IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbvent/v24y2009i6p558-572.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Upper echelons and portfolio strategies of venture capital firms

Author

Listed:
  • Patzelt, Holger
  • zu Knyphausen-Aufseß, Dodo
  • Fischer, Heiko T.

Abstract

In this study we analyze how the composition of the top management team (TMT) influences the portfolio strategy choice in venture capital (VC) organizations. We develop a model of risk perception to investigate how education and experience of TMT members impact whether VC organizations invest with a focus on early stage ventures or not, specialize or diversify across industries, and invest with a broad or narrow geographic scope. Evaluation of data on TMTs and portfolio strategies of 136 European VC firms revealed that VC firms with higher proportions of TMT members with science/engineering education and entrepreneurial experience more likely invest with an early stage focus. Furthermore, TMTs with more management education diversify their portfolios more across industries. Finally, the more international experience TMT members of VC organizations have, the broader the geographic scope of investees. We discuss the implications of our findings for the VC literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Patzelt, Holger & zu Knyphausen-Aufseß, Dodo & Fischer, Heiko T., 2009. "Upper echelons and portfolio strategies of venture capital firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 558-572, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:24:y:2009:i:6:p:558-572
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883-9026(08)00060-8
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Manigart, Sophie & De Waele, Koen & Wright, Mike & Robbie, Ken & Desbrieres, Philippe & Sapienza, Harry J. & Beekman, Amy, 2002. "Determinants of required return in venture capital investments: a five-country study," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 291-312, July.
    2. Robert Chia, 1996. "Teaching Paradigm Shifting In Management Education: University Business Schools And The Entrepreneurial Imagination," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 409-428, July.
    3. Dimov, Dimo & Shepherd, Dean A. & Sutcliffe, Kathleen M., 2007. "Requisite expertise, firm reputation, and status in venture capital investment allocation decisions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 481-502, July.
    4. Wright, Mike & Lockett, Andy & Pruthi, Sarika, 2002. "Internationalization of Western Venture Capitalists into Emerging Markets: Risk Assessment and Information in India," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 13-29, August.
    5. Gompers, Paul & Lerner, Josh, 1996. "The Use of Covenants: An Empirical Analysis of Venture Partnership Agreements," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(2), pages 463-498, October.
    6. Tyzoon T. Tyebjee & Albert V. Bruno, 1984. "A Model of Venture Capitalist Investment Activity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(9), pages 1051-1066, September.
    7. Mike, Ken Wright Robbie, 1998. "Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Review and Synthesis," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(5‐6), pages 521-570, June.
    8. Zacharakis, Andrew L. & Meyer, G. Dale, 1998. "A lack of insight: do venture capitalists really understand their own decision process?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 57-76, January.
    9. Dean A. Shepherd & Andrew Zacharakis, 2001. "The venture capitalist-entrepreneur relationship: Control, trust and confidence in co-operative behaviour," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 129-149, April.
    10. Thomas Hellmann & Manju Puri, 2002. "Venture Capital and the Professionalization of Start‐Up Firms: Empirical Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 169-197, February.
    11. Zacharakis, Andrew L. & Shepherd, Dean A., 2001. "The nature of information and overconfidence on venture capitalists' decision making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 311-332, July.
    12. Pol Herrmann & Deepak K. Datta, 2006. "CEO Experiences: Effects on the Choice of FDI Entry Mode," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 755-778, June.
    13. Macmillan, Ian C. & Siegel, Robin & Narasimha, P. N. Subba, 1985. "Criteria used by venture capitalists to evaluate new venture proposals," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 119-128.
    14. Ruhnka, John C. & Young, John E., 1991. "Some hypotheses about risk in venture capital investing," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 115-133, March.
    15. Franke, Nikolaus & Gruber, Marc & Harhoff, Dietmar & Henkel, Joachim, 2006. "What you are is what you like--similarity biases in venture capitalists' evaluations of start-up teams," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 802-826, November.
    16. Elango, B. & Fried, Vance H. & Hisrich, Robert D. & Polonchek, Amy, 1995. "How venture capital firms differ," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 157-179, March.
    17. Gompers, Paul A, 1995. "Optimal Investment, Monitoring, and the Staging of Venture Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1461-1489, December.
