The Influence of Investor Experience on Investment Intensity and Risk Assumption in Crowdlending: An Empirical Study

The In luence o In es o Expe ience on In es men In ensi y and Risk Assump ion in C owdlending: An Empi ical S udy Gema Albo -Mo an Depa amen o de Economía Financie a y Di ección de Ope aciones, Facul ad de Ciencias Económicas y Emp esa iales. Uni e sidad de Se illa, Se illa, Spain [email p o ec ed] Emma Be engue Depa amen o de Economía Financie a y Con abilidad Facul ad de Ciencias Emp esa iales. Uni e sidad Pablo de Ola ide, Se illa, Spain ebe ca @upo.es Ca los Sanchís-Ped egosa Depa amen o de Economía Financie a y Di ección de Ope aciones, Facul ad de Ciencias Económicas y Emp esa iales. Uni e sidad de Se illa, Se illa, Spain [email p o ec ed] An onio Mo eno-Mo eno Depa amen o de Economía Financie a y Di ección de Ope aciones, Facul ad de Ciencias Económicas y Emp esa iales. Uni e sidad de Se illa, Se illa, Spain [email p o ec ed] Abs ac . This s udy explo es he dynamics o in es o beha io in he con ex o pee - o-business (P2B) c owdlending, ocusing on how in es o expe i- ence in luences hei in es men in ensi y and isk assump ion. U ilizing da a om he Spanish P2B lending pla o m My ipleA, he esea ch analyzes he in es men pa e ns o 1340 p i a e in es o s ac oss 798 loans. The s udy in es iga es he ela ionship be ween he leng h o in es o s’ expe ience and hei p opensi y o und a la ge numbe o p ojec s and o unde ake highe isk in es men s. I add esses key hypo heses ha posi a posi i e associa ion be ween in es o expe ience and he decision o inc ease in es - men in ensi y and isk le el. The me hodology in eg a es obus pa ial leas squa es (PLS) s uc u al equa ion modelling o alida e he p oposed Jou nal o Business Vol. 16, No. 1 pp. 155-176 eISSN 2078-9424 doi: 10.21678/jb.2025.2413 © C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 Recei ed 11 July 2024 Accep ed 3 Sep embe 2024 Jou nal o Business Vol. 16, No. 1, Fi s Semes e 2025 / Albo -Mo an , Be engue , Sanchís-Ped egosa & Mo eno-Mo eno 156 ela ionships. The esul s indica e ha expe ienced in es o s end o di e - si y hei in es men po olios by engaging in iskie p ojec s, con i ming he hypo hesized posi i e ela ionships. These indings con ibu e o he unde s anding o in es o beha io in c owdlending, o e ing insigh s o pla o m ope a o s and po en ial in es o s ega ding in es men s a egies and isk managemen . The s udy also highligh s he impo ance o in es o expe ience in in luencing in es men decisions, unde lining i s ole in he dynamic and e ol ing landscape o c owdlending. Keywo ds: C owdlending, in es o beha iou , isk managemen , in es - men in ensi y, pee - o-business (P2B), lending La in luencia de la expe iencia del in e so en la in ensidad de la in e sión y la asunción de iesgos en c owdlending: Un es udio empí ico Resumen. Es e es udio explo a las dinámicas del compo amien o de los in e so es en el con ex o del c owdlending de ipo pee - o-business (P2B), cen ándose en cómo la expe iencia del in e so in luye en su in ensidad de in e sión y asunción de iesgos. U ilizando da os de la pla a o ma española de p és amos P2B My ipleA, la in es igación analiza los pa ones de in e - sión de 1340 in e so es p i ados en 798 p és amos. El es udio in es iga la elación en e la du ación de la expe iencia del in e so y su p opensión a inancia un mayo núme o de p oyec os y asumi in e siones de mayo iesgo. Se abo dan hipó esis cla e que plan ean una asociación posi i a en e la expe iencia del in e so y la decisión de aumen a la in ensidad de la in e sión y el ni el de iesgo. La me odología in eg a un modelo obus o de ecuaciones es uc u ales con mínimos cuad