Beauty of Crowdfunding: Blooming Creativity and Innovation in the Digital Era

145 Pages·2019·0.761 MB·English

by  Sunghan Ryu

Beauty of Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is emerging as a new source of financing for creativity and
innovation. It promotes the launching and scaling of new projects for different
types of creators by providing networked platforms and handy digital tools.
This book provides insight into crowdfunding and how crowdfunding contributes
to our communities and society. The book includes an overview of existing
discussions across different disciplines, that is, entrepreneurship, information
systems, and marketing, and correlates the literature to the best crowdfunding
practices.
The book begins with origins, basic notions, and antecedents of crowdfunding.
In the main parts, it demonstrates the five distinguished facets of crowdfunding:
creativity, diversity, balance, connection, and change. It also addresses the
drawbacks of crowdfunding and subsequent outcomes of crowdfunding success.
Finally, it provides a perspective on the future of crowdfunding.
Sunghan Ryu is Assistant Professor at USC-SJTU Institute of Cultural and
Creative Industry in Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His research and teaching focus
on IT innovations in cultural and creative domains from a business/management
perspective. His current research projects revolve around crowdfunding and its
impacts on creativity and innovation. He lives in Shanghai, China, with his wife
and three daughters.
Routledge Frontiers of Business Management
Innovation and Internationalisation
Successful SMEs’ Ventures into China
Stuart Orr, Jane Menzies, Connie Zheng and Sajeewa ‘Pat’ Maddumage
Technological Substitution in Asia
Ewa Lechman
China and Global Value Chains
Globalization and the Information and Communications Technology Sector
Yutao Sun and Seamus Grimes
Transformational Entrepreneurship
Edited by Vanessa Ratten and Paul Jones
Labor Relations and Human Resource Management in China
Connie Zheng
The Management of Consumer Co-operatives in Korea
Identity, Participation and Sustainability
Edited by Seungkwon Jang
Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Inequality
Exploring Territorial Dynamics and Development
Edited by Vanessa Ratten, Jose Álvarez-García and
Maria de la Cruz del Rio-Rama
Innovation and Industrial Development in China
A Schumpeterian Perspective on China’s Economic Transformation
Kaidong Feng
Beauty of Crowdfunding
Blooming Creativity and Innovation in the Digital Era
Sunghan Ryu
For more information about this series, please visit www.routledge.com/series/
RFBM
Beauty of Crowdfunding
Blooming Creativity and Innovation
in the Digital Era
Sunghan Ryu
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2020 Sunghan Ryu
The right of Sunghan Ryu to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ryu, Sunghan, author.
Title: Beauty of crowdfunding : blooming creativity and innovation in
the digital era / Sunghan Ryu.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. |
Series: Routledge frontiers of business management | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019042361 (print) | LCCN 2019042362
(ebook) |
Subjects: LCSH: Crowd funding. | Creative ability in business. | New
business enterprises—Finance.
Classification: LCC HG4751 .R97 2020 (print) | LCC HG4751
(ebook) | DDC 658.15/224—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019042361
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019042362
ISBN: 978-0-367-19853-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-24371-4 (ebk)
Typeset in Galliard
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
For my wife Soohee and daughters Jimin, Jiwon,
and Jina

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments x
Introduction 1
PART 1
About crowdfunding 11
1 Crowdfunding: an old story? 13
2 How crowdfunding works 16
3 Understanding the foundation of crowdfunding 21
4 What we know (and don’t know) about
crowdfunding 31
PART 2
Beauty of crowdfunding 37
5 Creativity 39
6 Diversity 49
7 Balance 64
8 Connection 77
9 Change 88
viii Contents
PART 3
Behind crowdfunding 103
10 Key challenges and drawbacks of crowdfunding 105
11 What comes next after crowdfunding 114
Epilogue: Divergence and convergence 121
Index 126
Preface
Of life’s two chief prizes, beauty and truth, I found the first in a loving heart
and the second in a laborer’s hand.
– Khalil Gibran
In the summer of 2012, I was struggling to encounter my doctoral disserta-
tion theme. To me, crowdfunding was like a revelation. I have wandered across
business, culture, and technology and found myself with scant suspicion of the
current financial systems. Many vital sectors of our society have been neglected
and overlooked by the capital markets. We could have seen more creativity and
innovation on a “better” ground.
I heard of crowdfunding from one of my friends who had just initiated a
crowdfunding platform in Seoul, Korea. When I listened to the story, I fell into
the world of crowdfunding. I thought it was beautiful, possessing beauty inside
of it. What beauty? Isn’t it a new platform business? This book is the record of
the journey to finding the roots of my fascination on the beauty of crowdfunding.
Crowdfunding was in the toddler stage at that time. I asked to meet the team
behind the representative crowdfunding platform in Korea. We met and agreed
to kick-start a research project. I made mistakes and messed up many times dur-
ing the project, but thanks to their tolerance and support, I received my doctoral
degree in the summer of 2014. That was just the beginning. After that, I initi-
ated a series of studies on crowdfunding. I was fortunate enough to publish some
journal papers and book chapters on crowdfunding. In the meanwhile, crowd-
funding seemed to enter into its childhood. A major portion of the population
is familiar with the concept, but unfortunately, many overlook the true beauty of
crowdfunding. I thought it was the right timing for writing this book.
It did take around a year to finish the project, which was much longer than
expected. But, while working, I felt grateful as I could enjoy the two chief prizes
of life: beauty and truth. I again realized my love of crowdfunding and felt alive
while writing this book with my two hands.
I hope you will participate in my journey toward encountering the beauty (and
truth) of crowdfunding!