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Uncertainty and information asymmetries in crowdfunding can be reduced via the quality signals project proponents send to potential supporters. Drawing on signaling theory, this study analyzes how costly signals—venture’s statements about past achievements and results—and costless signals—venture’s statements about future plans and goals—influence crowdfunding performance. The results of a multimethod study of 597 UK equity crowdfunding campaigns suggest that only costly signals increase the amount raised through crowdfunding and that costless signals generally have a negative effect. However, for companies introducing radical innovations use of costless signals is not punished by the crowd.

Equity crowdfunding can provide significant resources for new ventures. However, little is known about the drivers and rationale influencing entrepreneurs’ desire to approach crowd investors for financing. Drawing on a qualitative study of 38 companies that fundraised via equity crowdfunding in the UK, our evidence shows that a successful fundraising campaign reduces the uncertainty for new ventures regarding market acceptance of their product and demonstrates the potential for uninformed third parties such as professional investors. Also, we found that entrepreneurs pursue crowdfunding to minimize dilution of their equity stake and retain the maximum level of autonomy. In certain respects, crowdfunding creates a ‘diluted’ form of equity funding with less prohibitive limitations on entrepreneurial autonomy than other forms of equity funding, allowing more informal and relational partnership with investors.

This paper aims to develop a better understanding of the influence of the social environment in which entrepreneurs reside on the success of the crowdfunding projects they propose. Specifically, this study investigates on the importance of local religiosity on the propensity to support cross-regional crowdfunding projects. We theoretically discuss and empirically document, using a dataset of 5841 contributions on three Swiss reward-based and donation-based platforms, that local religiosity affects cross-regional resource flows by creating social interactions and enhancing trust. Furthermore, we find that cross-regional resource flows are more likely between regions sharing the same primary religion—whether Protestant or Catholic.

As new ventures grow, they face significant challenges to their internal operations and organizational structure. These challenges are particularly evident in small, entrepreneurial firms, who have limited resources, under-developed capabilities and often seek funding from external investors to enable growth. We draw on institutional theory, particularly institutional logics, to explore the role of different investors on human resource management (HRM) in small, entrepreneurial firms. Using qualitative multiple-case study analysis of seven firms within the Irish agrifood industry, our study shows how external investors can prompt changes to HRM, illustrating three approaches to HRM practice: operational – aimed at improving efficiency and internal functioning through human resources; strategic – aimed at improving firm performance and competitive advantage; and transformational – leading to a fundamental redirection of the firm. These findings facilitate the development of a framework for how investor logic prompts changes to HRM practices of small, entrepreneurial firms. By examining the interaction of institutional logics, this paper contributes a more nuanced understanding of entrepreneurial finance and its implications on HRM practices in small, entrepreneurial firms.

Using a dataset of 170 firms that successfully fundraised via the two most prominent UK equity crowdfunding platforms, we investigate whether and how having successfully run an equity crowdfunding campaign is associated to the reputation of follow-on venture capital investors attracted. From the comparison with a control group of firms that received a seed round from business angels, we found that firms that have run a successful equity crowdfunding campaign attract lower reputable VCs. These results are confirmed when controlling for endogeneity and for firms’ characteristics. Considering the shareholder structure chosen by the firm raising equity crowdfunding, we found that firms opting for a direct shareholder structure, which entails higher coordination and agency costs, attract less reputable VCs compared to firms opting for the nominee shareholder structure.

Entrepreneurs can leverage investor networks generated in the course of equity-based crowdfunding campaigns to obtain extra financial resources. While much is known about how the resources that improve venture success are configured, less attention has been paid to the organisational challenges involved in their utilisation and how to overcome them. These challenges represent an impediment to crowd openness for new ventures. Through an in-depth qualitative study of 60 European equity crowdfunded ventures, we identify the organisational barriers—resource gap, trust gap and information gap—to crowd openness. We also identify specific bridges—coordination technology, crowd stratification, mapping investors’ expertise and network and direct and proactive communication—that reduce these barriers and facilitate engagement with external actors.