    18. Chen, Chao C. & Greene, Patricia Gene & Crick, Ann, 1998. "Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish entrepreneurs from managers?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 295-316, July.
    19. Kleiman, Robert T. & Shulman, Joel M., 1992. "The risk-return attributes of publicly traded venture capital: Implications for investors and public policy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 195-208, May.
    20. Shepherd, Dean A. & Zacharakis, Andrew & Baron, Robert A., 2003. "VCs' decision processes: Evidence suggesting more experience may not always be better," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 381-401, May.
    21. Sapienza, Harry J., 1992. "When do venture capitalists add value?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 9-27, January.
    22. Michael Jensen & Edward J. Zajac, 2004. "Corporate elites and corporate strategy: how demographic preferences and structural position shape the scope of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 507-524, June.
    23. Krishna Palepu, 1985. "Diversification strategy, profit performance and the entropy measure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(3), pages 239-255, July.
    24. Gupta, Anil K. & Sapienza, Harry J., 1992. "Determinants of venture capital firms' preferences regarding the industry diversity and geographic scope of their investments," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(5), pages 347-362, September.
    25. Vance H. Fried & Robert D. Hisrich, 1994. "Toward a Model of Venture Capital Investment Decision Making," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 23(3), Fall.
    26. Mathew L. A. Hayward & Dean A. Shepherd & Dale Griffin, 2006. "A Hubris Theory of Entrepreneurship," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(2), pages 160-172, February.
    27. James O. Fiet, 1995. "Risk Avoidance Strategies In Venture Capital Markets," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 551-574, July.
    28. Mason A. Carpenter & Timothy G. Pollock & Myleen M. Leary, 2003. "Testing a model of reasoned risk‐taking: governance, the experience of principals and agents, and global strategy in high‐technology IPO firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(9), pages 803-820, September.
    29. Mike Wright, 1998. "Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Review and Synthesis," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(5&6), pages 521-570.
    30. Graham Hall & Ciwen Tu, 2003. "Venture capitalists and the decision to invest overseas," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(2), pages 181-190, April.
    31. Norton, Edgar & Tenenbaum, Bernard H., 1993. "Specialization versus diversification as a venture capital investment strategy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 8(5), pages 431-442, September.
    32. Daniel A. Levinthal & James G. March, 1993. "The myopia of learning," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(S2), pages 95-112, December.
    33. James G. March & Zur Shapira, 1987. "Managerial Perspectives on Risk and Risk Taking," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(11), pages 1404-1418, November.
    34. Robinson, Richard Jr., 1987. "Emerging strategies in the venture capital industry," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 53-77.
    35. Vance H. Freid & Robert D Hisrich, 1994. "Toward a Model of Venture Capital Investment Decision Making," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 23(3), Fall.
    36. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    37. Karen A. Bantel & Susan E. Jackson, 1989. "Top management and innovations in banking: Does the composition of the top team make a difference?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(S1), pages 107-124, June.
    38. Sahlman, William A., 1990. "The structure and governance of venture-capital organizations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 473-521, October.
    39. Yasemin Y. Kor, 2003. "Experience-Based Top Management Team Competence and Sustained Growth," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(6), pages 707-719, December.
    40. Don Knight & Craig L. Pearce & Ken G. Smith & Judy D. Olian & Henry P. Sims & Ken A. Smith & Patrick Flood, 1999. "Top management team diversity, group process, and strategic consensus," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(5), pages 445-465, May.
    41. Wright, Mike & Robbie, Ken & Ennew, Christine, 1997. "Venture capitalists and serial entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 227-249, May.
    42. Gifford, Sharon, 1997. "Limited attention and the role of the venture capitalist," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(6), pages 459-482, November.
    43. Dean A. Shepherd, 1999. "Venture Capitalists' Assessment of New Venture Survival," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(5), pages 621-632, May.
    44. Thomas S. Bateman & Carl P. Zeithaml, 1989. "The psychological context of strategic decisions: A model and convergent experimental findings," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 59-74, January.
    45. A Rebecca Reuber & Eileen Fischer, 1997. "The Influence of the Management Team’s International Experience on the Internationalization Behaviors of SMES," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 28(4), pages 807-825, December.
    46. Dimov, Dimo P. & Shepherd, Dean A., 2005. "Human capital theory and venture capital firms: exploring "home runs" and "strike outs"," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 1-21, January.
