PhD defence C. (Carolina) Dalla Chiesa

This dissertation unites chapters and article-based analyses about crowdfunding from three different perspectives: economic, symbolic, and institutional. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this dissertation unveils the crowdfunding phenomenon through varied methodologies and conceptual standpoints. Chiefly, it portrays an image of crowdfunding as a phenomenon rooted in localities, material, commercial and non-commercial motivations. As argued in the different sections, crowdfunding strengthens various cultural markets through an innovative platform-based mechanism. More typically, in the case of creative industries-based areas, crowdfunding unites artists, independent creators, amateurs, and professionals in search of upfront funds for not yet commercialized products, cultural events, and charitable initiatives. Crowdfunding, therefore, welcomes diverse expressions as a medium, more than an end in itself. It solves concrete problems for cultural projects: for non-commercial endeavors, crowdfunding allows the access of fan-investors, donors, or enthusiasts to new projects by providing small but numerous monetary contributions; for commercially-driven projects, crowdfunding feeds innovation-driven consumers, early-adopters and investors whose motivations to access new goods and services encompasses not only use-value but also a strong prosocial behavior.

The public defence will take place at the Senate Hall, 1st floor Erasmus Building, location campus Woudestein. The ceremony will begin exactly at 15.30 PM. In light of the solemn nature of the ceremony, we recommend that you do not take children under the age of 6 to the first part of the ceremony.