ados pa ciales (PLS) pa a alida las elaciones p opues as. Los esul ados indican que los in e so es con expe iencia ienden a di e si ica sus ca e as de in e sión pa icipando en p oyec os más iesgosos, con i mando las elaciones posi i as plan eadas. Es os hallazgos con ibuyen a la comp ensión del compo amien o de los in e so es en c owdlending, o eciendo ideas pa a los ope ado es de pla a- o mas y posibles in e so es en cuan o a es a egias de in e sión y ges ión del iesgo. El es udio ambién des aca la impo ancia de la expe iencia del in e so en la oma de decisiones de in e sión, sub ayando su papel en el dinámico y e olu i o pano ama del c owdlending. Palab as cla e: C owdlending, compo amien o del in e so , ges ión del iesgo, in ensidad de la in e sión, pee - o-business (P2B), p és amos 157 The In luence o In es o Expe ience on In es men In ensi y and Risk Assump ion in C owdlending: An Empi ical S udy 1. In oduc ion Al e na i e inancing, including c owdlending and c owd unding, began o h i e wo ldwide in 2008 in esponse o he inancial es ic ions imposed by banks and o he adi ional inancial ins i u ions a e he G ea Reces- sion. While c owd unding in ol es aising small amoun s o money om a la ge g oup o people o und p ojec s o en u es, c owdlending, also known as pee - o-pee (P2P) inance, ocuses on lending capi al di ec ly o indi iduals o businesses, ypically bypassing adi ional inancial ins i u ions. In u n, c owdsou cing e e s o ob aining se ices, ideas, o con en om a la ge g oup o people, o en h ough an online pla o m. These concep s a e ela ed bu dis inc , as each se es a di e en pu pose in le e aging he “c owd.” Pee - o-pee (P2P) inance unde wen apid g ow h and was o ecas o signi ican ly impac p ojec inancing (Asseno a e al., 2016). Since hen, his sou ce o inancing has become inc easingly consolida ed, and he in ech sec o has con inued o inc ease i s olume wo ldwide (Ziegle e al. 2020). P2P lending has a ac ed in es o s who ha e been discou aged by poo s ock ma ke e u ns and he low in e es a es o e ed by adi ional banks (B ennan 2009). The Wall S ee Jou nal epo ed ha in es o s who ope a e on he majo P2P pla o ms ha e achie ed an annual e u n o 10% o mo e a a ime o his o ically low in e es a es. These pla o ms ha e also a ac ed majo ins i u ional in es o s, such as hedge unds and weal h managemen companies (Ligh , 2012). Howe e , esea ch on P2P lending emains sca e ed and mainly ocuses on opics ela ed o bo owe s (Pang & Yang, 2020), being es ic ed la gely by limi ed access o a ailable in o ma ion, especially wi h ega d o lende s (Culkin e al. 2016). Usually, P2B lending p ojec s in ol es h ee en i ies: bo owe s, unde s (in es o s), and pla o ms (Belle lamme e al., 2015). Many s udies ha e analyzed he ole o in e ne -based P2P lending pla o ms (Belle lamme e al. 2014), mechanisms o inc easing bo owe eliabili y (Yum e al., 2012) o campaign success (Sanchís-Ped egosa e al. 2020; Slimane & Rousseau 2020), and o he ela ed opics. I is essen ial o cla i y ha while bo h P2P and P2B (pee - o-business) lending a e o ms o c owdlending, hey di e in he ype o bo owe . In P2P lending, he bo owe is ypically an indi idual, whe eas in P2B lending, he bo owe is a business. Along hese lines, e y li le is known abou he indi iduals who lend money h ough P2P lending pla o ms (Pie akis, 2019), hough ela ed s udies on adi ional lending, c owd unding, and c owdsou cing can shed ligh on in es o mo i a ions and beha io s. Building on his li e a u e, we Jou nal o Business Vol. 16, No. 1, Fi s Semes e 2025 / Albo -Mo an , Be engue , Sanchís-Ped egosa & Mo eno-Mo eno 158 aim o ill he gap by examining in es o s’ choices in P2B lending con ex