    47. Das, T. K. & Teng, Bing-Sheng, 2001. "A risk perception model of alliance structuring," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 1-29.
    48. Wm. Gerard Sanders & Steven Boivie, 2004. "Sorting things out: valuation of new firms in uncertain markets," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 167-186, February.
    49. DiMasi, Joseph A. & Hansen, Ronald W. & Grabowski, Henry G., 2003. "The price of innovation: new estimates of drug development costs," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 151-185, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Petra Andries & Dirk Czarnitzki, 2014. "Small firm innovation performance and employee involvement," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 21-38, June.
    2. Xiaodan Wang, 2016. "The Performance of Foreign Venture Capital Firms in Emerging Economies: A Study of U.S. Firms in China," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(11), pages 1-26, October.
    3. Dimo Dimov & Pablo Martin de Holan & Hana Milanov, 2012. "Learning patterns in venture capital investing in new industries," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 21(6), pages 1389-1426, December.
    4. Stefan Schmid & Tobias Dauth, 2012. "Internationale Diversität im Top-Management — Eine empirische Analyse der DAX-30-Unternehmen," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 64(7), pages 772-802, November.
    5. Kshitija Joshi & Deepak Chandrashekar & Alexander Brem & Kirankumar S. Momaya, 2019. "Foreign Venture Capital Firms in a Cross-Border Context: Empirical Insights from India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-20, November.
    6. Fuchs, Florian & Fuess, Roland & Jenkinson, Tim & Morkoetter, Stefan, 2017. "Winning a Deal in Private Equity: Do Educational Networks Matter?," Working Papers on Finance 17155, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance.
    7. Antonia Nörthemann, 2023. "Industry-specific specialization in venture capitalists’ internationalization decisions," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(5), pages 891-927, July.
    8. Christos Cabolis & Mian Dai & Konstantinos Serfes, 2023. "Competition and Specialization in the VC Market: A Non-monotonic Relationship," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 62(3), pages 241-269, May.
    9. Florian Fuchs & Roland Füss & Tim Jenkisnon & Stefan Morkoetter, 2018. "Should Investors Care Where Private Equity Managers Went To School?," Working Papers on Finance 1806, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance.
    10. Xuequn Wang & Leonard M. Jessup, 2014. "A Review and Synthesis of Entrepreneurship Research: Towards an Integrative Model of Dependent Variables," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 23(2), pages 163-199, September.
    11. Fuchs, Florian & Füss, Roland & Jenkinson, Tim & Morkoetter, Stefan, 2021. "Winning a deal in private equity: Do educational ties matter?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    12. Ilya R. P. Cuypers & Charmi Patel & Gokhan Ertug & Jiatao Li & Youtha Cuypers, 2022. "Top management teams in international business research: A review and suggestions for future research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(3), pages 481-515, April.
    13. O'Connell, Vincent & Lee, Jong-Ho & O'Sullivan, Don, 2018. "The influence of CEO equity incentives on licensing," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 266-277.
    14. Mariarosa Scarlata & Jennifer Walske & Andrew Zacharakis, 2017. "Ingredients Matter: How the Human Capital of Philanthropic and Traditional Venture Capital Differs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 623-635, October.
    15. Chan, Chien Sheng Richard & Park, Haemin Dennis, 2013. "The influence of dispositional affect and cognition on venture investment portfolio concentration," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 397-412.
    16. Kshitija Joshi, 2018. "Managing the risks from high-tech Investments in India: differential strategies of foreign and domestic venture capital firms," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 8(1), pages 1-26, December.
    17. Poonam Khanna & Lemaro Thompson & Michael Mcdonald, 2015. "Research On Venture Capital Firms’ ‘Investment Behavior A Review’," Working Papers 0197mgt, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    18. Đerđa Dino, 2017. "International Experience in Upper Echelon Theory: Literature Review," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 8(2), pages 126-142, September.
    19. Hoppmann, Joern & Vermeer, Ben, 2020. "The double impact of institutions: Institutional spillovers and entrepreneurial activity in the solar photovoltaic industry," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).
    20. Jiami Zheng & Lin Zhang, 2023. "Do venture capitalists with foreign experience drive corporate social responsibility better? Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(5), pages 4961-4988, December.
