Jiongni Mao

My research primarily addresses scholarly conversations about entrepreneurial financing in both formal and informal settings, focusing on two key areas: (1) communication strategies in entrepreneurial pitches and (2) the inclusivity of underrepresented groups in entrepreneurship. Empirically, I am skilled in employing machine learning application to analyze large unstructured data, including texts, images, and videos collected from publicly accessible websites like YouTube and Kickstarter, and proficient in working with structured archival datasets (e.g., Compustat, Crunchbase, or USPTO). I am fortunate to have Charles William as my advisor, with Celia Moore (Imperial College London) and Chiara Spina (INSEAD Singapore) serving alongside him as my dissertation committee members.

JOB MARKET PAPER

Poker Face and Steady Voice: Nonverbal Emotional Neutrality and Gender in Crowdfunding Pitches
Abstract: This paper studies the impact of facial and vocal emotional neutrality in crowdfunding pitches on early-stage financing. With neutral emotional expressions, entrepreneurs can project a sought-after image of rationality. However, it is essential to consider societal expectations toward entrepreneurs regarding emotional expressiveness, particularly the gender norm that dictate women should be more emotionally expressive than men. This study examines how showing facial and vocal emotional neutrality (e.g., maintaining a neutral face, talking with a calm voice) results in different crowdfunding outcomes for male and female entrepreneurs. Leveraging pre-trained machine learning algorithms, we analyzed 183 crowdfunding videos, extracting features from verbal content, facial expressions, and voice attributes. The findings reveal a positive correlation between demeanors that showing facial and vocal emotional neutrality and crowdfunding success for male entrepreneurs, whereas the correlation is negative for female entrepreneurs. Although the capacity to regulate emotions and make effective decisions when under stress is frequently esteemed in entrepreneurship and business, often inferred from displayed emotional neutrality, crowdfunding backers generally expect more emotional expression from female presenters. This observation offers one possible explanation for why women have been more successful in crowdfunding than in traditional entrepreneurial finance.

PUBLICATIONS

• Mao, J. (2024). Women Support Women? How Investors Respond to High-Profile Female Fraud Case Exposure: Best Paper Proceedings of the Eighty-four Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management:22317 https://doi.org/10.5465/AMPROC.2024.75bp

WORKING PAPERS

• Mao, J., & Williams, C. – "Poker Face and Steady Voice: Nonverbal Emotional Neutrality and Gender in Crowdfunding Pitches"
• Mao, J.  – "Women Support Women? Public Attention to Fraud Scandal and Female in VC"
• Mao, J. – "Quantify Nonverbal Emotions: Review and Brief Technical Exploration Using Video Analysis"
• Mao, J., & Tröbinger, M. – "Crowd Feedback and Entrepreneurial Aspiration in Crowdfunding Reentry"