s. Ou main goal is o unde s and he mo i a ions and c i e ia o in es o s so as o gi e pla o ms insigh in o he expec a ions o unde s and help hem make be e in es men decisions h ough awa eness o he ac o s hey should conside . To his end, we ocus on P2B lending, which is a ype o P2P lending whe e he bo owe is a company. P2B lending has ecei ed a less a en ion in p e ious s udies e en hough i has impo an di e ences wi h P2P, and i is a e y impo an indus y (Pie akis, 2019; Sanchís-Ped egosa e al., 2020). I is impo an o no e ha while economic e u ns a e a cen al mo i a- ion o in es o s in P2P lending, di e si ica ion, which also con ibu es o economic e u ns, plays a signi ican ole in mi iga ing isk and enhancing in es men po olios. Mo eno-Mo eno e al. (2019) showed ha P2B lending in es o s end o seek p ojec s wi h g ea e isk in exchange o highe p o i abili y, bu his is no ue in all cases. This could be explained by he ac ha P2B lending makes i possible o in es small amoun s o money in di e en p ojec s, esul ing in a di e si ica ion s a egy capable o ole a ing highe le els o isk. This should be he case o expe ienced in es o s who would ake g ea e isks and c ea e a mo e di e si ied loan in es men po olio, bu no o mo e no ice in es o s. The e o e, his s udy is con i ma o y in na u e, as i aims o e i y exis ing knowledge abou in es o beha io in a new con ex , ocusing speci ically on in es o expe ience and in es men in ensi y in Spanish p i a e c owd- lending. Ou esea ch ques ion asks: Does in es o expe ience in luence he olume o loans inanced and he le el o isk aken in hei in es men po olio? In o he wo ds, we examine he ela ionship be ween in es o expe ience, in es men in ensi y, and he le el o isk o he loans. Th ough his line o enqui y we seek o p o ide use ul in o ma ion o P2B lending companies, allowing hem o co obo a e whe he hei P2B lending p ojec s a e success ul based on he ea u es o e ed in hei loans. Speci ically, we analyze loans o e ed by he Spanish P2B lending pla o m My ipleA, which was ounded in 2013 o c ea e a ma ke place whe e com- panies and eelance s can ob ain inancing di ec ly om p i a e in es o s who ob ain a e u n in exchange. To da e, My ipleA has accumula ed a b oke age olume o mo e han 140,000,000 eu os. The emainde o his pape is se ou as ollows. The second sec ion es ablishes he heo e ical amewo k o his esea ch and p esen s he hypo heses and esea ch model. The hi d sec ion explains he me hodology. The ou h sec ion desc ibes he s a is ical me hod and he main esul s. The las sec ion summa izes he discussion and conclusions. 159 The In luence o In es o Expe ience on In es men In ensi y and Risk Assump ion in C owdlending: An Empi ical S udy 2. Theo e ical Backg ound The exis ence o ad e se selec ion in mic o inance is a cen al ocus o esea ch because he long- e m success o hese pla o ms depends on lende s’ willingness o place bids con inuously when eques s a e made by isky bo owe s in he online en i onmen (Weiss e al. 2010). In o ma ion asymme ies in he inancial ma ke a e well documen ed (Su i 2007), bu he in o ma ion asymme y be ween a bo owe and po en ial lende s in he P2P lending ma ke is e en mo e acu e. Unlike adi ional inancial ma ke s ha a e la gely in e media ed by expe s—including en u e capi al (VC), angel in es o s, and inancial ins i u ions— ha p o ide no only he esou ces/capi al bu also hei expe ise in e alua ing, moni o ing, and managing isk, online c owd- unding ma ke s enable s a up en u es and en ep eneu s o bypass hese inancial in e media ies and seek unds di ec ly om he c owd. The di e se na u e and quali y o bo owe s, he lack o es ablished in e media ies, he pa icipa ion o he