Technology choice bias and limited liability

The effect of limited liability on debt contracts has been analysed as creating the possibility of credit rationing and hence inefficiently low levels of investment. In this paper we instead focus on restrictions on the use of debt finance to avoid moral hazard problems but which add inefficiency by removing management discretion in the investment process. Essentially, the trade-off is between rules and discretion, and can lead to the wrong choice of technology being adopted. It is shown that this inefficient technology can persist in a steady-state competitive equilibrium. The role of venture capitalists is to reduce this inefficiency both by providing equity rather than debt finance and by involvement in the firms management. The latter involvement can counteract other possible agency problems associated with the dilution of the firms equity share.Received: October 2002, Accepted: September 2003, JEL Classification: L1, G2Norman J. Ireland: The author is grateful for comments received on earlier versions of this paper from colleagues and participants of the Industrial Economics Workshop at the University of Warwick, May 2001, and from the editor and referees of this journal.     

风险投资“退出”内涵的系统界定与分析

文章从风险投资微观运作过程入手,对风险投资“退出”内涵进行了系统的界定,详细分析了风险投资“退出”的微观经济功能。文章认为:风险投资“退出”由风险投资项目退出和风险投资基金退出两部分内容构成,是针对风险投资中存在的双重委托———代理关系的最佳制度安排。     

如何建立风险投资项目的风险预警预控系统

风险投资行为的全过程都充满了风险,风险投资家在选择好项目以后还要采取一系列的措施来规避风险。文章站在风险投资家的角度,针对风险投资项目从注入资金开始,直至资金退出的这一过程,讨论了如何为风险投资项目建立风险预警预控系统,以达到识别风险、控制风险,提高投资收益的目的。     

投资者和风险投资家委托代理问题探析

运用委托代理理论对风险投资中投资者与风险投资家之间的委托代理关系进行分析,结合我国风险投资发展现状,并提出促进我国发展风险投资的建议。     

企业技术创新风险与防范

技术创新是企业实现科技进步、增强核心竞争力的根本源泉,是企业生存与发展的重要基础。但是,技术创新与风险共存,创新风险已成为阻碍企业技术创新的重要因素之一。文章通过对技术创新风险的类型和成因进行分析与探讨,提出了企业防范技术创新风险的应对措施。     

风险投资项目退出的时机与方式选择研究

文章对影响风险投资项目退出时机选择的微观因素和风险投资项目退出方式及其必要条件进行了深入分析,文章认为,风险投资项目退出的时机与方式选择具有动态性和一体性特点,遵循风险资本增值最大化的一般性原则,选择适宜的退出时机与方式对风险投资项目实现投资收益或锁定投资损失有着重要的意义。     

An assessment of a venture creation programme: the case of Shell LiveWIRE

This paper examines the problems inherent in assessing the role of venture creation programmes. It suggests that there are, in particular, two areas to be considered. First, any assessment is contingent upon the evaluation context. In other words, not only are the objectives of any particular venture creation programme important, but also so are the objectives of the evaluation. Following on from this, it is also apparent that a simple input-output (‘black-box’) assessment is unlikely to fully capture the discontinuities or ambiguities inherent in the entrepreneurial process. To address these issues, an assessment instrument is developed to estimate the equivocal nature of the venture creation process. This 4-fold instrument suggests considering individuals in four states: individuals who use a programme but do not subsequently consider entrepreneurship to be appropriate (NO WISH); those who would countenance entrepreneurship in the future (POTENTIALS); those currently attempting to become entrepreneurs (NASCENTS); and those who are entrepreneurs (ACTUALS). Subsequently, this assessment instrument is used to consider the case of Shell LiveWIRE, which is a dedicated provider of enterprise support to young people in the UK. Based upon a sample of over 1000 young people, a probit and ordered probit analysis show that ‘soft’ forms of support (signposting and information provision) were of little value in moving individuals towards entrepreneurial activity. The research also found that the more likely an individual was to be engaged in entrepreneurial activity, the less their expressed value of LiveWIRE services.     

中国风险投资发展策略研究

中国风险投资行业的发展现状、趋势及特殊国情,通过分析其在发展中存在的问题,对中国风险投资行业的发展给出一些策略建议。     

The role of venture capitalist to enhance the growth of Spanish and Italian university spin-offs

The establishment of spin-offs to commercialise university knowledge/technology is a potential mechanism to promote economic and innovative development. Nevertheless, University Spin-Offs (USOs) are usually resource-constrained, especially in obtaining funding, limiting their growth. Venture Capital (VC) investors play an important role in the financing and the improvement of their managerial skills, which are critical for firm growth. This paper aims to explore both the effect of VC partners on the USOs’ growth and the cross-national differences in the role played by them. To study both issues, we empirically analysed 516 Spanish and 904 Italian USOs created by 50 Spanish and 57 Italian universities, respectively, and observed them between 2005 and 2013. The results showed different effects in the Spanish and Italian cases. While in Spain the presence of VC partners positively affects the USOs’ growth, in Italy there is not a significant effect. This evidence calls for systematic policies by public administrations and universities to foster USO growth.     

