Identifying drivers of Using Crowdfunding by Entrepreneurs (The Case of Tourism Industry)

Crowdfunding is a new way for entrepreneurs to fund-raise, implement, and promote their entrepreneurial ideas and projects, and gives them a means to collect their financial resources from crowd. This study attempts to identify drivers of using crowdfunding by entrepreneurs in the tourism industry. The data for this qualitative (thematic analysis) research were collected through semi-structured interviews with 22 managers and experts with fundraising knowledge and experience from tourism/travel agencies in Tehran and experts from the tourism sector of the Cultural Heritage Organization. The snowball sampling technique was applied. The data were analyzed using open and axial coding. According to the results, drivers of using crowdfunding by the entrepreneurs were classified into six factors including the factors related to the capital seekers, to the capital providers, the platform, the projects and ideas, the method of crowdfunding and the context and environment. Furthermore, this study explored the dimensions of each crowdfunding driving factors that are discussed in this study.