An investigation of enablers and inhibitors of crowdfunding adoption: Empirical evidence from startups in China

In recent years, crowdfunding has emerged as a new fundraising technique for startup ventures. Crowdfunding allows small businesses and startups to seek funding from a large number of private investors, the so‐called “crowdfunders.” Crowdfunding is beneficial for startup ventures by offering a variety of financial and nonfinancial benefits such as helping to solve funding difficulties, providing value‐added involvement, facilitating access to further funding, and providing publicity. In contrast, diffusion processes of new business innovations have become increasingly complicatedly and multifaceted in recent years. Potential users today are exposed to a wide range of influences that include word‐of‐mouth communications, network externalities, and social signals. Despite the advantages associated with crowdfunding, the crowdfunding industry faces slow rates of diffusion in the Chinese market because crowdfunding ventures often fail to translate into adoption behavior. This study investigates the enablers and inhibitors of crowdfunding adoption intention from the perspective of startups by employing the two‐factor theory, status quo bias theory, and innovation diffusion theory. These theories allow crowdfunding researchers and platform managers to test the relative influence of both reasons for (enablers) and reasons against (inhibitors) crowdfunding adoption in a single framework. In conclusion, considering the phenomenon of startups in China, the results of this study will fill the paucity of empirical research in the innovation resistance area, shedding light on the motivation of entrepreneurs to avoid crowdfunding as a financing course as well as providing crowdfunding managers and policymakers with strategic recommendations.     

Speed of Venture Financing for Emerging Technology‐Based Entrepreneurial Firms as a Function of Founder Reputation

One of the major commercialization hurdles for technology‐based entrepreneurial enterprises is financing and the speed of its acquisition. This is compounded in the case of emerging technology‐based enterprises by the nature of their technology acquisition and founding team structure. Many of these firms do not have founders with extensive reputations in the financial community. If founder reputation is important to funding sources with regard to speed and access, and emerging technology commercial development is important for solving twenty‐first‐century problems and generating economic growth, then there is cause for concern. Here we build on prior research and data from 140 Internet‐based firms to examine the effect that founder reputation has on the ability of an enterprise to swiftly obtain financing. Our results suggest that founder reputation expedites ventures' quick access to public but not to private financing. In addition, our results demonstrate that venture capital financing obtained early on and financing by large venture capital syndicates delay access to public financing for founders with extensive reputations.     

“Failures” to be celebrated: an analysis of major pivots of software startups

In the context of software startups, project failure is embraced actively and considered crucial to obtain validated learning that can lead to pivots. A pivot is the strategic change of a business concept, product or the different elements of a business model. A better understanding is needed on different types of pivots and different factors that lead to failures and trigger pivots, for software entrepreneurial teams to make better decisions under chaotic and unpredictable environment. Due to the nascent nature of the topic, the existing research and knowledge on the pivots of software startups are very limited. In this study, we aimed at identifying the major types of pivots that software startups make during their startup processes, and highlighting the factors that fail software projects and trigger pivots. To achieve this, we conducted a case survey study based on the secondary data of the major pivots happened in 49 software startups. 10 pivot types and 14 triggering factors were identified. The findings show that customer need pivot is the most common among all pivot types. Together with customer segment pivot, they are common market related pivots. The major product related pivots are zoom-in and technology pivots. Several new pivot types were identified, including market zoom-in, complete and side project pivots. Our study also demonstrates that negative customer reaction and flawed business model are the most common factors that trigger pivots in software startups. Our study extends the research knowledge on software startup pivot types and pivot triggering factors. Meanwhile it provides practical knowledge to software startups, which they can utilize to guide their effective decisions on pivoting.     

微机电系统(MEMS)产品及其促进市场化途径的研究

通过介绍微机电系统(MEMS)技术及其主导产品的性能特点,针对现状,为促进我国MEMS产品商业化占领市场,作者提出了包括应用风险投资等市场手段和市场运行机制的五条途径,详细分析了这些途径的特点,并进一步分析了国内外MEMS产品的市场前景.     

