In cryptocurrency markets, credibility may be created before it can be verified. Promotional signals from influencers, online communities, exchanges, and project actors can create an impression of legitimacy before consumers are able to independently assess the quality, risks, or underlying value of the asset. This systematic review examines how promotional activity contributes to this condition and how the literature connects it with ethical concerns, consumer consequences, and governance. Following PRISMA 2020, 54 empirical studies published between 2019 and 2025 were identified through Scopus and analyzed using thematic synthesis. The findings indicate that promotion is distributed across social media, influencers, communities, exchanges, and project actors, making the boundary between marketing, personal opinion, and financial advice difficult to maintain. Ethical problems arise not only from fraud, but also from selective information, hidden incentives, artificial attention, and market signals that give uncertain assets an appearance of legitimacy. Consumer vulnerability is similarly situational. Knowledge and experience may offer some protection, but trust, technological complexity, social influence, and speculative expectations continue to shape judgement. Regulatory and educational responses remain fragmented because responsibility is dispersed across actors and jurisdictions. The review connects these relationships through an ethical marketing cycle that conceptually organizes how ethical concerns may develop across communication, market activity, consumer interpretation, and governance. This perspective extends ethical marketing beyond the accuracy of individual claims and locates responsibility within the structures through which cryptocurrency credibility is produced. The review is limited by its reliance on Scopus and the absence of a formal risk-of-bias assessment of the included studies.
Yaning Zhang, Wei Shao, Mai Nguyen, Kun Zhang ¡ 5 authors
ABSTRACT Destinations are increasingly adopting NonâFungible Tokens (NFTs) as innovative tools for brand communication and visitor engagement in digital tourism contexts. Drawing on Construal Level Theory (CLT), we examine how the anthropomorphic (ANT) design of NFT characters influences tourists' impulsive travel intentions and whether customization strengthens this effect. In two online experiments, we tested a sequential mediation model linking ANT to impulsive travel intention through psychological distance (PD) and perceived playfulness. The results show that highly anthropomorphic NFT characters increase psychological proximity, which subsequently increases impulsive travel intentions. Moreover, customization significantly strengthens this indirect effect. This study extends research on digital destination marketing while offering practical guidance for designing effective NFTâbased tourism strategies.
This chapter explores how social media has become a transformative force in shaping modern startup ecosystems, particularly among digital-native entrepreneurs. Moving beyond traditional marketing, platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube now serve as full-fledged entrepreneurial infrastructuresâenabling ideation, brand building, fundraising, customer engagement and venture scaling. Through a critical examination of strategic platform use, influencer ecosystems, social commerce tools and ethical considerations, the chapter highlights the unique ways in which startups leverage digital culture to generate visibility and competitive advantage. Case studies across diverse geographies demonstrate how startups move from hashtag virality to unicorn valuation. It concludes by forecasting how AI, Web3 and immersive technologies will redefine future startupâsocial media synergies
Zheng Lin Chia, Hui Wei You, Sardar Muhammad Usman, Bee Wah Yap
Purpose Following the introduction of the European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation (ECSPR), crowdfunding has experienced rapid growth within the European alternative finance sector. However, the harmonisation of regulatory requirements has not fully eliminated concerns regarding information asymmetry among investors. This study aims to examines how financial disclosure (FINANCIALD) and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) function as disclosure-based signals that influence the success of equity and debt crowdfunding campaigns regulated under the ECSPR. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on signalling theory, this study examines campaign-level data from a single ECSPR-authorised crowdfunding platform: 154 Invesdor campaigns (123 equity crowdfunding and 31 debt crowdfunding campaigns) operating in Germany. Logistic regression is used as the primary estimation technique. The models account for a comprehensive set of campaign characteristics, including the number of project updates, fundraising-target disclosure, financing type and engagement-related features. Findings The results indicate that both FINANCIALD and SDG alignment have a positive and statistically significant relationship with crowdfunding success. Voluntary disclosure of accounting-related financial information and alignment with the SDGs are associated with a higher probability of achieving funding targets. In contrast, commonly studied campaign characteristics, such as media presence and the disclosure of founder background, do not show a strong influence on the success of equity and debt crowdfunding campaigns. Research limitations/implications The generalisability of the findings may be limited due to the studyâs focus on ECSPR-regulated campaigns in Germany. Future research could extend the analysis to cross-country comparisons, examine the quality of disclosures and investigate the impact of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI)-based auditing and blockchain-based reporting, on disclosure practices within crowdfunding markets. Practical implications The findings highlight the importance of transparent FINANCIALD and clearly communicated sustainability orientation for entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital through crowdfunding. For policymakers, the results highlight the complementary roles of regulation and voluntary disclosure in supporting trust and efficiency in financial technologies (FinTech)-enabled capital markets. The observed association with SDG alignment should not be interpreted as evidence of the credibility or actual sustainability performance of the disclosed commitments. Originality/value The research contributes to the evolving literature on FinTech regulation by providing a timely assessment of the ECSPRâs impact on investor behaviour. It identifies a critical shift in the crowdfunding landscape: while regulatory harmonisation provides a baseline, voluntary financial transparency remains a primary differentiator for campaign success. The findings offer unique value to policymakers by demonstrating how standardised European regulations interact with voluntary disclosures to enhance market efficiency.