Are you part of the crowd? The role of environmental characteristics for individuals' crowdfunding awareness

Crowdfunding has become an alternative source of financing for entrepreneurial new ventures and social projects. While several studies have analysed the success factors of crowdfunding campaigns, and identifying and “tapping the right crowd” has been shown crucial in this respect, we still lack a basic understanding of the individuals who are in the crowd. This study aims to increase our understanding of the supply side of crowdfunding by focussing on individuals’ crowdfunding awareness. Integrating information processing theory with insights from financial literacy and institutional theory, and using a sample of 1,042 individuals in Flanders (Belgium), we find that individuals’ awareness of specific crowdfunding initiatives is very low. A favourable normative environment and a conducive environment increases an individual’s awareness of crowdfunding in general, and women tend to derive their crowdfunding awareness to a larger extent from these environmental characteristics than men. These results have important practical and theoretical implications.