Syndication and Foreignness: Venture Capital Investments in Emerging and Developed Markets

This paper aims to understand when foreign and domestic firms have different likelihoods of syndication in venture capital investments. Although current theory may imply that foreign firms face the liability of foreignness that constrain their syndication opportunities, empirical studies provide quite mixed evidence. To address this issue, this study emphasizes the contingency roles of settings, experience, and reputation. In particular, I argue that foreign firms are more likely to syndicate, compared with domestic ones, when focal investments are less mature, or when local markets are colder and less capitalized. However, the difference in syndication between foreign and domestic firms decreases when they accumulate more experience or when they acquire higher reputation. I find empirical evidence from a sample of venture capital investments in China, UK, and the Netherlands. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed at the end.