Richard Harrison is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Co-Director of the Centre for Strategic Leadership, at the University of Edinburgh Business School, UK. He is the founding co-editor of Venture Capital: An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, and the author of 5 books and over 100 academic papers.

This book extends entrepreneurial finance research to the study of crowdfunding. Contributions review the history, status and future of crowdfunding, analyse the patterns of fundraising, assess the potential of crowdfunding for the financing of social ventures in particular, and discuss the regulatory implications of recent developments. While crowdfunding is not a universal solution for SME finance in a post-crisis financial landscape, it is clear that crowdfunding space is still evolving, that institutional forms are still developing as models are refined, and that new challenges are being encountered. This book was originally published as a special issue of Venture Capital.

1. Crowdfunding and the revitalisation of the early stage risk capital market: catalyst or chimera? 2. Crowdfunding social ventures: a model and research agenda 3. Individual crowdfunding practices 4. A conceptualized investment model of crowdfunding 5. Exploring entrepreneurial legitimacy in reward-based crowdfunding 6. Social finance and crowdfunding for social enterprises: a public-private case study providing legitimacy and leverage 7. Demand-driven securities regulation: evidence from crowdfunding