Crowdlending: mapping the core literature and research frontiers

Transformational and entrepreneurial leadership: A review of distinction and overlap

Entrepreneurship represents a key motor of economic growth, and entrepreneurial leadership (EL) represents a vital constituent thereof. However, its examination remains factious, and integration with the wider leadership literature is fragmentary. EL is claimed by some as representing a construct distinct from extant leadership styles, even though the major contribution made by transformational leadership (TL) theory remains under-researched and under-reported. Furthermore, TL is often used to measure leaders in entrepreneurship, resulting in a lack of clarity regarding the relationship between TL and EL. Our study seeks to contribute to the literature by elucidating the distinction and overlap between the two leadership constructs, as currently defined by available questionnaires. To this end, conceptual work, current findings, and research practice are reviewed. Drawn from a final sample of 25 articles, our findings show appreciable conceptual divergence. However, questionnaires of EL overlap significantly with TL and are subject to validation and discriminant validity issues; many researchers furthermore continue to use TL questionnaires to measure EL. Very little compelling empirical evidence for divergent validity was found, though strong correlations between EL and TL were observed. Our study contributes an overview of EL from the viewpoint of leadership science, providing recommendations to entrepreneurship researchers examining EL. We suggest that future work should satisfy two main goals: the establishment of a conceptualization of EL which can empirically demonstrate divergent validity versus other, accepted measures of leadership, and the creation of a cogent and a specific theoretical model to support it.

Investors' confidence in the crowdlending platform and the impact of Covid-19

Crowdlending platforms have gained importance in recent years due to digitalization. The Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted the entire economy, including repercussions on digital transactions. Investors considering transactions on these platforms require confidence in both the platform and the project in order to make the right decision. For this reason, this study analyzes the links between the parties involved in the process. A survey was sent to 135 investors on the Colectual platform in January 2022, and the research method adopted is Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The study examines the connections between the platform, the investors, and the project developers, to assess the influence exerted by the platform on the confidence of the parties seeking and providing investment. The main result is that Covid-19 has been a key factor in the confidence of investors in the platform, and it has had a significant influence on the investments made.