Paper Number

2271

Paper Type

Complete

Description

A new idea usually follows a stream of similar ideas yet simultaneously combines atypical elements from ideas outside this stream. A successful business idea usually balances well between familiarity and atypicality. To investigate the relationship between atypicality innovation and crowdfunding project performance, we collected data from one of the largest crowdfunding platforms in China. We build a similarity network of crowdfunding projects to measure the degree of atypicality innovation for these projects. Using a double machine learning model, we find that the atypical combination of mainstream and niche ideas has a significant positive effect on the individual project's funding, i.e., five times more successful than other projects. We also find the potential reasons that cause the poor performance of niche and mainstream projects. Donors are more conservative due to the high risk of niche projects and driven away by the monotonous repetition of mainstream projects.

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Dec 12th, 12:00 AM

Afraid of Niche, Tired of Mass: Atypical Idea Combination on Crowdfunding Platform

A new idea usually follows a stream of similar ideas yet simultaneously combines atypical elements from ideas outside this stream. A successful business idea usually balances well between familiarity and atypicality. To investigate the relationship between atypicality innovation and crowdfunding project performance, we collected data from one of the largest crowdfunding platforms in China. We build a similarity network of crowdfunding projects to measure the degree of atypicality innovation for these projects. Using a double machine learning model, we find that the atypical combination of mainstream and niche ideas has a significant positive effect on the individual project's funding, i.e., five times more successful than other projects. We also find the potential reasons that cause the poor performance of niche and mainstream projects. Donors are more conservative due to the high risk of niche projects and driven away by the monotonous repetition of mainstream projects.

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