c owd, and he a ms-leng h app oach o in es ing all exace ba e he issues o in o ma ion asymme y in online c owd unding ma ke s. (Kim & Viswa an, 2019). In con as o adi ional in es men channels, P2P pla o ms a e open o almos e e yone wi h an in e ne connec ion (B u on e al., 2015). The e o e, as i is he in es o s who di ec ly decide which p ojec s o inance, i seems clea ha in es o expe ience could play a key ole in P2P lending. In his sense, Pu o e al. (2011) ha e p esen ed e idence abou bidde lea ning. The ime o when a loan is unded has become sho e and he dispe sion o in e es a es has inc eased. These de elopmen s indica e ha bidde s ha e imp o ed con idence in e alua ing po en ial bo owe s. Un o una ely, he e is li le exis ing li e a u e ocusing on he ole o in es o expe ience in P2P inance, and mos o he ew pape s published a e based on equi y c owd unding (Cicchiello e al., 2020; Goe hne e al., 2020). In his con ex , in es o expe ience plays a key ole in p e en ing lende selec ion mis akes. In es o s wi h less expe ise in isk managemen usually o e es ima e he isk o loan non-paymen (Yum e al., 2012). Mo eo e , mos collec i e o less sophis ica ed in es o s may ha e less expe ience assessing he eal alue o business ideas han p o essional in es- o s (Goe hne e al., 2020). Hence, each p ojec ’s inal isk assessmen is le o he indi idual lende s, who may o may no ha e expe ience in isk managemen (Yum e al., 2012). Along hese lines, Li e al (2021) no ed ha in he Chinese online P2P lending ma ke , which has se ious in o ma- ion asymme ies, in es o s lea n om hei expe ience o educe ad e se Jou nal o Business Vol. 16, No. 1, Fi s Semes e 2025 / Albo -Mo an , Be engue , Sanchís-Ped egosa & Mo eno-Mo eno 160 selec ion in he ma ke . Addi ionally, Se u e al. (2010) poin ed ou ha indi idual in es o s do no ini ially know hei in es men abili y, bu hey ob ain in o ma ion abou hei pe o mance h ough hei expe ience. So, o hese schola s, in es o s who pe o m be e a e hose who con inue o ope a e h ough he pla o m o e ime. To manage his isk, Cicchiello e al. (2020) p oposed he need o submi egis e ed in es o s o a sui abili y assessmen o asce ain whe he hey possess app op ia e expe ience, knowledge, and a inancial si ua ion ha will allow hem o unde s and he isks hey a e aking. The e o e, i is assumed ha p e ious expe iences in luence he in es o ’s inancial s a egy (Chen e al., 2020). Fo Ge many’s la ges equi y c owd unding po al, Goe he e al. (2021) examined how he Small In es o s Beha iou Ac (SIBA) has a ec ed in es o ’s beha iou . Thei esul s show ha since he new law became binding, sophis ica ed in es o s ha e in es ed less on a e age while casual in es o s in es mo e. Nowadays, in a low e u ns scena io, p i a e in es o s a e joining P2P lending pla o ms in sea ch o highe e u ns. Mo eno-Mo eno e al. (2019), using da a om 243 P2B lending campaigns ob ained h ough he Oc obe . eu pla o m, showed ha P2B lending in es o s seek p ojec s wi h a g ea e isk in exchange o highe p o i abili y. This has been aided by he ac ha , as we ha e no ed, P2B lending enables he in es men o small sums ac oss a ious p ojec s, making i a di e si ica ion s a egy ha can ole a e highe isk le els. This should be he case o expe ienced in es o s who would ake mo e isk and c ea e a mo e di e si ied loan in es men po olio, bu no o mo e no ice in es o s. The e o e, in es o expe ience is o g ea in e es when seeking o unde s and wha leads hem o choose ce ain p ojec s. D awing on hese ideas, we conside ha as in es o s gain expe ience, hey ake mo e isk and c ea e a mo e di e si ied loan in es men po olio. The e o e, we will es he ollowing hypo heses o in es o s: H1 (+): In