamed, Abdulkadir, 2020. "The impact of shareholders and creditors rights on IPO performance: An international study," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    18. Lopez-De-Silanes,Florencio, 2004. "A survey of securities laws and enforcement," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3405, The World Bank.
    19. Sergey Stepanov, 2010. "Shareholder access to manager‐biased courts and the monitoring/litigation trade‐off," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 41(2), pages 270-300, June.
    20. Xiao, Gang, 2013. "Legal shareholder protection and corporate R&D investment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 240-266.

    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:kap:sbusec:v:49:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-017-9839-9. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.