Crowdfunding as an alternative to traditional funding: An exploratory analysis

Abstract

The subject of this thesis is crowdfunding in comparison with the traditional ways of funding. It is divided in 5 chapters in which different aspects of the topic are investigated. This summary provides an overview of the content of the thesis. The main research question of the thesis, as shown in chapter 1, is the following: Is crowdfunding an alternative to the traditional funding? Chapter 1 is an Introduction to this study, where the main terms are explained, how did I came up with the main research question and the sub questions, and the research methodology. Chapter 2 represents a short presentation of the crowdsourcing definitions, taking into consideration that different authors argue that crowdfunding finds its roots in the concept of crowdsourcing, followed by an explanation why crowdfunding can be seen as one specific form of crowdsourcing. Chapter 3 dives into the crowdfunding phenomenon. Definitions, actors, rewards will be presented in the first part of the ch