This work, inspired by the first experience of its writer as a lender on the web platform Kiva.org, presents an analysis involving 4221 investors in order to show that preferences of individuals may play an important, somewhat counterintuitive role in the social-lending crowdfunding environment. First, in fact, it is found that lenders who are able to satisfy their initial preferences regarding a project to support tend to invest fewer times compared to individuals who are not able to find a project available that fully satisfies them. Second, between lenders who faced this “mismatch” between their preferences and the projects available, those who experienced the stress of moving to a different country – relocation anxiety – tend to invest fewer times. Third, however, the geographical location of projects does not appear to be a critical variable at play when formulating preferences regarding a project, so that investors who do not give importance to geography when selecting projects tend to support more of them. It is therefore crucial for managers of social-lending platforms to get to know their users’ behavior in this regard, to analyze it and to consider it carefully in order to provide them with the best answers to their needs.
| Date of Award | 1 Jul 2014 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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| Supervisor | Juan Andrei Villarroel Fernandéz (Supervisor) |
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The incentive effect of unsatisfied preferences in a social-lending crowdfunding setting: evidence from Kiva.org
Fortis, S. (Student). 1 Jul 2014
Student thesis: Master's Thesis