| Abstract |
The paper at hand deals with crowdfunding as a web 2.0 technology that has recently penetrated traditional finance. Crowdfunding promises to improve access to finance to larger numbers of citizens and businesses, by bringing together demand and supply of available funds on a digital platform outside the well-established regulated banking system. Crowdfunding depends on technology-related factors, but also on the regulatory framework in terms of traditional financial activity and crowdfunding legislation progress. Country-specific credit and financing conditions on the regulated financial market may explain the search for alternative financing methods. These factors are analyzed for four Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania. We also analyze the influence of increased well-being on crowdfunding development in the selected countries in order to explain that the former is a determinant of crowdfunding development even in the absence of specific crowdfunding regulations. Crowdfunding covers financing needs for personal and business projects, but also for civic projects in the context of smart city development. Therefore, it is an instrument to be considered by city managers, as well. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022. |
