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Access to finance is crucial for sustaining entrepreneurial activity. Elaborating on resource dependence theory, we argue that the adverse impact of a loan rejection by a crowdlending platform is more severe than that of a rejection by a traditional financial institution. The data indicate that a failed crowdlending loan attempt is associated with a 14.80% increase in the probability of transitioning out of self-employment. This effect is 1.62 times that of revolving lines of credit and 3.08 times that of non-revolving lines of credit. We highlight that these effects are amplified for marginal borrowers and credit- and income-constrained entrepreneurs. In addition, we show that successful crowdlending enhances self-employed individuals' future income and future access to traditional lines of credit. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing importance of crowdlending platforms as a new avenue for financing businesses, limited attention has been given to understanding how these platforms can enhance their reputation - an essential driver of their development and survival. This study addresses this gap by analyzing the factors that influence platform reputation. Drawing from the literature on corporate reputation and crowdfunding, we employ a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 221 European crowdlending platforms active as of July 2024. We examine how various factors, such as financial performance, social media, media relations, age, media visibility, and country specificity of platforms, combine and causally interact to produce both high and low levels of platform reputation. The results reveal that these factors interact non-linearly, with multiple configurations of conditions (factors) leading to similar reputational outcomes. No single condition alone determines reputation; instead, reputation emerges from different combinations of conditions. By shedding light on the mechanisms that shape platform reputation, this study contributes to corporate reputation and crowdfunding literature. It also provides practical insights for platform managers, showing that if a platform is less competitive in certain areas, it can improve its reputation by compensating through strengths in other domains. Furthermore, regulators and national crowdfunding associations should collaborate to improve the investment environment and promote greater media visibility for crowdlending and the broader crowdfunding sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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