Investigations into the Structure of Crowdfunding Research and the Role of the Content and Linguistic Cues in Risk Disclosure in Crowdfunding Campaigns A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Ahmad Ridhuwan Abdullah Master of Science in Finance (Northern University of Malaysia) Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance (MARA University of Technology) School of Economics Finance and Marketing College of Business RMIT University March 2019 i DECLARATION I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. Ahmad Ridhuwan Abdullah 25 March 2019 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors, Professor Jason Potts, Dr Nthati Rametse, and Dr Joanne Laban for their wisdom and constructive supervision, consistent encouragement, and intellectual commitment in guiding me since the first day of my study and upon finishing writing this thesis. Special thanks to Professor Jason Potts who is kind- hearted enough to allow me to develop my own academic interests. I must thank my family members, especially my wife Siti Salwani Abdullah and my daughter Dhia Alia for their support and encouragement throughout my study. They went through hard times throughout the research process and I am grateful for their patience and understanding. To my mom, parents-in-law, and siblings, thank you for your unconditional trust, encouragement and prayers which have helped me to fulfil my dream. I would also like to express gratitude to all of my friends who were involved directly or indirectly in my study. Their contribution to my study provided me with a conducive and productive learning environment that has played a crucial role in the completion of this research. Thank you for all of your support and assistance. Finally, special thanks to the School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT University, for providing me a place to embark upon my PhD journey and all the facilities required to complete my research. A hearty thank you also goes to the Ministry of Education Malaysia and my employer, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan for giving me the valuable opportunity to further my study in Australia. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .............................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. III TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ IV LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... X LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... XII ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ XIV CHAPTER 1 .................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Research Background ................................................................................. 1 1.3 Problem Statement ...................................................................................... 6 1.3.1 Issue 1: The Multidisciplinary Structure and the Major Focus of Crowdfunding Research on Success Factors ...................................................... 6 1.3.2 Issue 2: The Introduction of Risk Disclosure Requirement and its Relationship with Crowdfunding Success ............................................................ 8 1.4 Research Aims, Objectives and Questions ................................................ 10 1.5 The significance of the Research ............................................................... 12 1.6 The organisation of the Thesis ........................................................................ 14 CHAPTER 2 .................................................................................................................. 16 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................ 16 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 16 2.2 Overview of crowdfunding .......................................................................... 16 2.2.1 What is Crowdfunding? .......................................................................... 16 2.2.2 Crowdfunding Models ............................................................................ 21 2.2.3 History and Development of Crowdfunding ............................................ 24 2.3 Crowdfunding Success .............................................................................. 29 2.3.1 Previous Research on the Factors Related to Crowdfunding Success ... 29 2.3.2 The Role of Risk Disclosure on Crowdfunding Success ......................... 37 2.3.3 The Role of Information Content and Linguistic Features of Risk Disclosure ......................................................................................................... 40 iv 2.4 Overview of the Kickstarter Platform .......................................................... 41 2.4.1 Previous Crowdfunding Studies Utilising Kickstarter Data ...................... 43 2.5 Chapter Summary ...................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER 3 .................................................................................................................. 46 STUDY 1: BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CROWDFUNDING RESEARCH ............... 46 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 46 3.2 Literature Review and the Current State of Crowdfunding Research ......... 46 3.2.1 Previous Systematic Review of Crowdfunding Research ....................... 48 3.3 Methodology .............................................................................................. 49 3.3.1 Bibliometric Analysis as an Approach for Reviewing Crowdfunding Research ........................................................................................................... 49 3.3.2 Data collection and analysis ................................................................... 50 3.4 Results ...................................................................................................... 53 3.4.1 Descriptive Analysis ............................................................................... 53 3.4.2 Co-citation Network ................................................................................ 54 Entrepreneurship and new business development ............................................ 57 3.4.3 Co-word Network Analysis ..................................................................... 57 3.5 Discussion ................................................................................................. 64 3.6 Chapter Summary ...................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER 4 .................................................................................................................. 68 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH FOR STUDY 2 AND STUDY 3 ....................................................................................................................... 68 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 68 4.2 Research Paradigm and Strategies ........................................................... 68 4.3 Content Analysis ........................................................................................ 69 4.3.1 Quantitative Content Analysis ................................................................ 70 4.3.2 Methodological Principles of Quantitative Content Analysis ................... 74 4.3.2.1 Theory and rationale ...................................................................... 74 4.3.2.2 Conceptualisation ........................................................................... 74 4.3.2.3 Operationalisation .......................................................................... 74 4.3.2.4 Computer coding schemes ............................................................. 74 4.3.2.5 Sampling ........................................................................................ 74 4.3.2.6 Coding ........................................................................................... 75 v 4.3.2.7 Tabulation and reporting ................................................................ 75 4.4 Chapter Summary ...................................................................................... 75 CHAPTER 5 .................................................................................................................