Collective entrepreneurship makes strange bedfellows: Examining framing activity in construction of the equity crowdfunding market

ABSTRACT

The digital revolution paved the way for changes in the field of entrepreneurial finance, with platform-based funding mechanisms being viewed as a mode for democratizing equity investing. Despite this belief, equity funding platforms were not available to the public for a while, owing to existing regulations that made them illegal. Based on the analysis of a unique longitudinal dataset, the results of our study suggest that the formation of new markets may be successful when multiple actors, including the government, collectively utilize strategic framing that promotes public interest and engages incumbents in a nonthreatening manner. These dynamics highlight the key role that collective entrepreneurship plays in the emergence of new market spaces.

KEYWORDS:

• Crowdfunding
• qualitative
• collective entrepreneurship
• market formation
• framing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Social media is not included due to the focus on the political background of the legislative process and the relatively lower impact of social media channels on political decision making around 2010–2012.

² The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Mercury News, The Denver Post, USA Today, The Tampa Bay Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer.