The role of financial interest in campaign success: A signaling theory approach to equity crowdfunding

This study investigates the relationship between financial interest and the success of crowdfunding campaigns. The data were directly extracted from the official website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), encompassing 2,948 crowdfunding offerings conducted between Q1 2021 and Q3 2024. A multivariate regression analysis was employed to examine the influence of financial interest on campaign success rates. Two interaction effects were tested: the moderating role of firm age and the moderating role of campaign success level. In addition, key control variables were incorporated into the models—namely, offering amount and number of employees in both hypotheses, and firm age specifically in the third hypothesis. The findings reveal a positive association between financial interest and campaign success, with stronger effects observed for highly successful campaigns and firms with longer operating histories. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the determinants of crowdfunding success and offer practical implications for both platforms and investors. Keywords: Crowdfunding, Campaign Success Rate, Financial Interest, Signaling Theory, Venture Capital