Transparency and Proximity: Equity Crowdfunding Puts Online Meetings to the Test

Authors

Abstract

Equity crowdfunding (ECF) platforms give entrepreneurs access to numerous investors, but few studies have examined the signals investors send to influence investment decisions. This study takes a holistic approach to the signaling process, complementing existing literature focused on signals sent by entrepreneurs. It explores how ECF platforms enable investors to send signals, thereby enriching the signaling process in a two-sided market characterized by information asymmetry. By combining netnographic analysis of nine French OCE platforms (2020-2023) and nineteen interviews, we identify a typology of interactive online encounters and the conditions that maximize investor signals, highlighting their active role beyond the simple reception of counter-signals.

Author Biographies

Laurence Attuel-Mendes, Burgundy School of Business

Laurence ATTUEL-MENDES est Professeur Associé en droit à Burgundy School of Business (BSB) depuis 2006. Experte en droit des affaires, elle est auteur de plusieurs ouvrages («Consentement et actes juridiques» chez LexisNexis Group, «La responsabilité du chef d’entreprise» aux éditions Eyrolles). Elle a également de nombreuses publications à son actif dans ses thèmes de recherche de prédilection que sont le crowdfunding (relations avec les banques, alternative au financement…) et les aspects règlementaires de la microfinance et du marketing, spécifiquement dans le secteur bancaire et dans celui de la distribution. Directrice Juridique, Relations Institutionnelles et Gouvernance, elle a obtenu son Doctorat à l’Université de Panthéon-Assas Paris II en 2006.

Céline Soulas, CEREN EA 7477, Burgundy School of Business

Céline SOULAS est Professeur Associé en Économie au sein de Burgundy School of Business depuis 2004. Porteuse de plusieurs projets d’étude confiés par des laboratoires pharmaceutiques internationaux, elle concentre ses recherches sur le management de l’innovation et son financement, les liens stratégiques entre «big pharma» et startups de biotechs, et enfin la place des industries de santé dans la régionalisation du système de soins français. Responsable du Mastère Spécialisé en Management de l’Industrie Pharmaceutique du Groupe ESC Dijon-Bourgogne entre 2006 et 2012, elle a obtenu son Doctorat à l’Université de Dijon en 2004. Celine Soulas enseigne l’économie industrielle, l’analyse stratégique et la macroéconomie au sein des programmes Bachelor et Master.

Published

2025-03-01

How to Cite

Attuel-Mendes, L., & Soulas, C. (2025). Transparency and Proximity: Equity Crowdfunding Puts Online Meetings to the Test. Systèmes d’Information Et Management (French Journal of Management Information Systems), 30(1), 23–54. Retrieved from https://revuesim.org/index.php/sim/article/view/1406

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 1 (2025): Digital Finance

Section

Empirical Research Article

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