es o expe ience posi i ely in luences he decision o inc ease he numbe o p ojec s unded. H2 (+): In es o expe ience posi i ely in luences he decision o in es in p ojec s wi h highe le els o isk. In gene al, le el o isk is one o he mos impo an cha ac e is ics analyzed by in es o s p io o deciding which p ojec s o suppo (Hoe- gen e al., 2018). In P2P inance, lende s decide o use he c edi isk analysis p o ided by he pla o m. This isk analysis is based on e i ied in o ma ion ela ed o each bo owe and p ojec . To con ol he qual- i y o he bo owe s, pla o ms apply a ious con ol measu es, such as 161 The In luence o In es o Expe ience on In es men In ensi y and Risk Assump ion in C owdlending: An Empi ical S udy c edi a ings, c edi models, o a ca e ul e iew o lending applica ions (He nandez e al., 2015). I is impo an o no e ha in he e en o aud he c edibili y o he pla o m is a s ake. Howe e , pla o ms a e jus a ma ke place ha allows lende s and bo owe s o connec wi h each o he (Belle lamme e al., 2014). The e o e, P2P lending en ails a isk o lende s in e ms o dis inguishing us wo hy bo owe s and selec ing he igh lending in e media y (Chen e al., 2014). Fu he mo e, in es o s seldom ha e any in luence on hei in es men once i is made. The e o e, i is necessa y o e alua e he exac s uc u e o P2P lending con ac s (Win e be g 2020). Lende s o en look a a bo owe ’s ai and eliable inancial pe o mance eco d as i clea ly shows an abili y o pay and lags he isk o non-pe o mance (Cai e al., 2016; G eine & Wang, 2010; Slimane Rousseau, 2020). This gene a es con idence in he bo owe and a ec s he lende ’s decisions. Acco ding o he li e a u e, inancial pe o mance is no he only c i e ia o conside . Lende s’ decisions a e also based on o he isk indica o s, such as he in e es a e, loan du a ion, and i s amoun (Bodie e al., 2012; Cai e al., 2016). Ne e heless, u he indica o s should also be conside ed, such as loan e u n, he p ojec ’s a ing assessmen , he lending a e, and he de aul a e (Die ich & We nli, 2020). The in e es a e ep esen s he po en ial inancial e u n o he loan, he mone a y cos ha he bo owe will pay, and he possibili ies o non- epaymen (F eedman & Jin, 2017; Pope & Sydno , 2011). The in e es a es o he loans o e ed on P2B lending pla o ms bea many simila i ies wi h adi ional loans (Keliuo y ė-S ani- ulėnienė & Kuka ėnai ė, 2020). Howe e , hey o e highe in es men e u ns, which means ha such inancing in ol es isks. So, he highe he in e es a e, he highe he isk o de aul by he bo owe . Acco ding o Gjes isk and Hes mann (2018), “a highe in e es a e could he e o e be in e p e ed as a compensa ion o he inc eased isk acing in es o s” (p. 11). This indica o measu es in es o s’ a ionali y conce ning hei expec ed isk–pe o mance commi men unde condi ions o impe ec in o ma ion (Die ich & We nli, 2020). This indica o would also show he economic pe o mance o P2B lending p ojec s. Mo eo e , he amoun eques ed by bo owe s and he du a ion o he loan a e isk indica o s ha could a ec he success o P2B lending p ojec s. On he one hand, wi h a signi ican amoun eques ed he e is a g ea e isk o no ob aining he necessa y unds o inance he p ojec and o he P2B lending campaign no being success ul (Yum e al., 2012). The e ec o he loan du a ion indica o , on he o he hand, is no appa en . Like Feng e al. (2015), some au ho s conside ha he e is no signi ican ela- Jou nal o Business Vol. 16, No. 1, Fi s Semes e 2025 / Albo -Mo an , Be engue , Sanchís-Ped egosa & Mo eno-Mo eno 162 ionship be ween he du a ion o he loan and he success o he inancing. Ne e heless, in es o s a e mo e conce ned abou loan e u ns. They p e e sho e loan pe iods because hey o e g ea e liquidi