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.     

Entrepreneurial attitudes to venture capital investment realization: evidence from the UK and France

This paper discusses the comparative influences on attitudes of entrepreneurs towards exit from venture capital backed investments in the UK and France and presents survey evidence relating to the attitudes towards exit of a sample of venture-backed entrepreneurs in the two countries. The study identifies statistically significant differences in attitudes to realization both within and between the two countries, both in relation to preferences for different options and the reasons for preferring one rather than another.     

论高技术园区的风险投资

文章简要阐述了风险投资的涵义,认为风险投资是高风险与高收益的共生体,分析了风险投资者愿意把资金投向高技术园区企业的原因和我国高技术园区的风险投资的基本状况,提出了建立高技术园区风险投资机制的建议,对发展我国高技术园区风险投资具有实践指导意义。     

风险投资中折现率问题分析

文章阐述了风险投资中可能面临的各种风险因素,并分析了在风险投资企业估价中采用NPV价值法的原因,进而分析了相关的净现金流量和折现率的确定问题,提出了在理论上和实践中合理确定风险折现率的方法。     

对风险投资中若干问题的探析

文章针对风险投资中现存的问题,对风险投资中的组织形式的选择、政府的定位、融资的解决、人才的管理及资本退出机制的确定等问题进行了探讨,并提出了相应的解决方法。     

Looking Attractive until You Sell: Earnings Management,Lockup Expiration,and Venture Capitalists

Earnings management occurs when managerial discretion allows managers to influence reported earnings and thus mislead some investors about the underlying economic performance and quality of the firm. This study considers how potential investors may guard against earnings management by observing negative stock price reaction at the lockup expiration period of initial public offering (IPO) firms as a negative signal. Findings from a sample of 160 newly public firms show that earnings management behaviour is stronger in IPO firms backed by venture capitalists (VCs). Moreover, VC reputation negatively moderates this relationship such that IPO firms backed by reputable VCs are less likely to manage earnings, suggesting that reputable VCs serve an auditing function following an IPO. Overall, we provide insights into signalling theory by examining negative signals arising from the behaviour of multiple agents in an IPO firm.     

银饰品行业特许经营困境解析

文章在分析银饰品特许经营的现状及面临的困境基础上,根据新兴古典经济学原理,从社会分工的角度对产生困境的原因进行了分析并提出了相关对策,认为只有通过实现商业模式和盈利模式的有效对接,银饰品行业的特许经营才能走出困境。     

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.     

The influence of multiple constraints along the venture creation process and on start-up intention in nascent entrepreneurship

This study examines the influence of multiple constraints encountered by nascent entrepreneurs (NEs) in their current phase of the venture creation process – disengaged, still trying or started – and on their start-up intention after disengagement. Drawing on a sample of 1872 German NEs collated in 2014, we extend the literature in the field of nascent entrepreneurship and encountered constraints. By applying the theories of planned behaviour and appraisal as an overarching theoretical foundation, we develop our hypotheses. We find that individuals who have recently abandoned their venture have faced significantly more constraints than other NEs. A deeper analysis reveals that financing difficulties and especially certain personal characteristics impede venture creation. Furthermore, our results show that constraints beyond an NE’s own control are lethal for the continuance of the intention to create a new business. We derive important implications for NEs, entrepreneurship education and policymakers.     

风险投资与高新技术产业化互动机理及应用研究

文章运用系统分析方法研究了风险投资与高新技术产业化的相互作用机理,论述了两者形成良性互动之后所产生的积极影响,基于高新技术产业与风险投资尚处于起步阶段的特点,通过运用模糊数学理论构建了评价风险投资与高新技术产业化互动效率的层次结构模型,并且对模型进行了实证分析。     

A comparative analysis of performance assessment: international joint venture managers versus regional headquarters managers

This paper examines a relatively unexplored dimension within the IHRM literature: whether JV CEOs and representatives of their foreign parents' regional headquarters differ in their evaluations of JV effectiveness. This study is based upon a sample of 153 JVs located in China. Existing theories suggest an alternate rationale detailing why the evaluations of JV managers and their foreign parent companies should differ and why they should be similar. Our investigation generally finds that evaluations are similar, with some differentiation occurring when our sample is divided by JV age and by JV industry. Overall, the results suggest that isomorphic forces may exist between managers of JVs and managers of their foreign parents in the JV system.