New publication coming soon!

Anders Rykkja, team member of CROWDCUL, has written a chapter with Professor Atle Hauge (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences) on crowdfunding and co-creation of value. The chapter will be published in the anthology Culture, Creativity and Economy Collaborative Practices, Value Creation and Spaces of Creativity (Routledge)

The anthology includes ten individual contributions which analyses and discusses issues and challenges in the contemporary creative economy. Chapters provide insights into a range of topics, from co-working spaces in Berlin and rural Spain, creative businesses in Leicester, and most notably the implications of social media and crowdfunding platforms. Rather than focusing on production processes, specific industries or locations, the text engages with three tensions that have emerged over the course of eight European Colloquiums on Culture, Creativity and Economy (CCE). In no particular order, these tensions highlight 1) tension between individual and collaborative creative practices, 2) tension between tradition and innovation, and 3) tension between isolated and interconnected spaces of creativity.

The chapter investigates the unisex fashion brand Linjer’s adoption of crowdfunding as a business model. Linjer managed to launch a brand through the momentum generated by 3 million dollars in presales of leather goods and watches through ten crowdfunding campaigns. Analysis of data from campaign pages, social media channels and discussions in online forums illustrate how Linjer uses cultural crowdfunding for value co-creation and production with consumers. The chapter evidence, using the concept of the aspirational class and specifically conspicuous production (artisanal production methods combined with transparency about ethical concerns and the origins of goods) how crowdfunding facilitate consumer participation in processes of ascribing value.