y (Mo eno-Mo eno e al., 2018). Wang and G eine (2010) and Ka (2008) no ed ha many lende s who in es ed in unds h ough he P2B lending pla o m P ospe . com could no achie e hei expec ed e u ns due o he high de aul a e om low-income bo owe s. The e o e, he isk will emain la en un il he in es o eco e s hei ini ial in es men . The loan e u n will also depend on he bo owe ’s cha ac e is ics, sec o , and ime o implemen and comply wi h he unded P2B lending p ojec . Ano he isk indica o o conside is he bo owe ’s c edi a ing o c edi sco e. The c edi a ing es ablishes he isk in ol ed in in es ing in he deb o P2B lending p ojec s. Mos P2B lending companies es ablish hei equi alen s o he c edi a ings p o ided by independen a ing agencies (T ansUnion, Expe ian, e c.). The c edi a ing le e assigned is widely ecognized and easy o unde s and (Gjes ik & Hes mann, 2018). Mos in es o s base hei in es men s a egy on hese inancial c edi a ings. Hence, hey y o lend money o bo owe s wi h a highe a ing because hei c edi wo hiness will be p emium. Acco ding o Al man and Ro blu (2016), 60% o P2B lending bo owe s a e cha ac e ized as ha ing “in es - men g ade” (abo e BBB), while 40% a e classi ied as ha ing “high yield” (below BBB) (Al man & Ro blu , 2016). One way o compensa e o he isk aken is o ollow a di e si ica ion s a egy; ha is, o in es in di e en p ojec s. Acco ding o Mo eno-Mo eno e al., (2020) and Al man and Ro blu (2016), P2B lending in es o s look o highe e u ns so i would be na u al o expec hem o di e si y (Ma kowi z 1952). Thus, in connec ion o he deg ee o isk, he ollowing hypo hesis will be es ed: H3(+): The deg ee o isk posi i ely in luences he decision o inc ease he in ensi y o in es men in p ojec s. In gene al, P2B lende s a e seeking highe e u ns which imply a highe isk. To o se his isk, hey in es in di e en p ojec s in o de o di e - si y he isk. Ne e heless, in es o s ha e di e en le els o expe ience in c owd unding, which migh a ec hei decisions. To es o he deg ee o isk and i s ela ionship wi h expe ience and in ensi y, we p opose he ollowing esea ch model (Figu e 1): 163 The In luence o In es o Expe ience on In es men In ensi y and Risk Assump ion in C owdlending: An Empi ical S udy Figu e 1 Model and hypo heses Deg ee o Risk H2(+) H1(+) H3(+) In es o Expe ience In es men In ensi y In es o Age 3. Me hodology Da a collec ion, sample, and measu es Ou empi ical analysis was based on a seconda y da abase o in es o s in lending p ojec s. The da a comp ises 1,340 p i a e in es o s egis e ed on he Spanish P2B lending pla o m My ipleA, pa icipa ing in 798 loans om 2015 o 2019. The objec i e o his company is o o e inance o SMEs and he sel -employed while seeking o ensu e ha p i a e in es o s ob ain a p ope e u n o hei money. Acco ding o he in o ma ion on i s websi e (h ps://www.my iplea.com), My ipleA o e s e u ns o in es o s ha ange om 7%, o iskie p ojec s, o a 2% e u n o gua an eed p ojec s. In ou s udy, we ha e included all ypes o p ojec s. As his is a seconda y da abase and we do no conduc an empi ical s udy using su ey me hodology, he i ems a e de eloped based on how he in o ma ion is p esen ed by he pla o m. So, he a iables used o es he hypo heses a e composed o he ollowing indica o s: ime in es ing, loan e u n, a ing, a e age in e es a e, and numbe o loans. The e o e, he cons uc s employed in his s udy a e in es o expe ience, deg ee o isk, and in es men in ensi y. • In es o Expe ience: We ha e measu ed his a iable di ec ly om he pla o m by conside ing he numbe o yea s since he in es o c ea ed hei accoun . We use a simila measu e as he one applied by Li e al. (2021), who analyzed he ela ionship be ween in es o pe o