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Small business online loan crowdfunding: who gets funded and what determines the rate of interest?

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  • Reabetswe Kgoroeadira

    (Beryl Holdings)

  • Andrew Burke

    (University of Dublin)

  • André Stel

    (University of Dublin
    Kozminski University)

Abstract

The advent of online peer-to-peer crowdfunding presents a new type and source of finance for small firms. This raises the question of whether this innovation makes any difference to the type of business that can secure funding and the amount that they pay for this finance. In this paper, we examine the American online peer-to-peer loan crowdfunding website www.prosper.com to answer these questions. We create and analyse a dataset of 14,537 small firm unsecured loan applications. We find that lenders in this market ignore business characteristics and focus on personal characteristics instead, particularly a person’s credit score but also whether they are employed and provide a picture. This implies that entrepreneurs who want to raise finance in this market will need to use a very different pitch than the norm in the offline market—as personal rather than firm characteristics are the main determinants of securing funding and the price paid for it.

Suggested Citation

  • Reabetswe Kgoroeadira & Andrew Burke & André Stel, 2019. "Small business online loan crowdfunding: who gets funded and what determines the rate of interest?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 67-87, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:52:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s11187-017-9986-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-017-9986-z
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    2. Wu, Bao & Liu, Zijia & Gu, Qiuyang & Tsai, Fu-Sheng, 2023. "Underdog mentality, identity discrimination and access to peer-to-peer lending market: Exploring effects of digital authentication," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Aparicio, Sebastian & Audretsch, David & Urbano, David, 2021. "Why is export-oriented entrepreneurship more prevalent in some countries than others? Contextual antecedents and economic consequences," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(3).
    4. Dongwoo Kim, 2023. "Can investors’ collective decision-making evolve? Evidence from peer-to-peer lending markets," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 1323-1358, June.
    5. Saul Estrin & Susanna Khavul & Mike Wright, 2022. "Soft and hard information in equity crowdfunding: network effects in the digitalization of entrepreneurial finance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1761-1781, April.
    6. Yang Zhao & Xuemei Xie & Liuyong Yang, 0. "Female entrepreneurs and equity crowdfunding: the consequential roles of lead investors and venture stages," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-29.
    7. Carlos Sanchis-Pedregosa & Emma Berenguer & Gema Albort-Morant & Jorge Anton Sanz, 2020. "Guaranteed Crowdlending Loans: A Tool for Entrepreneurial Finance Ecosystem Sustainability," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(55), pages 775-775, August.
    8. Miglo, Anton, 2022. "Theories of financing for entrepreneurial firms: a review," MPRA Paper 115835, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Salvador Cruz Rambaud & Joaquín López Pascual & Roberto Moro-Visconti & Emilio M. Santandreu, 2022. "Should gender be a determinant factor for granting crowdfunded microloans?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    10. Antonella Francesca Cicchiello & Serena Gallo & Stefano Monferrà, 2023. "Financing the cultural and creative industries through crowdfunding: the role of national cultural dimensions and policies," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(1), pages 133-175, March.
    11. Yang Zhao & Xuemei Xie & Liuyong Yang, 2021. "Female entrepreneurs and equity crowdfunding: the consequential roles of lead investors and venture stages," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 1183-1211, September.
    12. Clarissa E. Weber & Norbert Steigenberger & Hendrik Wilhelm, 2023. "After successful fundraising: how overfunding and category spanning affect the release and audience-perceived quality of crowdfunded products," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 1009-1026, October.
    13. Francesca Collevecchio & Gianluca Gionfriddo, 2023. "Adopting a social purpose in for-profit firms: the role of the board of directors," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 1467-1499, September.
    14. Uparna, Jayaram & Bingham, Chris, 2022. "Breaking “Bad”: Negativity’s benefit for entrepreneurial funding," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1353-1365.
    15. Farag, Hisham & Johan, Sofia, 2021. "How alternative finance informs central themes in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crowdfunding; Peer-to-peer lending; Small business finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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