ABSTRACT

Crowdfunding projects have been the subject of contrasting narratives. To many, they are the antithesis of predatory bottom-line business ventures, and to others, they are an under-regulated vehicle for immature, or unscrupulous project owners to exploit inexperienced and vulnerable investors. These differences are significant, given many use crowdfunding to build public awareness and project a positive image. We use the myth of Prometheus – the Greek god associated with “defiant progress” and technological advancement – as a sensitising lens to build a set of competing, dialectic archetypes. We then apply these archetypes through a Hegelian dialectic analysis of three high-profile crowdfunding campaigns. The overarching contribution of the study is that it provides a foundation for discussion of the positive and negative narratives surrounding crowdfunded project owners and explicates the limitations of crowdfunding as an enabler of positive systemic change. The dialectic approach provides a systematic means of identifying the essence of disagreement between narratives. While it may be too early to predict the outcomes for emerging technology-driven initiatives such as crowdfunding, the use of myth offers a sophisticated means to look for “rhyming” phenomena, where the phenomena at play are similar to the grand frailties of humankind throughout history.

摘要

众筹项目一直是对比鲜明的主题。对许多人来说，它们是掠夺性底线商业企业的对立面，而对另一些人来说，它们是不成熟或不道德的项目所有者利用缺乏经验和脆弱的投资者的监管不足的工具。鉴于许多人使用众筹来建立公众意识和树立正面形象，这些差异是显着的。我们使用普罗米修斯的神话——与“反抗进步”和技术进步相关的希腊神——作为一个敏感的镜头来建立一套相互竞争的、辩证的原型。然后，我们通过对三个备受瞩目的众筹活动的黑格尔辩证分析来应用这些原型。该研究的首要贡献在于，它为讨论围绕众筹项目所有者的正面和负面叙述提供了基础，并阐明了众筹作为积极系统变革的推动者的局限性。辩证法提供了一种识别叙事之间分歧本质的系统方法。虽然现在预测新兴技术驱动的计划（如众筹）的结果可能还为时过早，但神话的使用提供了一种寻找“押韵”现象的复杂方法，其中所起作用的现象类似于人类自始至终的弱点历史。辩证法提供了一种识别叙事之间分歧本质的系统方法。虽然现在预测新兴技术驱动的计划（如众筹）的结果可能还为时过早，但神话的使用提供了一种寻找“押韵”现象的复杂方法，其中所起作用的现象类似于人类自始至终的弱点历史。辩证法提供了一种识别叙事之间分歧本质的系统方法。虽然现在预测新兴技术驱动的计划（如众筹）的结果可能还为时过早，但神话的使用提供了一种寻找“押韵”现象的复杂方法，其中所起作用的现象类似于人类自始至终的弱点历史。