Crowdfunding Seen through the Lens of the Psychological Contract ^☆

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore to what extent psychological contracts occur between the crowdfunded and the crowdfunders. First argument: fundamentals of finance imply a psychological dimension in financial transactions, which are at the same time contractual. Second arguments: some concrete cases of crowdfunding scandals pertain to contractual violation, which provides evidence for the importance of psychological contracts in crowdfunding projects and processes. This leads to two contributions: (1) a systematic review of the concepts related to psychological contracts theory and the assessment of their transferability to crowdfunding and (2) a list of questions and operational recommendations for every crowdfunding project developer.

Citation

Jardat, R. and Pesqueux, Y. (2016), "Crowdfunding Seen through the Lens of the Psychological Contract ^☆ ", Méric, J., Maque, I. and Brabet, J. (Ed.) International Perspectives on Crowdfunding, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 237-256. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78560-315-020151014