Collaborating with investor networks generated in the course of equity-based crowdfunding campaigns can contribute to the success of startup firms. Through a qualitative study of 60 European startups, this article identifies the type of inputs provided by equity investors, how these inputs are related to startups’ and founders’ characteristics, and startups’ later performance. Startups exploiting crowd network are more likely to be successful two years later compared with startups that do not exploit the crowd, or acquire from the crowd product, strategy, or market knowledge. The findings extend existing research on the relationships between open innovation and startups by identifying the inputs provided by the crowd and how the use of crowd equity investors in open innovation platforms is related to later success.

This paper provides evidence that equity crowdfunding has implications for firms long after the capital raised through the campaign is injected. Using a unique dataset of 290 firms that successfully fundraised via the two most prominent UK equity crowdfunding portals, we examine how different shareholder structures, namely the nominee vs. the direct shareholder structure, affect the attraction of venture capital financing. From the comparison with a control group of twin firms that did not receive any external seed financing, we find that a successful equity crowdfunding campaign accelerates the attraction of VC financing. This association is stronger for equity crowdfunding campaigns with a nominee shareholder structure, while it weakens when the direct shareholder structure is chosen. Compared to a different control sample of angel-backed firms, equity crowdfunded firms with a direct shareholder structure are slower in receiving follow-on VC financing, while receiving equity crowdfunding through the nominee structure accelerates the attraction of follow-on VC financing."

The diffusion of crowdfunding among countries differs consistently, based, in part, on differences in national institutional environments. This study analyses the influence of formal and informal institutions in 27 different countries during the 2014–2017 period, on the development of crowdfunding. Our results show that the crowdfunding market – across all the different crowdfunding typologies- is larger in countries characterized by a business-friendly legal environment, and well-developed financial market in the case of lending crowdfunding. Individualistic societies register higher crowdfunding activity across the different typologies; lending crowdfunding is more widespread in countries characterized by higher uncertainty-avoidance and, together with equity crowdfunding, in long-term oriented societies.

Uncertainty and information asymmetries in crowdfunding can be reduced through quality signals project proponents offer to their potential supporters. Drawing on the signaling theory, this study an...

Purpose: BRAF mutations represent the main negative prognostic factor for metastatic colorectal cancer and a supposed negative predictive factor of response to standard chemotherapy. We have explored survival difference in right-sided colon cancer (RCC) patients according to BRAF mutations, with the aim to identify any predictive factors of response to targeted-based therapy. Methods: A retrospective study of RCC patients, with BRAF known mutation status, treated with chemotherapy (CT) from October 2008 to June 2019 in 5 Italian centers, was conducted. Results: We identified 207 advanced RCC patients: 20.3% BRAF mutant and 79.7% BRAF wild type (wt). BRAF-mutant cancers were more likely to be pT4 (50.0% v 25.7%, p = 0.016), undifferentiated (71.4% v 44.0%, p = 0.004), KRAS wt (90.5% v 38.2%, p < 0.001), and MSI-H (41.7% v 16.2%, p = 0.019) tumors, with synchronous (52.4% v 31.5%, p = 0.018) and peritoneal metastases (38.1% v 22.4%, p = 0.003). Median overall survival (OS) was 16 v 27months in BRAF mutant and BRAF wt (P = 0.020). In first-line setting, BRAF-mutant showed a 2ys OS of 80% in clinical trials, 32% in anti-VEGF, 14% in epidermial growth factor receptor (EGFR), and 0% in chemotherapy alone regimens (P = 0.009). BRAF-mutant patients demonstrated worse survival, regardless of targeted therapy administered. However, survival difference was statistically significant in the anti-EGFR-treated subgroup (16 v 28months, P = 0.005 in BRAF mutant v BRAF wt, respectively). Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that BRAF status makes the difference in treatment’s outcome. Therefore, the anti-EGFR should not be excluded in all advanced RCC but considered on a case-by-case basis.

