The dependence of successful social crowdfunding on investor trust: research on enhancing factors

Abstract

This thesis examines the importance of trust creation in crowdfunding. Along the case of Go Parity, a social crowdlending platform, measures to strengthen the trust of private investors are assessed. Hence, GoParity’s past achievements and current challenges with regards to trust cre ation are analysed. A survey consisting of 367 respondents, and 14 interviews constitute the research. Accordingly, solutions are developed, evaluated, and translated into recommenda tions, accompanied by an implementation plan. Subsequently, the focus is narrowed down to greenwashing in impact investment as one potential obstacle towards investor trust creation. In this respect, challenges, as well as improvement potential are explored.