mance and expe ience. The s udy p oxies o in es o expe i- ence using accoun age and he cumula i e numbe o bids. In ou s udy, we ha e enamed hese wo a iables as Time in es ing (in es o expe ience using accoun age) and Numbe o loans (numbe o bids). Jou nal o Business Vol. 16, No. 1, Fi s Semes e 2025 / Albo -Mo an , Be engue , Sanchís-Ped egosa & Mo eno-Mo eno 170 Figu e 3 IPMA Map: Indica o s Le el In es men In ensi y -10123456789 Impo ance-Pe o mance Map To al E ec s 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 A e ageIn e es Ra e In es o Age LoanRe u n Ra ing TimeIn es ing 5. Discussion and conclusion The main objec i e o his pape is o shed ligh on he beha io , i any, o P2B lende s o unde s. Cha ac e izing in es o s is no always possible since hey ha e di e en p o iles. Ne e heless, hey all sha e he same economic mo i a ion (Ma ínez-Climen e al. 2020). Fo his eason, explo ing he ela ionship be ween economic isks and in es o s’ deci- sion-making is use ul in aiding ou unde s anding o he success o some p ojec s o e o he s. Low en y ba ie s s imula e he en ance o ama eu p i a e in es o s seeking highe e u ns o hei sa ings. Lending in es o s di ec ly decide which p ojec s o inance and, unlike o he modes o c owd unding, hey mainly ocus hei decisions on inancial isks (Hoegen e al. 2018). This s udy is con i ma o y in na u e, as i aims o alida e and ex end p e ious indings on in es o beha io in P2P and equi y c owd unding o he spe- ci ic con ex o P2B c owdlending in Spain. By ocusing on he ela ionship be ween in es o expe ience, isk, and in es men in ensi y, i con ibu es o ou unde s anding o in es o beha io in somewha unde explo ed se ing. As P2B in es o s gain expe ience, hei decisions may change. Wi h his s udy, we se ou o answe he ollowing esea ch ques ions: (a) How does in es o expe ience in luence in es men in ensi y in he con ex o P2B lending pla o ms? (b) Do in es o s who ha e been in es ing in P2B lending o longe decide o ake mo e signi ican isks? (c) Do P2B lending 171 The In luence o In es o Expe ience on In es men In ensi y and Risk Assump ion in C owdlending: An Empi ical S udy in es o s ake mo e signi ican isks when in es ing? (d) Does he deg ee o isk a ec he numbe o p ojec s ha in es o s decide o inance? In o de o answe Ques ions a) and b), we p oposed Hypo heses 1 and 2. We es ed whe he in es o expe ience posi i ely in luences he decision o inc ease he deg ee o in es men in ensi y and engage wi h p ojec s ha en ail a highe isk le el. Ou esul s show ha bo h hypo heses a e ul illed. This esul is consis en wi h he exis ing li e a u e and p e ious empi ical e idence (Mo eno-Mo eno e al., 2019). Howe e , in ou s udy we go one s ep u he and conclude ha as in es o s gain expe ience, hey in es in mo e p ojec s and selec hose wi h mo e isk. This ex ends he heo y by p o iding e idence ha expe ienced in es o s no only di e si y hei po olios bu also consciously engage wi h highe - isk in es men s as pa o hei s a egy. This di e si ica ion and isk- aking beha io aligns wi h es ablished in es men p inciples bu is now con i med in he P2B con ex , con ib- u ing o he li e a u e on how expe ience shapes inancial decision-making in al e na i e inance. This is a consis en esul , since in es o s, as hey gain expe ience, know ha o educe isks, a di e si ica ion s a egy mus be ollowed. Ou esul s coincide wi h hose o Li e al. (2021) who, o he Chinese online P2P lending ma ke , ound ha in es o s can a ionally lea n om hei expe ience. They obse ed ha in es o s imp o ed hei pe o mance as hey gained expe ience. Fu he mo e, Pie akis (2019), using a su ey conduc ed wi h 630 in es o s om he Funding Ci cle Pla - o m, ound ha