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Gender Diversity Effects in Investment Decisions

Author

Listed:
  • Lennard Hohl
  • Peter M. Bican
  • Carsten C. Guderian
  • Frederik J. Riar

Abstract

This study examines the gender gap in investment decisions in a prominent setting: the American TV show Shark Tank . Our study is based on a sample of 895 pitches from 10 seasons comprising 222 episodes from 2009 to 2019. Contradicting prior research, our findings suggest that female entrepreneurs are not discriminated against in pitch success rates, independent of their respective industrial settings. We find that the valuations from the entrepreneurs themselves (males overvalued their ventures by 57.19%) and final deal valuations (male deals were overvalued by 50.50%) are significantly lower for females, hinting towards a self-imposed gender gap in entrepreneurship and angel investing. As the gender gap in entrepreneurship and angel investment seems to result from a lower rate of entrepreneurial intentions by women, we suggest fostering female entrepreneurship by raising the number of female entrepreneurs and business angels who may serve as role models among those potential female entrepreneurs and business angels at the brink of becoming actual entrepreneurs, as demonstrated in Shark Tank . Particularly, in teams, mixed founder teams consisting of males and females may support the creation of promising start-ups with viable business models.

Suggested Citation

  • Lennard Hohl & Peter M. Bican & Carsten C. Guderian & Frederik J. Riar, 2021. "Gender Diversity Effects in Investment Decisions," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 30(1), pages 134-152, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jouent:v:30:y:2021:i:1:p:134-152
    DOI: 10.1177/0971355720974821
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Livia Boerner & Thomas Fritz & Bernd Frick, 2025. "Investing in people, not in products: how age, gender, ethnicity, and attractiveness of entrepreneurial teams influence the decision-making of angel investors in Germany," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 37-74, January.
    2. Sean Wise & Dave Valliere, 2025. "The Effects of Personal Attributes of Managing Directors on Startup Accelerator Performance," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 34(1), pages 111-150, February.
    3. Vazirani, Ashish & Sarkar, Soumya & Soni, Mayank Jyotsna & Bhattacharjee, Titas & Mahapatra, Mousumi Singha, 2025. "Impression management by Indian female entrepreneurs: Mitigating investor bias in early-stage funding," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    4. Kevin Koziol & Maja Schmitz & Suleika Bort, 2025. "Gender differences in entrepreneurial equity financing—a systematic literature review," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 65(1), pages 231-286, June.
    5. Tobias Sturm & Peter M. Bican & Frederik J. Riar & Carsten C. Guderian & Tobias Welz, 2025. "Deal or no deal? Understanding entrepreneurs’ criteria and deal breaker in investor selection processes," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 9-36, January.
    6. Zhihong Shi & Elena Smirnova & Shalei Simms & Christopher Castro-Andrade, 2025. "Becker Meets Sharks: Angel Financing and Venture Performance," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 51(3), pages 340-372, June.
    7. Marie‐Lena Seidl & Peter M. Bican, 2025. "Sustainable Digital Entrepreneurship: Sustainability as a Success Factor for Digital Start‐Ups," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(S1), pages 615-629, November.
    8. Julia Keidel & Peter M. Bican & Frederik J. Riar, 2021. "Influential Factors of Network Changes: Dynamic Network Ties and Sustainable Startup Embeddedness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-20, May.

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