IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/veecee/v9y2007i4p257-284.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Seeding new ventures -- green thumbs and fertile fields: Individual and environmental drivers of informal investment

Author

Listed:
  • László Szerb
  • Siri Terjesen
  • Gábor Rappai

Abstract

This study explores individual and country level environmental drivers of informal ‘seed’ investment. We examine four types of informal investors based on business ownership experience (or no such experience) and close family relationship with investee (or no such relationship): ‘classic love money’, ‘outsider’, ‘kin owner’ and ‘classic business angel’ investors. At the environmental level, we are interested in the role of economic development, income tax policies, start-up costs, pro-enterprise government programmes, availability of debt financing, entrepreneurship education and culture. Using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data from telephone interviews with 257 793 individuals in 31 countries, including 5 960 informal investors, we report drivers for the four types of seed investment. Descriptive statistics are consistent with prior research: informal investors are likely to be older males who work full-time, earn high incomes, perceive start-up opportunities in the environment, and believe that they have the skills to start their own businesses. At the environmental level, we find that countries with higher percentages of informal investors are significantly likely to have higher levels of economic development, higher business start-up costs, higher levels of entrepreneurship education, lower income taxes and lower power distance. Other environmental effects on the four populations of informal investors are reported and discussed, as well as implications for practice, policy and future research.

Suggested Citation

  • László Szerb & Siri Terjesen & Gábor Rappai, 2007. "Seeding new ventures -- green thumbs and fertile fields: Individual and environmental drivers of informal investment," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 257-284, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:veecee:v:9:y:2007:i:4:p:257-284
    DOI: 10.1080/13691060701414949
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13691060701414949
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/13691060701414949?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

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

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. N. Berger, Allen & F. Udell, Gregory, 1998. "The economics of small business finance: The roles of private equity and debt markets in the financial growth cycle," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(6-8), pages 613-673, August.
    2. Luigi Guiso & Michael Haliassos & Tullio Jappelli, 2003. "Household stockholding in Europe: where do we stand and where do we go? [‘Limited market participation and volatility of assets prices’]," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 18(36), pages 123-170.
    3. William Bygrave & Michael Hay & Emily Ng & Paul Reynolds, 2003. "Executive forum: A study of informal investing in 29 nations composing the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(2), pages 101-116, April.
    4. Richard T. Harrison & Colin M. Mason & Paul Girling, 2004. "Financial bootstrapping and venture development in the software industry," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 307-333, July.
    5. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    6. Diamanto Politis & Hans Landström, 2002. "Informal investors as entrepreneurs--the development of an entrepreneurial career," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(2), pages 78-101, April.
    7. Zoltan J. Acs & Attila Varga, 2008. "Entrepreneurship, Agglomeration and Technological Change," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 24, pages 341-352, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    9. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    10. Sapienza, Harry J., 1992. "When do venture capitalists add value?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 9-27, January.
    11. Pamela Hammers Specht, 1993. "Munificence and Carrying Capacity of the Environment and Organization Formation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 17(2), pages 77-86, January.
    12. Yuen Ping Ho & Poh Kam Wong, 2005. "Availability of Financing, Regulatory Business Costs and National Entrepreneurial Propensity," Industrial Organization 0504025, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 03 Aug 2005.
    13. Zoltán J. Ács & Colm O'Gorman & László Szerb & Siri Terjesen, 2015. "Could the Irish Miracle be Repeated in Hungary?," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 30, pages 584-603, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    14. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Acs, Zoltan J & Audretsch, David B, 1988. "Innovation in Large and Small Firms: An Empirical Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(4), pages 678-690, September.
    17. André Stel & Martin Carree & Roy Thurik, 2005. "The Effect of Entrepreneurial Activity on National Economic Growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 311-321, February.
    18. László Szerb & Gábor Rappai & Zsolt Makra & Siri Terjesen, 2007. "Informal Investment in Transition Economies: Individual Characteristics and Clusters," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 257-271, March.
    19. Zoltan Acs & Lawrence Plummer, 2005. "Penetrating the ``knowledge filter'' in regional economies," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 39(3), pages 439-456, September.
    20. Luigi Guiso & Michael Haliassos & Tullio Jappelli (ed.), 2003. "Stockholding in Europe," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-50267-3, June.
    21. Rolf Visser & Roger Williams, 2001. "Prospecting for Gold: How Dutch informal investors appraise small businesses in trouble," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1-24, January.
    22. Klapper, Leora & Laeven, Luc & Rajan, Raghuram, 2006. "Entry regulation as a barrier to entrepreneurship," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(3), pages 591-629, December.
    23. Richard T. Harrison & Colin M. Mason, 2000. "Venture capital market complementarities: The links between business angels and venture capital funds in the United Kingdom," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(3), pages 223-242, July.
    24. Robert Wiltbank, 2005. "Investment practices and outcomesof informal venture investors," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(4), pages 343-357, August.
    25. Yuen-Ping Ho & Poh-Kam Wong, 2007. "Financing, Regulatory Costs and Entrepreneurial Propensity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 187-204, March.
    26. Heiko Bergmann & Rolf Sternberg, 2007. "The Changing Face of Entrepreneurship in Germany," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 205-221, March.
    27. Rajan, Raghuram & Laeven, Luc & Klapper, Leora F., 2004. "Business Environment and Firm Entry: Evidence from International Data," CEPR Discussion Papers 4366, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    28. Poh Kam Wong & Yuen Ping Ho, 2006. "Characteristics and determinants of informal investment in Singapore," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 43-70, June.
    29. Arthur, Michael B. & Rousseau, Denise M. (ed.), 1996. "The Boundaryless Career: A New Employment Principle for a New Organizational Era," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195100143.
    30. Markku Maula & Erkko Autio & Pia Arenius, 2005. "What Drives Micro-Angel Investments?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 459-475, December.
    31. Alf SæTRE, 2003. "Entrepreneurial perspectives on informal venture capital," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 71-94, January.
    32. Garry D. Bruton & Vance H. Fried & Sophie Manigart, 2005. "Institutional Influences on the Worldwide Expansion of Venture Capital," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(6), pages 737-760, November.
    33. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June.
    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. Szerb, László & Bugár, Gyöngyi, 2015. "Informális befektetési hajlandóság és döntéshozatal a magyar lakosság körében [The propensity for informal investment and investment decision-making in Hungary]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(4), pages 356-378.
    2. Lars Hornuf & Matthias Schmitt & Eliza Stenzhorn, 2022. "The local bias in equity crowdfunding: Behavioral anomaly or rational preference?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 693-733, August.
    3. Edelman, Linda F. & Manolova, Tatiana S. & Brush, Candida G., 2017. "Angel Investing: A Literature Review," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 13(4-5), pages 265-439, September.
    4. Brett Anthony White & John Dumay, 2020. "The angel investment decision: insights from Australian business angels," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(3), pages 3133-3162, September.
    5. André van Stel & Kashifa Suddle & Andrew Burke & Chantal Hartog, 2008. "How does Entrepreneurial Activity Affect the Supply of Business Angels?," Scales Research Reports H200813, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    6. Sander Wennekers & Jolanda Hessels & Chantal Hartog, 2009. "Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2008 The Netherlands," Scales Research Reports A200914, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    7. Polzin, Friedemann, 2017. "Mobilizing private finance for low-carbon innovation – A systematic review of barriers and solutions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 525-535.
    8. Siri Terjesen & Jolanda Hessels, 2009. "Varieties of export-oriented entrepreneurship in Asia," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 537-561, September.

