Web 2.0 and Equity Crowdfunding: A Social Network Analysis

Thanks to fundraising from small investors, principally through social media and online forums, equity crowdfunding (EC) is emerging as an important new financing mechanism for new ventures. However, the literature about equity crowdfunding and social media is still scarce, and no studies have jointly investigated these topics in Italy. As a result, this study aims at investigating, through an exploratory quantitative research approach based on social network analysis (SNA) methodology, the role that equity crowdfunding platforms have on social media, specifically on Twitter. The results of our study indicate that higher numbers of tweets and users spoke about equity crowdfunding following the introduction of Consob Regulation no. 20264 (17/01/2018) on equity crowdfunding and the growth of the use of this instrument in the first quarter of 2019. The study contributes to the literature on crowdfunding and social networks, shedding light on specific aspects typical of an equity model.