THE NEW ENTREPRENEURIAL LANDSCAPE AND THE VALUE CO-CREATION PROCESS: THE ROLE OF THE CROWD IN THE PRE-PURCHASE CROWDFUNDING

The entrepreneurial finance landscape is changing very rapidly (Block, Colombo, Cumming, Vismara, 2018). New players have emerged, with a determinant contribution of the technological revolution. The resources interplay in the peer-to-peer business and network has led to the development of new financing instruments able to boosting innovation and the creation of new ventures. Social and economic innovation is searching new ways to emerge; this requires new models for interpreting the enlarged notion of value in the crowd/entrepreneurs relationship. Despite the rapid growth of alternative finance, the academic literature on crowdfunding as a new financing model able to reduce financing constraints for firms, still lack evidence whether and how these new players and their investment approach are transforming the entrepreneurial landscape. In particular, the reference is to the complex mix of economic and social expectations deriving from the participation to the pre-purchase crowdfunding mechanism. Findings from the explorative study suggest that the pre-purchase mechanism is leading to the configuration of new market niches, where supporters act as an informed investor and consumers. Additionally, the joint value created by the efforts made by entrepreneurs and the crowd, creates sounder positive externalities, those favor growth possibilities to survive of the new ventures.