IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v78y2025ics1544612325003472.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Crowdfunding business models through the lens of sustainable development: A taxonomy for backers and funders

Author

Listed:
  • Cerchione, Roberto
  • Liccardo, Giuseppe
  • Passaro, Renato

Abstract

Sustainable entrepreneurship has emerged as a key driver in addressing environmental and societal challenges through innovation. However, sustainable ventures often struggle to secure funding due to the perceived trade-off between financial returns and sustainability goals. This paper, through a systematic literature review, proposes a taxonomy of crowdfunding (CF) business models linking backers' motivations to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) dimensions of the projects. This taxonomy, highlighting the importance of aligning CF business model with the specific sustainable project objectives, offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to effectively support their innovative and sustainable ideas through a strategically appropriate approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Cerchione, Roberto & Liccardo, Giuseppe & Passaro, Renato, 2025. "Crowdfunding business models through the lens of sustainable development: A taxonomy for backers and funders," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:78:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325003472
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.107084
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612325003472
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2025.107084?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francesco Cappa & Michele Pinelli & Riccardo Maiolini & Maria Isabella Leone, 2021. "“Pledge” me your ears! The role of narratives and narrator experience in explaining crowdfunding success," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 953-973, August.
    2. Cumming, Douglas & Meoli, Michele & Rossi, Alice & Vismara, Silvio, 2024. "ESG and crowdfunding platforms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1).
    3. Sven Siebeneicher & Ilker Yenice & Carolin Bock, 2022. "Financial-Return Crowdfunding for Energy and Sustainability in the German-Speaking Realm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, September.
    4. Chan, Ho Fai & Moy, Naomi & Schaffner, Markus & Torgler, Benno, 2021. "The effects of money saliency and sustainability orientation on reward based crowdfunding success," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 443-455.
    5. Battaglia, Francesca & Regoli, Andrea & Agnese, Paolo, 2022. "Do local innovation systems promote successful equity crowdfunding campaigns? Evidence from Italy," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    6. Alfonso Vara-Miguel & Cristina Sánchez-Blanco & Charo Sádaba Chalezquer & Samuel Negredo, 2021. "Funding Sustainable Online News: Sources of Revenue in Digital-Native and Traditional Media in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    7. Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Natalicchio, Angelo & Panniello, Umberto & Roma, Paolo, 2019. "Understanding the crowdfunding phenomenon and its implications for sustainability," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 138-148.
    8. Joern H. Block & Alexander Groh & Lars Hornuf & Tom Vanacker & Silvio Vismara, 2021. "The entrepreneurial finance markets of the future: a comparison of crowdfunding and initial coin offerings," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 865-882, August.
    9. Joern H. Block & Massimo G. Colombo & Douglas J. Cumming & Silvio Vismara, 2018. "New players in entrepreneurial finance and why they are there," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 239-250, February.
    10. Pommet, Sophie & Sannajust, Aurélie & Xu, Qing, 2023. "Rating of equity crowdfunding platforms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).
    11. Sophie Pommet & Aurélie Sannajust & Qing Xu, 2023. "Rating of equity crowdfunding platforms," Post-Print hal-04533424, HAL.
    12. Liu, Aiping & Urquía-Grande, Elena & López-Sánchez, Pilar & Rodríguez-López, Ángel, 2023. "Research into microfinance and ICTs: A bibliometric analysis," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    13. Sunghun Chung & Keongtae Kim & Chul Ho Lee & Wonseok Oh, 2023. "Interdependence between online peer‐to‐peer lending and cryptocurrency markets and its effects on financial inclusion," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(6), pages 1939-1957, June.
    14. Troise, Ciro & Matricano, Diego & Sorrentino, Mario & Candelo, Elena, 2022. "Investigating investment decisions in equity crowdfunding: The role of projects' intellectual capital," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 406-418.
    15. Vismara, Silvio, 2019. "Sustainability in equity crowdfunding," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 98-106.
    16. Siebeneicher, Sven & Yenice, Ilker & Bock, Carolin, 2022. "Financial-Return Crowdfunding for Energy and Sustainability in the German-Speaking Realm," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 135658, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    17. Goran Calic & Elaine Mosakowski, 2016. "Kicking Off Social Entrepreneurship: How A Sustainability Orientation Influences Crowdfunding Success," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 738-767, July.
    18. Xiaobei Liang & Xiaojuan Hu & Jiang Jiang, 2020. "Research on the Effects of Information Description on Crowdfunding Success within a Sustainable Economy—The Perspective of Information Communication," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-36, January.
