Date: 20^th April, 2019

Time: 10:00-11:30 a.m.

Venue: Room 1102, The Administration Building, Zhejiang University

【Speaker Introduction】:Chee-Wee Tan is a Professor at the Department of Digitalization in Copenhagen Business School (CBS). He received his Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the University of British Columbia. His research interests focus on design and innovation issues related to digital services. His work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals such as MIS Quarterly (MISQ), Information Systems Research (ISR), Journal of Management Information Systems (JMIS), Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS), Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (JASIST), among others. Apart from his current appointment as a Senior Editor for MISQ, Chee-Wee is currently serving on the editorial boards for Industrial Management & Data Systems (IMDS), IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (IEEE-TEM), Information & Management (I&M), Internet Research (IntR), and Journal for the Association of Information Systems (JAIS). Finally, Chee-Wee is the co-director of the joint research center between CBS and the Antai College of Economics and Management (ACEM) in Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU).

【Lecture Abstract】：This study aims to investigate the predominant phenomenon of overfunding on equity crowdfunding platforms. Although overfunded campaigns appear to be a boon for the initiating fundraisers and platform operators, it undermines the fundamental mission of crowdfunding in achieving equality of funding opportunity. Specifically, overfunding encourages reckless spending of fundraisers who receive excessive investment, and diverts scarce financial resources away from promising business ventures in need of support. This study drew on contagion theory to posit the contagion effect of fundraisers’self-confidence as the key mechanism underlying overfunding. We postulate that mandatory attributes for campaign setup, in the likes of information disclosure, funding goal, funding duration, and equity offering on crowdfunding platforms can be interpreted by prospective funders as cues reflecting fundraisers’confidence in their business ventures. Infected by fundraisers’self-confidence, funders can be compelled to swarm a campaign and eventually overfund it. To validate our hypotheses we collected and analyzed daily investment data for 250 campaigns on a leading equity crowdfunding platform in the United Kingdom (UK). Findings from our study attested to the contagion effect of cues signaling fundraisers’self-confidence in terms of funders’susceptibility, contagion spread, and contagion persistency. They also helped to confirm the link between confidence contagion and degree of overfunding. This study hence bears implications for research and governance practice on crowdfunding alike.