IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ibf/acttax/v15y2023i1p31-54.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role Of Voluntarily Disclosed Information On Crowdfunding Success: Evidence From Kickstarter

Author

Listed:
  • Ashley Gangloff
  • Karen Schnatterly
  • Neal M. Snow
  • Patrick Wheeler
  • James Whitworth

Abstract

Information crowdfunding discloses deviates from mainstream business disclosures in several important ways. In this study, we examine one aspect of this information phenomenon, i.e., the textual, nonmonetary, nonfinancial content of voluntary crowdfunding disclosures. We build on literature on voluntary disclosure, crowdfunding, and content analysis by examining how voluntary disclosure impacts funding success on one of the most successful crowdfunding websites, Kickstarter. Using a large sample of over two years of projects (102,967 projects), we find that the volume and content of voluntary disclosure impact funding success, and that those main effects differ based on discloser credibility and market competition in ways consistent with prior voluntary disclosure literature. Our results have implications for crowdfunding and regulators by providing new insight into crowdfunding stakeholder decision-making.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashley Gangloff & Karen Schnatterly & Neal M. Snow & Patrick Wheeler & James Whitworth, 2023. "The Role Of Voluntarily Disclosed Information On Crowdfunding Success: Evidence From Kickstarter," Accounting & Taxation, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 15(2), pages 31-54.
  • Handle: RePEc:ibf:acttax:v:15:y:2023:i:1:p:31-54
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/acttax/at-v15n2-2023/AT-V15N2-2023-3.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Skinner, Dj, 1994. "Why Firms Voluntarily Disclose Bad-News," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 38-60.
    2. Stefano Cascino & Maria Correia & Ane Tamayo, 2019. "Does Consumer Protection Enhance Disclosure Credibility in Reward Crowdfunding?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(5), pages 1247-1302, December.
    3. Benjamin Lansford & Baruch Lev & Jennifer Wu Tucker, 2013. "Causes and Consequences of Disaggregating Earnings Guidance," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1-2), pages 26-54, January.
    4. Mark H. Lang & Russell J. Lundholm, 2000. "Voluntary Disclosure and Equity Offerings: Reducing Information Asymmetry or Hyping the Stock?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 623-662, December.
    5. Eng, L. L. & Mak, Y. T., 2003. "Corporate governance and voluntary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 325-345.
    6. Jennifer Francis & Dhananjay Nanda & Per Olsson, 2008. "Voluntary Disclosure, Earnings Quality, and Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 53-99, March.
    7. Frankel, R & Johnson, M & Skinner, DJ, 1999. "An empirical examination of conference calls as a voluntary disclosure medium," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 133-150.
    8. Glover, SM, 1997. "The influence of time pressure and accountability on auditors' processing of nondiagnostic information," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 213-226.
    9. Amy P. Hutton & Gregory S. Miller & Douglas J. Skinner, 2003. "The Role of Supplementary Statements with Management Earnings Forecasts," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 867-890, December.
    10. Yuan-Shuh Lii & Monle Lee, 2012. "Doing Right Leads to Doing Well: When the Type of CSR and Reputation Interact to Affect Consumer Evaluations of the Firm," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(1), pages 69-81, January.
    11. Xu, Jin, 2012. "Profitability and capital structure: Evidence from import penetration," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(2), pages 427-446.
    12. Glosten, Lawrence R. & Milgrom, Paul R., 1985. "Bid, ask and transaction prices in a specialist market with heterogeneously informed traders," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 71-100, March.
    13. Verrecchia, Robert E., 2001. "Essays on disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 97-180, December.
    14. Li, Feng, 2008. "Annual report readability, current earnings, and earnings persistence," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2-3), pages 221-247, August.
    15. Price, S. McKay & Doran, James S. & Peterson, David R. & Bliss, Barbara A., 2012. "Earnings conference calls and stock returns: The incremental informativeness of textual tone," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 992-1011.
    16. Verrecchia, Robert E., 1990. "Information quality and discretionary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 365-380, March.
    17. Paul R. Milgrom, 1981. "Good News and Bad News: Representation Theorems and Applications," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(2), pages 380-391, Autumn.
    18. Mollick, Ethan, 2014. "The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16.
    19. Hackenbrack, K, 1992. "Implications Of Seemingly Irrelevant Evidence In Audit Judgment," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 126-136.
    20. Harris, MS, 1998. "The association between competition and managers' business segment reporting decisions," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 111-128.
    21. Irene Karamanou & Nikos Vafeas, 2005. "The Association between Corporate Boards, Audit Committees, and Management Earnings Forecasts: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 453-486, June.