Trade credit insurance in a capital‐constrained supply chain

We examine the role of trade credit insurance in a capital‐constrained supply chain with one (or two) loss‐neutral retailer(s) and one loss‐averse manufacturer. We model the interplay between these supply chain participants as a Stackelberg game and analyze their operating and financing decisions. In one capital‐constrained retailer case, we find that either the manufacturer's high loss aversion level or the retailer's low initial capital motivates the manufacturer to adopt insurance. Insurance drives more credit financing with more attractive financing terms (a lower wholesale price), which promotes the manufacturer to collect better product sales and performance. Although the retailer enjoys improved profit from insurance, its default risk increases. In contrast, in one capital‐constrained retailer and one well‐funded retailer scenario, numerically, when the manufacturer's loss aversion level is high or the weak retailer's initial capital is low, insurance is also adopted but is not always preferred by the capital‐constrained retailer due to competition. In addition, as the demand substitution rate increases, the manufacturer is more likely to prefer insurance due to better performance.     

Financing strategies for a capital‐constrained manufacturer in a dual‐channel supply chain

This study investigates a co‐opetition‐type dual‐channel supply chain that consists of a competitive supplier (CS) and a capital‐constrained manufacturer (CCM). The CCM procures key components from and simultaneously competes with the CS in the consumer market. To address the CCM's capital constraint, we consider three financing strategies, namely, trade credit, bank loan, and hybrid financing (i.e., combined use of bank loan and equity financing). Game models are established to characterize the interactions between the CS and CCM. The corresponding equilibria are derived under each strategy. Then, comparative analyses are conducted, and the CS's and CCM's preference structures regarding the three strategies are revealed. On this basis, the equilibrium strategy can be concluded as either trade credit or hybrid financing, but never bank loan. Specifically, when the equity financing ratio is small or large, trade credit is an equilibrium strategy. When the equity financing ratio is medium, the equilibrium strategy between trade credit and hybrid financing is determined by consumers’ product preference and loan interest rate.     

Networking industry has plenty of fruit, but is the trunk rotting?

Networking industry veterans and analysts worldwide are beginning to mull in earnest the effects of market forces such as telecommunications provider consolidation, regulatory actions, and the migration of intellectual talent away from corporations to nimble startups.     

Software development in startup companies: A systematic mapping study

ContextSoftware startups are newly created companies with no operating history and fast in producing cutting-edge technologies. These companies develop software under highly uncertain conditions, tackling fast-growing markets under severe lack of resources. Therefore, software startups present a unique combination of characteristics which pose several challenges to software development activities.ObjectiveThis study aims to structure and analyze the literature on software development in startup companies, determining thereby the potential for technology transfer and identifying software development work practices reported by practitioners and researchers.MethodWe conducted a systematic mapping study, developing a classification schema, ranking the selected primary studies according their rigor and relevance, and analyzing reported software development work practices in startups.ResultsA total of 43 primary studies were identified and mapped, synthesizing the available evidence on software development in startups. Only 16 studies are entirely dedicated to software development in startups, of which 10 result in a weak contribution (advice and implications (6); lesson learned (3); tool (1)). Nineteen studies focus on managerial and organizational factors. Moreover, only 9 studies exhibit high scientific rigor and relevance. From the reviewed primary studies, 213 software engineering work practices were extracted, categorized and analyzed.ConclusionThis mapping study provides the first systematic exploration of the state-of-art on software startup research. The existing body of knowledge is limited to a few high quality studies. Furthermore, the results indicate that software engineering work practices are chosen opportunistically, adapted and configured to provide value under the constrains imposed by the startup context.     

高新技术企业风险投资及投资风险评价

本文研究了风险投资的含义和基本特点，并且在全面分析风险投资特点的基础上 ，提出了高科技产业开发投资风险综合评判体系. 文中利用层次分析法和聚类分析法相结合的形式确定权数，以主观概率来描述风险, 从而建立了高科技产业开发投资风险的多因素层次模糊综合评判模型，采用模糊数学工具对高新技术项目的投资风险进行综合评价．进行了实证运算，实现了高新技术产业开发投资风险较为科学的评判与判断．     

基于混沌的微弱信号直接数字化测量研究

首次提出了在现有的恒流源混沌映射信号测量系统中,增加一次保序变换,将N位的自然排序混沌轨道符号序列起始段直接映射到N位的自然排序标准二进制序列,从而在混沌映射测量结果与传统线性A/D转换结果之间,建立直接的对应关系的方法.该方法可以有效地解决现有混沌映射信号测量技术中存在的一些问题.研究表明,混沌映射和保序变换,可以用于微弱信号的直接数字化测量,也可作为数字化传感器或传感器阵列的设计参考.     

