What do crowdfunding platforms do? A comparison between investment-based platforms in Europe

Despite the growing popularity of investment-based crowdfunding, we know little about what platforms do before the campaign. This is among the first studies to provide cross-platform evidence on investment-based crowdfunding. First, we describe the regulation and development over time of investment-based crowdfunding markets in France, Italy, Germany, and the UK. Second, using a sample of 127 platforms in these countries, we document which services are offered to proponents before, during, and after the campaigns. Finally, our econometric analysis shows that a higher number of post-campaign services offered by the platforms increase the annual number of successful campaigns. Services offered before and during campaigns do not attract more campaigns to the platforms.