Internal Knowledge Development and External Knowledge Access in Venture Capital Investment Performance

abstract    We examine the performance effects of two knowledge-driven strategies – internal knowledge development and external knowledge access through inter-firm relationships – in the context of venture capital investing. Using longitudinal data on the investments, syndication, and performance of 200 US-based venture capital firms, we find that investing in industries in which a firm has more knowledge and investing with more or familiar external partners enhances investment performance. In addition, we reveal important interactions between the two strategies, such that access to external knowledge is particularly beneficial when the investment exposes gaps in the firm's own expertise. Thus, access to external knowledge is more effective when an incongruity exists between what the firm knows and what it intends to do. We discuss the study's implications for organizational knowledge and learning, strategic alliance, and venture capital literature.     

Staffing venture capital firms' international operations

International staffing is relatively unexplored for service firms as much of the literature focuses on manufacturing firms. We draw on the knowledge-based perspective to analyze three key issues related to venture capital firms' international staffing: composition of the international staffing pool; reasons for the deployment of expatriates; and the process through which staff co-ordinate international decision-making, respectively. These research questions are investigated in an exploratory study combining a survey and qualitative interviews. The results suggest that the recruitment of local executives is significantly more important than the deployment of expatriates, and expatriation is significantly more important for transferring knowledge than for other motives suggested in the literature. In VC firms, investment committees play a key role in international decision-making, which allows them to manage challenges that otherwise would require deployment of expatriates. Implications of these results for future IHRM research and for the management of venture capital firms are discussed.     

Firm Experience and Market Entry by Venture Capital Firms (1962–2004)

In this paper, we examine a firm's decision to enter new markets as related to the depth and breadth of its experience and the relative distance of those markets. We situate our discussion and analysis in the context of the venture capital (VC) industry, and examine whether and when US VC firms enter five high‐technology investment markets through first‐ or later‐round investments. This setting allows us to observe both the firms that chose to enter a new market and those that did not, and analyse the antecedents of these decisions. We find that VC firms overall are less likely to enter distant markets; those with broader experience are more likely to make first‐round entries. In addition, VC firms with deeper investment experience are more likely to make first‐round entries in proximate markets and less likely to enter distant markets and make later‐round entries. These results offer interesting implications for the literature on organizational learning and entrepreneurship.     

The Structure and Management of Alliances: Syndication in the Venture Capital Industry*

abstract Syndicates are a form of inter‐firm alliance in which two or more venture capital firms co‐invest in an investee firm and share a joint pay‐off. Syndication is a significant part of the venture capital market yet little research has been conducted into the process of structuring syndicate deals and the management of syndicates following deal completion. This paper analyses the neglected issues concerning the structuring and management of syndicated venture capital investments from the perspectives of both lead and non‐lead syndicate members using two surveys of venture capital firms and examination of syndication documents. Lead investors typically have larger equity stakes and the syndicated investment agreement is a document that enshrines the rights of participants rather than specifying behaviour. Contractual arrangements typically serve as a back drop to relationships as non‐legal sanctions are important and decisions are typically reached following discussion and consensus, but lead venture capital investors’ residual and specific powers are important in ensuring timely decision‐making. The findings extend previous work on alliances by emphasizing the importance of non‐legal sanctions, especially reputation effects, in mitigating opportunistic behaviour by dominant equity holders. The paper also adds to the limited research on the dynamics of alliances by highlighting the role of repeat syndicates.     

Following in Partners’ Footsteps: An Uncertainty‐Reduction Perspective on Firms’ Choice of New Markets

In this paper, we develop a new perspective on what determines firms’ choice of new markets for entry. First, drawing on the open‐system theoretical tradition and literature on inter‐organizational networks, we advance and empirically test the proposition that firms tend to enter new markets to which they are connected by partnership ties. We then show that this network influence is filtered through the structure of firms’ network connections to new markets and firms’ experience. Specifically, we find that multiplicity of connections to new markets, as well as the extensiveness of firms’ experience and its relevance to new markets weaken the effect of network ties on firms’ choice of new markets. The results of this study indicate that firms’ choice of new markets for entry is a nuanced process that is affected by the interplay of firms’ collaborative ties, the structure of their network, and firms’ internal capabilities. We test our hypotheses in the empirical context of the U.S. venture capital (VC) industry using panel data over a 23‐year period and find broad support for them.     