    19. Leone, Daniele & Cristina Pietronudo, Maria & Gabteni, Heger & Rosaria Carli, Maria, 2023. "Reward-based crowdfunding for building a valuable circular business model," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    20. Saurav Chandra Talukder & Zoltán Lakner, 2023. "Exploring the Landscape of Social Entrepreneurship and Crowdfunding: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-22, June.
    21. Stefania Testa & Paolo Roma & Maria Vasi & Silvano Cincotti, 2020. "Crowdfunding as a tool to support sustainability‐oriented initiatives: Preliminary insights into the role of product/service attributes," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 530-546, February.
    22. Salahaldin, Linda & Varma, Vineeth S. & Elayoubi, Salah Eddine, 2022. "When and how to intervene for saving an entrepreneur’s crowdfunding campaign," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    23. Joseph Ochieng Onginjo & Zhou Dong Mei, 2023. "A study on the social and economic sustainability of rewards-based crowdfunding in Africa," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(9), pages 9619-9646, September.
    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. Farè, Luca & Meoli, Michele & Vismara, Silvio, 2024. "Sustainable crowdfunding and cultural contexts: Evidence from a longitudinal multi-country analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    2. Maiolini, Riccardo & Cappa, Francesco & Franco, Stefano & Quaratino, Giovanni Raimondo, 2024. "The impact of sustainable development goals in lending-based prosocial crowdfunding: A topic modeling analysis on the kiva platform," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    3. Lorenzo Gai & Carmelo Algeri & Federica Ielasi & Maria Manganiello, 2025. "Sustainability-Oriented Equity Crowdfunding: The Role of Proponents, Investors, and Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-25, March.
    4. Capolupo, Paolo & Natalicchio, Angelo & Ardito, Lorenzo & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Cazzorla, Manuela, 2025. "Family-governed businesses and successful equity crowdfunding: The moderating role of sustainability orientation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Carè, Rosella & Fatima, Rabia & Agnese, Paolo, 2025. "Crowdfunding and sustainable development: A systematic review," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Michelino, Francesca & Varriale, Vincenzo & Appio, Francesco & Caputo, Mauro, 2025. "Crowdfunding for sustainable development: Comparing stand-alone and combined applications," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Del Gaudio, Belinda Laura & Lazos, Aristogenis & Previtali, Daniele, 2025. "Does equity crowdfunding enhance the survival of sustainability ventures?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    8. Carè, R. & Fatima, R. & Cerciello, M. & Taddeo, S., 2025. "Exploring the landscape of green crowdfunding: Trends, themes, and insights from a bibliometric review," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Boutouar, Yassine & La Rocca, Maurizio & La Rocca, Tiziana & D'Amico, Augusto, 2025. "The role of sustainability and high-tech sector affiliation in shaping equity crowdfunding success: An AI perspective," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    10. Appio, Francesco & Bazgour, Tarik & Platania, Federico & Toscano Hernandez, Celina, 2025. "The green premium: How environmental consciousness elevates crowdfunding success," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    11. Dinh, Jeannette Mai & Isaak, Andrew Jay & Yahyaoui, Yasmine, 2024. "Investing for good – Uncovering crowd investors' motivations to participate in sustainability-oriented crowdlending," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    12. Baldissarro, Giovanni & Farinelli, Elisa & Iazzolino, Gianpaolo & Maiolini, Riccardo & Morea, Donato, 2025. "The link between crowdfunding and sustainability: A literature review in the field of entrepreneurs and academic spinoffs," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    13. Cumming, Douglas & Meoli, Michele & Rossi, Alice & Vismara, Silvio, 2024. "ESG and crowdfunding platforms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1).
    14. Berns, John P. & Jia, Yankun & Gondo, Maria, 2022. "Crowdfunding success in sustainability-oriented projects: An exploratory examination of the crowdfunding of 3D printers," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    15. Peter Konhäusner, 2021. "Crowdsourcing in Sustainable Retail—A Theoretical Framework of Success Criteria," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-21, February.
    16. Billio, Monica & Butticè, Vincenzo & Pietro, Francesca Di & Tenca, Francesca & Vismara, Silvio, 2025. "Rising tides, rising funds: Floods and climate mitigation campaigns in equity crowdfunding," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    17. Del Sarto, Nicola & Bellavitis, Cristiano, 2025. "Equity crowdfunding for sustainable oriented ventures: Lead investor impact on campaign success and post-campaign performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    18. Myung Ja Kim & C. Michael Hall & Heejeong Han, 2021. "Behavioral Influences on Crowdfunding SDG Initiatives: The Importance of Personality and Subjective Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-21, March.
    19. Pirazzi Maffiola, Kevin & D'Angelo, Viviana & Capo, Francesca & Scali, Elena, 2025. "Environmental orientation, regional innovation, and equity crowdfunding campaigns’ outcomes: Evidence from two Italian platforms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    20. Hörisch, Jacob & Tenner, Isabell, 2020. "How environmental and social orientations influence the funding success of investment-based crowdfunding: The mediating role of the number of funders and the average funding amount," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:finlet:v:78:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325003472. 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/frl .

    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.