Abstract
Every company must secure adequate financing to cover its operational and investment needs. Capital is essential for any organisation to function. Financing, therefore, refers to the accumulation or acquisition of capital in order to invest it effectively (Michalak, 2007). There are many sources of financing for business activities. The most popular form is equity capital, although this is often insufficient for investment purposes. Consequently, companies often require external capital. This can have many sources. Contemporary financing methods often provide an alternative way to obtain funds for a company’s activities, offering a cheaper, faster or more flexible option.
The aim of this article is to examine whether crowdfunding constituted an alternative to bank-based financing in the years 2020–2023. The study addresses the following research hypotheses:
H1: In the period 2020–2023, crowdfunding was primarily utilised by start-up entities.
H2: Entities that did not obtain financing from banking institutions in the years 2020–2023 perceived crowdfunding as an alternative source of capital.
The quantitative study conducted on a sample of 150 enterprises demonstrated that, between 2020 and 2023, only a marginal proportion of respondents used crowdfunding as a financing source, at approximately 10%. The entities that opted for this financing method were primarily start-ups, defined as enterprises operating for fewer than ten years, characterised by innovative technologies and/or business models, and oriented toward substantial growth in employment and/or sales (Kollmann et al., 2015, p. 15).
The analysis further revealed that, during the examined period, crowdfunding in Poland was predominantly used by organisations operating in the IT, medical, cosmetics, and arts and culture sectors. It is important to emphasise that the overall level of awareness regarding this form of financing remained relatively low. Only 20% of the surveyed entities identified crowdfunding as an attractive option; 24% expressed no opinion; and 56% reported having no knowledge of this financing instrument.
Moreover, the results indicate that Polish entrepreneurs most commonly recognise traditional sources of business financing, such as bank loans, internal funds, and capital borrowed from family members or affiliated entities.
To fulfil the research objective, a quantitative survey was carried out using a structured questionnaire. The survey findings were complemented by in-depth interviews (IDIs), which enabled a more nuanced interpretation of the results. The formulation of recommendations employed generalisation and synthesis methods, including deduction, induction and reduction.
The inductive approach was applied to assess the significance of crowdfunding, moving from the analysis of specific phenomena towards broader generalisations. In contrast, the deductive approach facilitated the examination of how business entities engaged in crowdfunding during the analysed period. Verification of the research hypotheses was conducted through reduction, drawing on empirical findings and a critical review of the literature.