Firm and Group Influences on Venture Capital Firms’ Involvement in New Ventures

abstract Drawing on expectancy, equity, and collective effort theories, we argue that the level of involvement of individual firms in multifirm alliances depends on both individual firms’ self‐focused interests and factors stemming from the firms’ membership in the alliance group. We apply our theoretical arguments to the context of venture capital syndicates and test the hypotheses using data about 160 venture capital firms (VCFs) drawn from a survey instrument and a secondary data source. The results show that individual firms’ involvement in a multifirm alliance is somewhat dominated by group effects; specifically, financial stake relative to that of the group and the reputation of the other group members significantly influence the focal firm's involvement. However, focal firms’ involvement relates negatively to their own reputation. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research. Our results imply that firms in multiparty alliances pay attention to the characteristics of their alliance partnership to calibrate their own behaviour. In our specific setting, VCF involvement in syndicates depends more on relative syndicate characteristics than on the focal firm's absolute level of investment. Further, because reputation is negatively associated with involvement, entrepreneurs and potential syndicate entrants should ensure that they fully leverage VCF reputation to achieve their goals.     

‘I Like How You Think’: Similarity as an Interaction Bias in the Investor–Entrepreneur Dyad

Investigating the factors that influence venture capital decision‐making has a long tradition in the management and entrepreneurship literatures. However, few studies have considered the factors that might bias an investment decision in a way that is idiosyncratic to a given investor–entrepreneur dyad. We do so in this study. Specifically, we build from the literature on the ‘similarity effect’ to investigate the extent to which decision‐making process similarity (shared between the investor and the entrepreneur) might bias or otherwise impact the investor's evaluation of a new venture investment opportunity. Our findings suggest venture capitalists evaluate more favourably opportunities represented by entrepreneurs who ‘think’ in ways similar to their own. Moreover, in the presence of decision‐making process similarity, the impacts of other factors that inform the investment decision actually change in counter‐intuitive ways.     

Human Capital Investment and Work Incentives

Traditional human capital theory based on the work by Gary Becker shows that firms do not invest in general human capital but offer firm‐specific training that is only useful for the training firm. I extend the traditional approach by adding two natural assumptions—workers cannot be forced to acquire new knowledge, and they exert unobservable effort to produce valuable output for their employer. I show under which conditions firms do not offer firm‐specific training but invest in general human capital, which increases the workers' outside option. This investment behavior is well in line with the documented prevalence of industry‐specific and occupation‐specific human capital over firm‐specific human capital.     

The impact of venture capital financing method on SME performance and internationalization

One of the basic premises of venture capital is leverage, which often means adding money and other resources to speed up growth. As a result, small- to medium-sized venture funded firms are expected to show significant growth at an early stage. Our research examines how equity based-venture funding methods affect SME performance and internationalization. We divide venture capital financing into several categories: incremental financing where firms receive their venture capital funding in portions, lump-sum funding where firms receive their funding in one lump-sum, syndication where two or more external investors participate in a single financing round and non-syndicated financing where one investor participates in a single financing round. The results show that type of equity-based venture capital financing affect performance and internationalization. Annual sales growth rate and annual turnover are used as proxies for performance. Export ratio is used as a proxy for internationalization. Staged financing and financing through a syndicate has a positive effect on performance and internationalization when used separately. We observe a negative effect when syndication and staged financing are used in combination.     

ORGANIZATIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT: KNOWLEDGE WORKERS IN LARGE CORPORATIONS*

Previous discussion of knowledge work and workers tends to overlook the importance of contextual knowledge in shaping the organizational form of knowledge workers who are employees in large corporations. This paper proposes a model to understand the way knowledge base and organizational form are related to the work commitment, effort and job satisfaction of knowledge workers. The model is derived from (1) a critical examination of the market model of knowledge work organization, and (2) the results of empirical research conducted in two large corporations. We argue that contextual knowledge is important in the relationships between the corporation and knowledge workers. A dualistic model and an enclave organizational form are suggested to examine the relationships between the commitment, work effort and job satisfaction of knowledge workers. We noted from our empirical cases that enclave‐like work teams enhanced the expertise and job autonomy of knowledge workers vis‐à‐vis management. These work teams together with the performance‐based pay system, however, led to unmet job expectations including limited employee influence over decision‐making and careers, and communication gaps with senior management. Under these circumstances, and in contrast to the impact of occupational commitment, organizational commitment did not contribute to work effort. The study highlights the importance of management’s strategy in shaping the organizational form of knowledge work. The paper concludes by noting general implications of our study for the management of expertise and for further research.     

Donating Money to Get Money: The Role of Corporate Philanthropy in Stakeholder Reactions to IPOs

This study examines how stakeholders' investment time horizons interact with information about corporate giving in initial public offering (IPO) firms. Specifically, we build a model that explains how corporate philanthropy affects IPO performance. We find that at the IPO‐preparation stage, corporate giving is negatively related to underwriter prestige, venture capital investment, and IPO financing costs. We also find that at the IPO‐issuance stage, negative media coverage of IPOs moderates the U‐shaped relationship between corporate giving and market premiums. At the IPO‐trading stage, we find that corporate giving only positively influences the market premiums for IPO firms that are the subject of negative media reports. Our findings contribute to the signalling theory by showing how various stakeholders interpret the same signals differently, and they have implications for understanding how the relationship between corporate philanthropy and corporate financial performance materializes in the IPO markets.     

Independent venture capital, corporate venture capital, and the internationalisation intensity of technology-based portfolio firms

Firms that internationalise early in their lives share characteristics with those that receive venture capital. The relationship between receipt of venture capital and the international intensity of 1348 young technology firms is examined, including whether the source of capital, from independent venture capital firms, corporations or private sources, has an impact. The absence of venture capital is shown to be positively associated with increased internationalisation. While previous literature suggests differences in the value added of different sources of venture capital, the results indicate no such differences in their impact on international intensity.     

Shareholder Heterogeneity and Conflicting Goals: Strategic Investments in the Japanese Electronics Industry

This article investigates the effects of the changing institutional environment on strategic orientations of Japanese electronics firms during the 1990s. We examine the effects of three different types of shareholders on strategic directions of their invested firms. The first one, foreign portfolio investors, characterizes the emerging influence that pressed for change in corporate strategies. The two domestic shareholders, corporate investors and financial institutions, represent the conventional forces for continuity. Between the two domestic forces, though, while corporate investors attempted to maintain status quo, financial institutions have shifted towards market‐oriented behaviour of investment. Specifically, we explore: (1) the influence of each type of shareholder on a firm's diversification strategy and capital commitment; and (2) the moderating effects of firm performance on the relationships between ownership structure and strategic choices. The results suggest that foreign investors prefer the focused product portfolio and conservative capital commitment. They also prefer the reduction of capital investment when the financial performance of their invested firms is poor. Domestic financial institutions are now similarly sensitive to the performance of their invested firms when those firms make strategic investments. By contrast, domestic corporate shareholders remain indifferent to performance, while they aim to maintain relational business ties with invested firms.     

Research and Technology Commercialization

This paper introduces the special themed section on organizational interactions involving universities and firms that result in the commercialization of research and technology. Our objective is to shed light on some of the most vexing, yet under‐researched predicaments research institutions encounter, despite their best efforts to advance commercialization. First, we synthesize and extend recent studies, including the papers in the special themed section. Next, we develop a taxonomy of modes of commercialization. Specifically, we consider internal approaches, quasi‐internal approaches (e.g. incubators), university research parks, regional clusters, academic spin‐offs and start‐ups, licensing, contract research and consultancy, corporate venture capital, and open science and innovation. We also identify areas for further research at the individual (e.g. heterogeneity of entrepreneurial teams and experience; incentives), organizational and intra‐university (e.g. corporate governance; nature of growth strategies; relationships with trading partners; boundary spanning activities) and technology levels (e.g. institutional context; reconfiguration of technology; valuation of technology).     

