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Author ORCID Identifier
N/A
AccessType
Open Access Dissertation
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Management
Year Degree Awarded
2016
Month Degree Awarded
September
First Advisor
Christopher P. Agoglia
Subject Categories
Accounting
Abstract
Recently enacted standards have formally allowed organizations to offer equity using the crowdfunding model. The crowdfunding model raises capital over the internet by soliciting relatively small contributions from a relatively large number of people who make up a “crowd” (Mollick 2013). Organizations using equity crowdfunding strive for the spread of viral social information to solicit investments (Belleflamme, Lambert, & Schwienbacher 2014). However, research has not yet explored how virality impacts investor decision making. In this study, I investigate whether viral social information can shift investors away from financial maximization goals, leading them to make suboptimal investing decisions. Social identity theory predicts that people can be provoked to act as representatives of their group rather than their individual selves (Tajfel 1981; Tajfel & Turner 1979). I predict and find that positive viral social information focused on an equity crowdfunding organization leads investors who strongly identify with that organization to invest in that organization, even when that organization is relatively suboptimal. In addition, I explore whether investors’ perceptions of negative viral social information are moderated by their social identity (Ellemers, Spears, & Doosje 1999; Nadler and Halibi 2006). I predict that investors who strongly identify with an organization experiencing negative viral social information will feel threatened and defensively invest in that organization. Although results are directionally consistent, I do not find support for my prediction. The findings of this study will be of interest to investors, regulators, and crowdfunding organizations.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/8970636.0
Recommended Citation
Kuselias, Stephen, "Follow the Crowd: How Viral Social Information and Social Identity Increase Investors’ Suboptimal Investing Decisions" (2016). Doctoral Dissertations. 749.
https://doi.org/10.7275/8970636.0
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/749