Success Factors in Crowdfunding

An Empirical Study and Comparisons in Japan and U.S.

Abstract

We clarified the following three points about the success factors in crowdfunding by analyzing the data of the Japanese reward-based crowdfunding platform “CAMPFIRE” and comparing it with the research of U.S. “Kickstarter.” Firstly, it was confirmed that the increase of target amount and duration were negatively associated with the success rate, and the increase of publicity was positively associated. Secondly, it cannot be said that videos were positively associated with the success rate in Japan, which is in contrast to the existing empirical research about U.S. Thirdly, projects by founders in greater Tokyo area have a high success rate in Japan. These results will contribute to the understandings of the development process of crowdfunding in Japan.