    21. Lin Zhang & Xueyong Zhang, 2022. "The foreign experience and investment performance of venture capitalists," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1675-1714, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Petty, Jeffrey S. & Gruber, Marc, 2011. ""In pursuit of the real deal": A longitudinal study of VC decision making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 172-188, March.
    2. Mirjam Knockaert & Mike Wright & Bart Clarysse & Andy Lockett, 2010. "Agency and similarity effects and the VC’s attitude towards academic spin-out investing," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 35(6), pages 567-584, December.
    3. Poonam Khanna & Lemaro Thompson & Michael Mcdonald, 2015. "Research On Venture Capital Firms’ ‘Investment Behavior A Review’," Working Papers 0197mgt, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    4. Alexandra Moritz & Walter Diegel & Joern Block & Christian Fisch, 2022. "VC investors’ venture screening: the role of the decision maker’s education and experience," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 92(1), pages 27-63, January.
    5. Woike, Jan K. & Hoffrage, Ulrich & Petty, Jeffrey S., 2015. "Picking profitable investments: The success of equal weighting in simulated venture capitalist decision making," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(8), pages 1705-1716.
    6. Dimo Dimov & Gordon Murray, 2008. "Determinants of the Incidence and Scale of Seed Capital Investments by Venture Capital Firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 127-152, February.
    7. M. Knockaert & T. Vanacker, 2011. "The Association between Venture Capitalists’ Selection and Value Adding Behavior: Evidence from Early Stage High Tech Venture Capitalists," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 11/741, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    8. Johannes Wallmeroth & Peter Wirtz & Alexander Peter Groh, 2017. "Institutional Seed Financing, Angel Financing, and Crowdfunding of Entrepreneurial Ventures: A Literature Review," Working Papers hal-01527999, HAL.
    9. Mirjam Knockaert & Tom Vanacker, 2013. "The association between venture capitalists’ selection and value adding behavior: evidence from early stage high tech venture capitalists," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 493-509, April.
    10. Dirk De Clercq & Dimo Dimov, 2008. "Internal Knowledge Development and External Knowledge Access in Venture Capital Investment Performance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 585-612, May.
    11. Dawson, Alexandra, 2011. "Private equity investment decisions in family firms: The role of human resources and agency costs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 189-199, March.
    12. Rosenbusch, Nina & Brinckmann, Jan & Müller, Verena, 2013. "Does acquiring venture capital pay off for the funded firms? A meta-analysis on the relationship between venture capital investment and funded firm financial performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 335-353.
    13. Ko, Eun-Jeong & McKelvie, Alexander, 2018. "Signaling for more money: The roles of founders' human capital and investor prominence in resource acquisition across different stages of firm development," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 438-454.
    14. Li, Yong & Vertinsky, Ilan B. & Li, Jing, 2014. "National distances, international experience, and venture capital investment performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 471-489.
    15. Ge, Dingkun & Mahoney, James M. & Mahoney, Joseph T., 2005. "New Venture Valuation by Venture Capitalists: An Integrative Approach," Working Papers 05-0124, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    16. Maria do Rosario Correia & Raquel F. Ch. Meneses, 2019. "Venture Capital and the Use of Convertible Securities and Control Rights Covenants: A Fuzzy Set Approach," European Journal of Business Science and Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 5-20.
    17. Wesley II, Curtis L. & Kong, Dejun Tony & Lubojacky, Connor J. & Kim Saxton, M. & Saxton, Todd, 2022. "Will the startup succeed in your eyes? Venture evaluation of resource providers during entrepreneurs' informational signaling," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(5).
    18. Townsend, David M. & Busenitz, Lowell W., 2015. "Turning water into wine? Exploring the role of dynamic capabilities in early-stage capitalization processes," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 292-306.
    19. Dunne, Timothy C. & Clark, Brent B. & Berns, John P. & McDowell, William C., 2019. "The technology bias in entrepreneur-investor negotiations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 258-269.
    20. Manigart, Sophie & De Waele, Koen & Wright, Mike & Robbie, Ken & Desbrieres, Philippe & Sapienza, Harry J. & Beekman, Amy, 2002. "Determinants of required return in venture capital investments: a five-country study," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 291-312, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:24:y:2009:i:6:p:558-572. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusvent .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.