Corporate Venture Capital – der Weg zur erfolgreichen Erschließung neuer Technologien?

Corporate venture capital – the path to successfully developing new technologies? The changes brought about by the new technologies of the New Economy present both opportunities and threats for established companies and startups. There are various different concepts and forms of venture capital, such as traditional venture capital, corporate venture capital, and incubators, that can be used to finance the capital requirements that often go hand in hand with increased technological complexity. Many German firms have already recognized the potential of venture capital as a tool for developing new technologies and have set up their own corporate venture capital companies. However, these companies usually focus their investment in external startups that have already completed the seed phase and are in an expansion phase. This strategy does not go far enough, with numerous ideas from employees and external experts remaining unexploited. The paper presents a three–part organizational strategy — consisting of a CVC company, an incubator and a catalytic converter — that will help established companies utilize venture capital in the context of far–reaching strategic innovation management.