Influence of geography in the crowdfunding of a local microbrewery

The literature regularly recalls the interest of citizens in financing project promoters. When these contributors finance projects via crowdfunding platforms, they benefit, according to the literature, from reduced information asymmetry, an information cost close to zero and access to a myriad of projects. Financial theory defines a local bias whereby investors prefer to hold securities that are geographically close. The modern portfolio theory of Markowitz (1952) considers this situation as a decision anomaly. Conversely, investors might rationally engage in local firms if they perceived above-average returns, if geographic proximity allowed them to obtain insider information about the firm (and thereby reduce information asymmetry) or made them more able to exercise a right of control. Through our research on a local La Rochelle microbrewery, we are studying the role of local and domestic bias (family and friend circle) in crowdfunding choices.
JEL Codes: G2, G3, O3