绿色供应链的投贷联动融资决策均衡

以一个零售商和一个资金约束的制造商组成的绿色供应链为研究对象,构建了制造商资金约束情况下银行借贷融资、股权融资和组合融资时的融资模型,探讨制造商的资金水平和消费者的绿色偏好对定价、绿色投入水平、产品的市场需求和融资方式选择策略的影响。最后,通过数值分析进行验证。研究发现：消费者绿色偏好与零售价格、批发价格和绿色投入努力水平、产品的市场需求和股权融资时双方可接受的股权转让比例正相关;在制造商资金约束而不融资时,制造商初始资金水平与制造商的批发价格、零售商的零售价格负相关,而与绿色投入努力水平正相关;银行借贷利率越大,制造商的可接受的股权转让比例增大。当制造商进行融资时, 若初始资金水平极低, 选择股权融资的方式进行融资, 随着初始资金水平的上升, 零售商应该选择银行贷款的方式进行融资;在股权融资比例达到一定值时,组合融资比银行借贷更加有利于制造商;而单纯股权融资比组合融资更有利。     

Linguistic understandability,signal observability,funding opportunities,and crowdfunding campaigns

This study examines the impact of readability and understandability of the narratives on the signal receiver's acceptance of the signal which, in turn, affects a potential funder's decision, and hence the funding outcomes. Lexicon-related indicators and grammar-related indicators are applied to analyze 267,688 crowdfunding projects from the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. Entrepreneurs must apply the right mix of lexicon- and grammar-related indicators to improve the online narrative's readability and understandability so as to send the right signals to attract project funders. Our results suggest that most of the indicators promote successful funding. Some indicators show a curvilinear, U-shape or inverted U-shape influence. The lexicon-related indicators rank higher in importance than the grammar-related indicators, and the number of difficult words ranks first among the indicators. This study links signal observability, linguistic cues, and funding success, and provides theoretical and practical implications on the understanding of signaling theory and narratives.     

How does a bank's involvement interplay with a firm's capacity investment? An analysis and comparison of different consortium structures

As nonrecourse project finance (rather than financing on a sovereign basis) is becoming more prevalent worldwide, financing institutions have to collaborate more closely with firms to optimize capacity‐investment and financing decisions. Under this background, this paper presents a stylized Stackelberg games model, taking into account the firm's capacity investment as well as the bank's interest rate and funding ratio decisions. Consortium structures between bank and firm are formalized into five modes based on industry practice, namely, the integrated consortium, pure shareholder funding, bank as leader, full coordination, and bank as follower. The optimality and equilibrium of each of the five modes are analytically derived, and their existence and uniqueness are demonstrated. Valuable economic insights are obtained through both modeling analysis and numerical experiments, with the main findings including the following: (i) a lack of bank financing leads to insufficient capacity investment and poor consortium performance; (ii) interest rate and funding ratio play important but different roles in the bank's risk management; (iii) the bank's proactivity in leading and coordinating the consortium is critical for the two parties’ overall performance; and (iv) if the bank is the follower, the firm's capacity decision is irrelevant to the bank's loan contract, and the consortium cannot be coordinated to the first‐best level of performance.     

Innovation in the creative industries: Linking the founder's creative and business orientation to innovation outcomes

Creative industries contain paradoxes because conflicting tensions arise between the market and the arts. Entrepreneurs need to find and maintain a balance between those two sides to create innovation. This study tests the interaction between business and creative orientations of a founder in their influence on innovation in the context of creative entrepreneurial firms and provides recommendations for how creative agents can leverage and manage their innovations based on their creative visions. Determinants on the individual level, such as the founder's creative or business orientations, have a lasting impact on the practices and process of their venture. To trace the imprinting influence of the founder's orientation on innovation, the empirical setting is a time-lagged study of German firm owners in the cultural and creative industries surveyed 5 years apart. The results show a significant relationship between creative orientation and innovation, whereas business orientation does not significantly relate to innovation. However, creative and business orientations reveal a negative interaction effect. This study contributes empirical evidence to the paradox theory and the interaction between the opposite poles. Our findings provide valuable insights about the relevance of creative orientation and its visionary impact on the firms' innovation process. Furthermore, the results shed new light on the tension between art and the market, as different compositions of the two orientation poles seem to have a varying impact on the degree of innovation. Thus, the study reveals the complexity of creative entrepreneurship and provides managerial guidance for other knowledge-based industries.     