he expec a ion o making a inancial e u n is he main mo i a ion behind an indi idual’s decision o lend money o companies. Rega ding Ques ions c) and d), ou esul s also con i m a nega i e ela ionship be ween he deg ee o isk aken by in es o s and in es - men in ensi y, al hough his ela ionship is no as s ong as in he p e- ious hypo heses. As hey in es in p ojec s wi h g ea e isk, hey end o di e si y by in es ing in mo e p ojec s. This di e si ica ion s a egy seems o apply o in es o s wi h mo e expe ience ( hose ha ake mo e isks). This e ec is also ein o ced by Hypo hesis 3, which holds ha he deg ee o isk has a mode a ing e ec be ween in es o expe ience and in es men in ensi y. This insigh adds nuance o exis ing heo ies on isk- aking, sugges ing ha expe ience no only in luences he olume o in es men s bu also he s a egic di e si ica ion o isks ac oss mul iple p ojec s. Fu u e s udies could explo e addi ional heo e ical amewo ks, such as beha io al inance o he heo y o bounded a ionali y, o be e unde s and how cogni i e biases o decision heu is ics migh u he shape he expe ience- isk-in ensi y dynamic. Jou nal o Business Vol. 16, No. 1, Fi s Semes e 2025 / Albo -Mo an , Be engue , Sanchís-Ped egosa & Mo eno-Mo eno 172 The indings o his s udy ha e impo an p ac ical implica ions o pla o m ope a o s in he P2B lending space. By unde s anding he a ying beha io o in es o s based on hei expe ience le el, pla o m ope a o s can ailo hei se ices o di e en in es o segmen s. Fo example, mo e expe ienced in es o s, who end o ake highe isks and di e si y hei po olios ac oss mul iple p ojec s, could be o e ed a ge ed in es men oppo uni ies ha ma ch hei isk appe i e. Pla o ms could de elop speci ic isk-based il e s o pe sonalized ecommenda ions o help hese in es o s easily iden i y high- isk, high- ewa d p ojec s. Con e sely, less expe ienced in es o s, who a e mo e cau ious and end o a oid isk, could bene i om educa ional esou ces, u o ials, o “sa e ” in es men op ions ha ocus on gua an eed e u ns o lowe - isk p ojec s. By segmen ing in es o s and o e ing ailo ed se ices, pla o m ope a o s can imp o e use sa is ac ion, e ain di e se in es o g oups, and op imize he o e all pe o mance o hei ma ke place. None heless, his s udy is no wi hou limi a ions. One key limi a ion lies in he ac ha he da a is speci ic o he Spanish ma ke and d awn om a single pla o m, MyT ipleA. The e o e, hese indings may no be gene aliz- able o o he geog aphic o egula o y con ex s. Addi ionally, while we ha e es ablished a link be ween expe ience, isk, and in es men in ensi y, u he esea ch is needed o explo e unde wha condi ions hese ela ionships migh di e . Fo ins ance, in ma ke s wi h s ic e lending egula ions o in pe iods o economic ins abili y, he expe ience– isk–in ensi y ela ionship migh no ollow he same pa e n. Fu u e esea ch could explo e hese condi ions, as well as examining how ac o s like in es o educa ion, access o in o ma ion, o pla o m cha ac e is ics could modi y hese dynamics. This s udy may be help ul o pla o ms and bo owe s. Unde s anding in es o s’ p e e ences s ands o help bo owe s design be e p ojec s o make hem mo e a ac i e. I is also o in e es o in es o s, who will make be e in es men decisions by being awa e o he ac o s hey should conside . Fu he mo e, i will p o ide new pe spec i es on c owd unding egula ions, helping o p o ec in es o s om ash and po en ially cos ly choices. In conclusion, his con i ma o y s udy no only e i ies p io esea ch in a new con ex bu also o e s a deepe unde s anding o he in e play be ween in es o expe ience, isk- aking, and in es men in ensi y in P2B lending. 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