MCI research: Crowd funding bolsters innovation

New funding instrument provides capital and information

Last week MCI Management Center Innsbruck researchers Bernd Ebersberger and Annalena Wiesend presented their research on the role of crowd funding in innovation systems at the international EU-SPRI conference in Helsinki. EU-SPRI (European Forum for Studies of Policies for Research and Innovation, www.euspri-forum.eu) strives to build a strong and diverse interdisciplinary research community in the field of innovation policy.

Ebersberger and Wiesend have shown that crowd funding as a new element within the innovation system is able to compensate existing deficiencies. As a relatively new funding instrument for business start-ups and innovators, crowd funding platforms allow a broad audience to co-finance new products or business ventures. Ebersberger and Wiesend have found that crowd funding not only equips companies with capital but also allows them to connect with potential clients within the innovation system, which is essential for the innovation process. This new kind of interaction between customers and innovators provides businesses with information that enables them to better assess market opportunities, modify innovations based on customer input, and ultimately become more successful.

Ebersberger and Wiesend’s research papers have been supported by FIDIAS (www.fidias.eu).

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