Doing Well by Doing Good? Community Development Venture Capital

This paper examines the investments and performance of community development venture capital (CDVC). We find substantial differences between CDVCs and traditional VCs: CDVC investments are far more likely to be in nonmetropolitan regions and in regions with little prior venture activity. CDVC investments are likely to be in earlier stage investments and in industries outside the venture capital mainstream that have lower probabilities of successful exit. Even after controlling for this unattractive transaction mixture, the probability of a CDVC investment being successfully exited is lower. One benefit of CDVCs may be their effect in bringing traditional VCs to underserved regions—controlling for the presence of traditional VC investments, each additional CDVC investment results in an additional 0.06 new traditional VC firms in a region.     

Entrepreneurial financing in new business ventures: a help-seeking behavior perspective

How and from whom prospective entrepreneurs seek their start-up capital for new venture formation represent fundamental questions in entrepreneurial financing. Drawing on research of help-seeking behavior, we propose that apart from economic rationale entrepreneurs’ decisions to seek financing may be influenced by socio-psychological factors. Using a scenario experiment (venture risk x relational proximity) to investigate how prospective entrepreneurs considered funding from family and outsiders, it was found that they tended to seek family financing when the family was close and the risk was high, and inclined to seek outsider funding when the venture risk was high and the family was not close. The findings might seem paradoxical but they actually underscore the influence of socio-psychological factors in entrepreneurial financing decisions and offer novel contributions to the entrepreneurship, informal investment, and education literatures.     

Why should I share my knowledge? A multiple foci of commitment perspective

Knowledge‐intensive firms need to leverage their individual knowledge assets via knowledge sharing to create collective knowledge resources. This process is, however, in the control of the knowledge worker. We explore this personal and emotive quality of knowledge sharing by asking: ‘How does employee commitment impact on knowledge sharing?’ We study professional service firms operating in cross‐boundary environments and examine the impact of commitment to the organisation, profession, team and client on knowledge sharing. The article contributes directly to our understanding of the interrelationship between (a) the types and foci of commitment and (b) bidirectional knowledge sharing.     

从公司制到有限合伙制的公司治理研究

不同的风险投资组织形式,具有不同的投资效率。基于对公司制和有限合伙制这两种组织结构的运作机制进行简要分析,并根据收益期望值模型,从公司治理的角度,运用比较分析方法,论述了创业投资的组织形式,认为有限合伙制是较好的组织形式。     

Strategic HR system differentiation between jobs: The effects on firm performance and employee outcomes

The purpose of this research was to understand whether firms apply different human resource management systems to different occupations within the same organization (HR differentiation) and how the extent to which they do so may influence firm and employee outcomes. We conducted two studies pertaining to these questions. The first study was based on data collected from managers, and the results suggest that firms differentiate their HR investments based on the strategic value of occupations to the firm, which was further associated with the human capital of those occupations. Differentiation in human capital was also associated with firm performance. The second study was based on data obtained from nonmanagement employees. The findings indicated that employees who were recipients of less HR system investment had lower fairness perceptions, which were further associated with higher turnover intentions and lower organizational citizenship behavior. Although the evidence from these studies suggests that firms may realize benefits from strategic HR system differentiation, managers should carefully consider how to balance the effects of differentiation on firm performance and employee well‐being before implementing such systems.     

Learning Through Joint Ventures: A Framework Of Knowledge Acquisition

Joint ventures (JVs) are becoming an increasingly important organizational form in international business. When JVs are formed, valuable learning opportunities may be created for the venture partners. The primary objective in this paper is to explore the conditions under which firms exploit JV learning opportunities through the acquisition of knowledge. A framework of knowledge acquisition by JV partner firms is proposed. Using JV partner organizations as the primary level of analysis, the paper identifies various factors that influence the acquisition of learning, its value to the learning organization, and the migration of knowledge from the JV to the parent. Two firm specific learning-based concepts are developed: alliance knowledge accessibility and knowledge acquisition effectiveness.