There is widespread belief that crowdfunding can successfully support charity operation by accelerating and simplifying the process of finding large pools of funders. Analysing a unique dataset of donations collected in Italy through crowdfunding in 2016, we identify contextual factors that hamper online donations. Specifically, looking at the role of digital divide, digital literacy, and social network interactions, our study extends the existing literature on charity crowdfunding. Implications are discussed in both theoretical and practical terms on the modes of engagement of online communities and on possible tactics to overcome donations barriers.

Refereed/Peer-reviewed

In unilateral upper-limb complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), the temperature of the hands is modulated by where the arms are located relative to the body midline. We hypothesized that this effect depends on the perceived location of the hands, not on their actual location, nor on their anatomical alignment. In 2 separate cross-sectional randomized experiments, 10 (6 female) unilateral CRPS patients wore prism glasses that laterally shifted the visual field by 20. Skin temperature was measured before and after 9-minute periods in which the position of one hand was changed. Placing the affected hand on the healthy side of the body midline increased its temperature (Δ C = +0.47 ± 0.14 C), but not if prism glasses made the hand appear to be on the body midline (Δ C = +0.07 ± 0.06 C). Similarly, when prism glasses made the affected hand appear to be on the healthy side of the body midline, even though it was not, the affected hand warmed up (Δ C = +0.28 ± 0.14 C). When prism glasses made the healthy hand appear to be on the affected side of the body midline, even though it was not, the healthy hand cooled down (Δ C = -0.30 ± 0.15 C). Friedman's analysis of variance and Wilcoxon pairs tests upheld the results (P < 0.01 for all). We conclude that, in CRPS, cortical mechanisms responsible for encoding the perceived location of the limbs in space modulate the temperature of the hands. © 2013 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by the larval stages of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus, is known to be one of the most important parasitic infection in livestock worldwide and one of the most widespread zoonoses known. In the present study, we used a geographical information system (GIS) to study the spatial structure of livestock (cattle, water buffaloes and sheep) populations to gain a better understanding of the role of sheep as reservoir for the transmission of CE to cattle and water buffaloes. To this end, a survey on CE in cattle and water buffaloes from the Campania region of southern Italy was conducted and the geo-referenced results linked to the regional farm geo-referenced data within a GIS. The results showed a noteworthy prevalence of CE in cattle and water buffalo farms (overall prevalence = 18.6%). The elaboration of the data with a GIS approach showed a close proximity of the bovine and/or water buffalo CE positive farms with the ovine farms present in the study area, thus giving important information on the significance of sheep and free-ranging canids in the transmission cycles of CE in relation to cattle and water buffaloes. The significantly higher prevalence found in cattle as compared to water buffalo farms (20.0% versus 12.4%) supports the key role of sheep in the CE transmission; indeed, within the 5 km radius buffer zones constructed around the cattle farms positive for CE, a higher number of (potentially infected) sheep farms were found compared to those found within the buffer zones around the water buffalo farms. Furthermore, the average distances between the sheep and cattle farms falling in the same buffer zones were significantly lower than those between the sheep and water buffalo farms. We emphasize that the use of GIS is a novel approach to further our understanding of the epidemiology and control of CE and we encourage other groups to make use of it.

The management of patients with non-progressive metastatic colorectal cancer after six months of treatment has not yet been codified. The most relevant concerns are the effectiveness of maintenance vs discontinuation, and the tolerability of prolonged treatment. Here we report the case of a 72-year-old man affected by colorectal cancer with lung metastases who achieved a complete response after receiving capecitabine, oxaliplatin and bevacizumab for six months, and bevacizumab alone for six months. Bevacizumab was continued as maintenance regimen for more than three years. It was discontinued because of an arthroplasty. Fifty-eight months after beginning first-line treatment, the patient remains free from relapse. Adverse effects were minimal and easily controlled.