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Specialization and Competition in the Venture Capital Industry

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  • Yael Hochberg
  • Michael Mazzeo
  • Ryan McDevitt

Abstract

An important type of product differentiation in the venture capital (VC) market is industry specialization. We estimate a market structure model to assess competition among VCs—some of which specialize in a particular industry and others of which are generalists—and find that the incremental effect of additional same-type competitors increases as the number of same-type competitors increases. Furthermore, we find that the effects of generalist VCs on specialists are substantial, and larger than the effect of same-type competitors. Estimates from other industries typically show the incremental effects falling as the number of same-type competitors increases and the effects of same-type competitors as always being larger than the effects of different-type competitors. Consistent with the presence of network effects that soften competition, these patterns are more pronounced in markets that exhibit dense organizational networks among incumbent VCs. Markets with sparser incumbent networks, by contrast, exhibit competitive patterns that resemble those of other, non-networked industries. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Yael Hochberg & Michael Mazzeo & Ryan McDevitt, 2015. "Specialization and Competition in the Venture Capital Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 46(4), pages 323-347, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:46:y:2015:i:4:p:323-347
    DOI: 10.1007/s11151-015-9462-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Suting Hong & Konstantinos Serfes & Veikko Thiele, 2020. "Competition in the venture capital market and the success of startup companies: Theory and evidence," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 741-791, October.
    3. Bayona, Anna & López, Ángel L., 2018. "Silent financial interests and product innovation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 109-112.
    4. 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.
    5. Jia, Ning & Wang, Dan, 2017. "Skin in the game: General partner capital commitment, investment behavior and venture capital fund performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 110-130.
    6. Gonzalez-Uribe, Juanita, 2020. "Exchanges of innovation resources inside venture capital portfolios," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100924, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. TIAN, Xiaoli & KOU, Gang & ZHANG, Weike, 2020. "Geographic distance, venture capital and technological performance: Evidence from Chinese enterprises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    8. Hull, Tyler J., 2021. "The effect of venture capitalists straying from their industry comfort zones," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 16(C).
    9. Suting Hong, 2013. "Competition, syndication, and entry in the venture capital market," Working Papers 13-49, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    10. Wang, Jiancheng & Li, Xiaoye, 2023. "From “Super App” to “Super VC”: The value-added effect of China's digital platforms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    11. González-Uribe, Juanita, 2020. "Exchanges of innovation resources inside venture capital portfolios," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(1), pages 144-168.
    12. Christian Hackober & Carolin Bock, 2021. "Which investors’ characteristics are beneficial for initial coin offerings? Evidence from blockchain technology-based firms," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(8), pages 1085-1124, October.
    13. Cristina Quintana-García & Carlos A. Benavides-Velasco & Vanesa F. Guzmán-Parra, 2016. "Science-based Firms Going Public: The Role of Patent Indicators and Top Management Teams," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 243-259, April.

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