    22. Khondkar E. Karim & Robert Pinsker & Ashok Robin, 2013. "Firm size and the voluntary disclosure of nonfinancial information by private versus public firm managers," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(9), pages 866-892, October.
    23. Kumar Sivakumar & Gregory Waymire, 1994. "Voluntary Interim Disclosure by Early 20th Century NYSE Industrials," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 673-698, March.
    24. ., 1999. "Bounded rationality," Chapters, in: The Economics of the Mind, chapter 4, pages 41-49, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    25. Aboody, David & Kasznik, Ron, 2000. "CEO stock option awards and the timing of corporate voluntary disclosures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 73-100, February.
    26. Healy, Paul M. & Palepu, Krishna G., 2001. "Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 405-440, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Beyer, Anne & Cohen, Daniel A. & Lys, Thomas Z. & Walther, Beverly R., 2010. "The financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 296-343, December.
    2. Rezaee, Zabihollah & Tuo, Ling, 2017. "Voluntary disclosure of non-financial information and its association with sustainability performance," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 47-59.
    3. Stephan Hollander & Maarten Pronk & Erik Roelofsen, 2010. "Does Silence Speak? An Empirical Analysis of Disclosure Choices During Conference Calls," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 531-563, June.
    4. Encarna Guillamón-Saorín & Carlos M. P. Sousa, 2014. "Voluntary Disclosure of Press Releases and the Importance of Timing: A Comparative Study of the UK and Spain," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 71-106, February.
    5. S. P. Kothari & Susan Shu & Peter D. Wysocki, 2009. "Do Managers Withhold Bad News?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 241-276, March.
    6. Robert Fraunhoffer & Ho Young Kim & Dirk Schiereck, 2018. "Value Creation in M&A Transactions, Conference Calls, and Shareholder Protection," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-21, January.
    7. Christian Leuz & Peter D. Wysocki, 2016. "The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 525-622, May.
    8. Allaya, Manel & Derouiche, Imen & Muessig, Anke, 2022. "Voluntary disclosure, ownership structure, and corporate debt maturity: A study of French listed firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    9. Richard Chung & Bryan Byung-Hee Lee & Woo-Jong Lee & Byungcherl Charlie Sohn, 2016. "Do Managers Withhold Good News from Labor Unions?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(1), pages 46-68, January.
    10. Nikolaev, V. & van Lent, L.A.G.M., 2005. "The Endogeneity Bias in the Relation Between Cost-of-Debt Capital and Corporate Disclosure Policy," Discussion Paper 2005-67, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    11. Nikolaev, V. & van Lent, L.A.G.M., 2005. "The Endogeneity Bias in the Relation Between Cost-of-Debt Capital and Corporate Disclosure Policy," Other publications TiSEM 5960a342-0adc-4f85-bf87-2, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    12. Nikolaev, V. & van Lent, L.A.G.M., 2005. "The endogeneity bias in the relation between cost-of-debt capital and corporate disclosure policy," Other publications TiSEM 04869b30-e8a9-4ecf-84ae-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    13. Imhof, Michael J & Seavey, Scott E., 2018. "How investors value cash and cash flows when managers commit to providing earnings forecasts," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 74-87.
    14. Heitzman, Shane & Wasley, Charles & Zimmerman, Jerold, 2010. "The joint effects of materiality thresholds and voluntary disclosure incentives on firms' disclosure decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1-2), pages 109-132, February.
    15. Mouselli, Sulaiman & Jaafar, Aziz & Hussainey, Khaled, 2012. "Accruals quality vis-à-vis disclosure quality: Substitutes or complements?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 36-46.
    16. Jennifer Francis & Dhananjay Nanda & Per Olsson, 2008. "Voluntary Disclosure, Earnings Quality, and Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 53-99, March.
    17. Qiang Cheng & Young Jun Cho & Jae B. Kim, 2021. "Managers’ pay duration and voluntary disclosures," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(7-8), pages 1332-1367, July.
    18. Nagar, Venky & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter, 2003. "Discretionary disclosure and stock-based incentives," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1-3), pages 283-309, January.
    19. Gary M. Entwistle & Glenn D. Feltham & Chima Mbagwu, 2012. "Credibility Attributes and Investor Perceptions of Non‐GAAP Earnings Exclusions," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(4), pages 229-257, December.
    20. S. Price & Jesus Salas & C. Sirmans, 2015. "Governance, Conference Calls and CEO Compensation," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 181-206, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agency Theory; Crowdfunding; Content Analysis; Voluntary Disclosure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • G29 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Other

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ibf:acttax:v:15:y:2023:i:1:p:31-54. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Mercedes Jalbert (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.