“I Invest by Following Lead Investors!” The Role of Lead Investors in Fundraising Performance of Equity Crowdfunding

Psychological factors play a critical role in affecting investor decisions. This study explores how lead investors influence following investors psychologically, thus affecting fundraising performance of equity crowdfunding. We draw upon the signaling theory and observational learning theory to argue that following investors could be induced to invest in a project if they observe the proportion of funding by lead investors in the funding target...