新的全球定位系统弱信号高灵敏捕获算法

通过对弱信号条件下的全球定位系统(GPS)捕获算法的分析,建立了相干累加—非相干累加结合捕获算法的信号模型及检测概率模型。为了提高强弱信号并存时GPS卫星信号的捕获性能,提出一种采用序贯概率比检测方法的GPS捕获算法。对该方法和相干累加—非相干累加算法的检测概率、时间复杂度进行了分析比较,并进行了仿真验证。通过理论分析和计算机仿真,证明该方法在保证较高检测概率性能情况下,可以有效地缩短强弱信号并存时的检测时间,提高对GPS弱信号的捕获性能。     

How do investors decide? An interdisciplinary review of decision-making in crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is on the rise: its volume grew 1000% in only three years and is about to outpace worldwide venture capital spending. A quickly growing body of research is exploring the emerging crowdfunding phenomenon. While the literature offers a detailed and comprehensive picture of decision-making for traditional startup financing or bank loans, it does not provide a holistic understanding of decisions to invest in crowdfunded ventures. Many individual studies investigate isolated factors that influence investor decision-making in crowdfunding campaigns without integrating the findings regarding those influences. A comprehensive view of the relevant decision-making factors is necessary to build future research on and for practitioners to gain a better understanding of how investors choose. We conduct an interdisciplinary literature review to examine which factors influence the investment decisions in crowdfunding. From an analysis of 68 articles, we construct a comprehensive framework of relevant influence factors. Even though prior research covers many factors, others have received scant attention. Especially investors’ cognitive features and the context in which the investment decision is made seem to strongly influence decisions but are scarcely researched. In addition, most reviewed studies focus more on individual factors and campaign success than underlying decision processes. To highlight novel factors of crowdfunding investment decisions, we compare decision-making in traditional investments, such as venture capital and bank loans, to crowdfunding. Our findings offer new avenues for research toward understanding how the shift induced by crowdfunding changes our choices and actions. The analysis should support the endeavor to build better theories and provide a basis for further social and technological development.     

基于分数阶Fourier变换的多分量LFM信号检测与参数估计

介绍了分数阶Fourier变换的基本原理和基本性质，提出了基于分数阶Fourier变换的多分量LFM信号检测和参数估计方法。为了解决多个LFM分量之间的相互影响问题．特别是强分量掩盖弱分量的问题．本文还提出了一种结合逐次消去思想和分数阶Fourier变换的多分量LFM信号检测和参数估计算法，它可以解决强度相差较大的多分量LFM信号中检测和估计弱LFM分量参数的问题。仿真实验结果证明了该算法的有效性。     

Not all digital venture ideas are created equal: Implications for venture creation processes

Digital ventures are formed around ideas that have digital artifacts at their core. We develop theory that explains how the composition of digital artifacts influences venture creation processes. First, we develop propositions that link differences in the embodiment and coupling of digital artifact components to tensions in venture creation process inputs, behaviors, and outputs. Second, we link compositional differences in digital artifacts to differences in venture creation process initiation, duration, and outcome. Our theorizing establishes a foundation for future research on digital artifacts within and beyond entrepreneurship contexts, and for future research on entrepreneurship within and beyond digital artifact contexts.     

基于混沌振子的微弱ASK信号解调

针对微弱数字调制信号的解调问题,提出了利用混沌振子对周期小信号的敏感性和对噪声的免疫力来解调强噪声中幅移键控(ASK)信号的新方法。详细阐述了基于duffing振子的微弱信号检测方法,结合ASK信号的调制方式,分析了利用duffing振子解调微弱ASK信号的基本思想,并提出利用功率谱熵判别系统状态的新方法。仿真表明,在信噪比为-20dB时,该方法实现了对ASK信号的解调,且抗噪性能优于传统的解调方法。