    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. Bergner, Sören Martin & Bräutigam, Rainer & Evers, Maria Theresia & Spengel, Christoph, 2017. "The use of SME tax incentives in the European Union," ZEW Discussion Papers 17-006, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Ana Venâncio & João Jorge, 2022. "The role of accelerator programmes on the capital structure of start-ups," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 1143-1167, October.
    3. Valérie Revest & Alessandro Sapio, 2012. "Financing technology-based small firms in Europe: what do we know?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 179-205, July.
    4. César Camisón & José Antonio Clemente & Sergio Camisón-Haba, 2022. "Asset tangibility, information asymmetries and intangibles as determinants of family firms leverage," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(7), pages 2047-2082, October.
    5. Susan Coleman & Carmen Cotei & Joseph Farhat, 2016. "The debt-equity financing decisions of U.S. startup firms," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 40(1), pages 105-126, January.
    6. Cole, Rebel & Sokolyk, Tatyana, 2016. "Who needs credit and who gets credit? Evidence from the surveys of small business finances," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 40-60.
    7. Allen N. Berger & Gregory F. Udell, 2002. "Small Business Credit Availability and Relationship Lending: The Importance of Bank Organisational Structure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(477), pages 32-53, February.
    8. Satish Kumar & Riya Sureka & Sisira Colombage, 2020. "Capital structure of SMEs: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 70(4), pages 535-565, November.
    9. Kritikos Alexander & Kneiding Christoph & Germelmann Claas Christian, 2009. "Demand Side Analysis of Microlending Markets in Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(5), pages 523-543, October.
    10. Walthoff-Borm, Xavier & Schwienbacher, Armin & Vanacker, Tom, 2018. "Equity crowdfunding: First resort or last resort?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 513-533.
    11. A. Affuso, 2007. "Credit rationing and real assets: evidence from Italian panel data," Economics Department Working Papers 2007-EP09, Department of Economics, Parma University (Italy).
    12. Van Campenhout, Geert & Van Caneghem, Tom, 2009. "Information Availability, Information Quality and the Financial Structure of Belgian SME's," Working Papers 2009/27, Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Faculteit Economie en Management.
    13. Paola Bongini & Annalisa Ferrando & Emanuele Rossi & Monica Rossolini, 2021. "SME access to market-based finance across Eurozone countries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1667-1697, April.
    14. Andriakopoulos, Konstantinos & Kounetas, Konstantinos, 2019. "The impact of large lending on bank efficiency in U.S.A," MPRA Paper 96036, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. A. Bozkaya & B. Van Pottelsberghe De La Potterie, 2008. "Who Funds Technology-Based Small Firms? Evidence From Belgium," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1-2), pages 97-122.
    16. Rossi, Emanuele & Bongini, Paola & Ferrando, Annalisa & Rossolini, Monica, 2017. "Suitable or non-suitable? An investigation of Eurozone SME access to market-based finance," CEPR Discussion Papers 12006, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Amarjit Gill & Craig Wilson, 2021. "Bank connections and small business performance: Evidence from Canadian survey data," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 5110-5134, October.
    18. Diana Hechavarría & Charles Matthews & Paul Reynolds, 2016. "Does start-up financing influence start-up speed? Evidence from the panel study of entrepreneurial dynamics," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 137-167, January.
    19. Pindado, Julio & Requejo, Ignacio & Rivera, Juan C., 2017. "Economic forecast and corporate leverage choices: The role of the institutional environment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 121-144.
    20. Cristina Martínez-Sola & Pedro J. García-Teruel & Pedro Martínez-Solano, 2018. "Cash holdings in SMEs: speed of adjustment, growth and financing," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 823-842, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • N2 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:taf:veecee:v:9:y:2007:i:4:p:257-284. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/TVEC20 .

    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.