Financing local development through crowdfunding: An empirical analysis of social projects in Portugal

Crowdfunding (CF) is an increasingly attractive source to fund social projects. However, to our best knowledge, the study of CF for social purposes has remained largely unexplored in the literature. This research envisages a detailed examination of the role of CF on the early-stage of the social projects at regional level. By comparing the characteristics of the projects available in the Portuguese Social Stock Exchange (PSSE) platform with others that did not use this source of financial support, we explore its role on regional development. The results we got show that, in most cases, both PSSE and Non-Governmental Organizations projects complemented the services offered by the State or by the private sector. Furthermore, about a quarter of the projects present in PSSE operated in areas that were not being addressed neither by the services offered by the State nor by the ones of the private sector. The results attained show that more recent social ventures have a greater propensity to use PSSE. The same is find in those organizations which work closely with the target audience. We also observed that the use of PSSE was correlated with the geographical scope of the Social Venture. The circumstance of having the social organization acting at a local or regional level seems to be strongly associated with the possibility of using social crowdfunding for financing social projects.

Financing social ventures by crowdfunding: The inflluence of entrepreneurs’ personality traits

Purpose – This research aims to understand the role played by social entrepreneurs’ personality traits on the choice between the traditional donation model and social crowdfunding (CF) to finance social projects. Design/methodology/approach – Social CF is examined as an instrument to capture funds for social projects, and the particular case of the Portuguese Social Stock Exchange (PSSE) is presented. The approach is quantitative in nature and the data were collected through a questionnaire that was emailed to non-governmental organizations in Portugal and founders of the projects listed on PSSE. Logistic regression was employed to predict the probability that a social entrepreneur would use PSSE rather than traditional financing. The predictor variables were based on the big five personality traits. Findings – Our investigation reveals that the agreeableness and neuroticism factors were not even considered in the results of the factorial analysis, which indicates the minor importance of these personality traits in the funding decisions of the Portuguese social entrepreneurs. The same applies to the factors of openness to new experiences and extraversion, which, although considered in the logistic analysis, showed no statistical significance. Finally, the conscientiousness personality trait seems to be the only factor that might explain the use of the PSSE platform.Originality/value – Studies on the profile of the social entrepreneurs that use CF for financing social projects are relatively rare, specifically in the context of Social Stock Exchange platforms. Additionally, there is a need to carry out more empirical evidence about the effect of social entrepreneurs’ personality traits on the decision to finance social projects through social CF platforms vis-a-vis the traditional donation model.

Potential of civic crowdfunding to the intelligence of cities and social innovation: an exploratory study

The concepts of smart city and social innovation in combination with the increasing use of ICT by citizens and public authorities could enhance the involvement of people on the decisions that directly affect their daily life. A case study approach was adopted to illustrate the potential of civic crowdfunding for increasing the participation and collaboration between citizens, firms and government. The analysis of two exemplary cases shows that civic crowdfunding platforms could be used by public administration to engage communities in the search of solutions to local problems. Likewise, it could be used to reinforce the community ties and to leverage the bonds among the stakeholders and the partners of the community ecosystem.

Relatório de estágio “Cidade com perfil – ecologia urbana”

A internacionalização assume no contexto atual uma grande importância para as empresas, apresentando-se como tema central em vários estudos, nos quais este é analisado desde as mais diversas perspetivas. Deste modo, e devido a diversos fatores de origem interna e externa, as empresas optam por operar em vários mercados, para além do doméstico, procurando expandir a sua atividade internacionalmente. Escolhem assim o mercado de destino mais indicado, bem como a forma de entrada tendo, neste âmbito, ao seu dispor um conjunto de opções, de acordo com as suas caraterísticas e as do ambiente em que irão atuar. Neste contexto, o presente relatório visa descrever o estágio curricular realizado na empresa “Cidade Com Perfil – Ecologia Urbana, Lda.” durante um período de quatro meses, que se focou na temática da internacionalização. O estágio teve como objetivo estruturar e padronizar o processo de expansão internacional da empresa, tendo-se apresentado como principais tarefas a formalização de procedimentos, assim como atividades ligadas à distribuição e comunicação. Entre estas destaca-se a pesquisa e o estabelecimento de contactos com intermediários e outras entidades importantes ao processo de internacionalização, e a organização da exposição numa feira internacional.