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Funding decisions and entrepreneurial team diversity: A field study

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  • Vogel, Rick
  • Puhan, Tatjana Xenia
  • Shehu, Edlira
  • Kliger, Doron
  • Beese, Henning

Abstract

This study provides experimental evidence, using a large sample of 2894 individuals recruited via business media websites, about the impact of demographic attributes within entrepreneurial teams on funding decisions by external capital providers. In previous work the role of diversity with regard to personal characteristics within entrepreneurial teams, such as education, gender and nationality was not clear. Specifically, we focus on task-oriented (e.g., education, experience) and relations-oriented (e.g., age, nationality) dimensions of diversity. The participants of our experiment had to decide on providing early-stage funding to a team of start-up managers whereas the diversity of these teams varied across treatment groups. We find that task-oriented diversity is positively and significantly related to the willingness of respondents to provide capital. Interestingly, the same applies for relations-oriented diversity. This suggests social capital of an entrepreneurial team matters to a greater extent to funding decisions of external investors than the behavioral integration of the team's human capital. Entrepreneurial teams must therefore carefully balance the social costs of non-task-related diversity and the access to financial resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Vogel, Rick & Puhan, Tatjana Xenia & Shehu, Edlira & Kliger, Doron & Beese, Henning, 2014. "Funding decisions and entrepreneurial team diversity: A field study," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PB), pages 595-613.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:107:y:2014:i:pb:p:595-613
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2014.02.021
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Praag, Mirjam van & Zunino, Diego & Dushnitsky, Gary, 2017. "Badge of Honor or Scarlet Letter? Unpacking Investors’ Judgment of Entrepreneurs’ Past Failure," CEPR Discussion Papers 12329, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Diego Zunino & Mirjam (C.M.) van Praag & Gary Dushnitsky, 2017. "Badge of Honor or Scarlet Letter? Unpacking Investors' Judgment of Entrepreneurs' Past Failure," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 17-085/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    3. repec:pra:mprapa:120375 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. E. Erjiang & Ming Yu & Geng Peng, 2022. "Intermediation in reward-based crowdfunding: a cash deposit mechanism to reduce moral hazard," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1227-1248, December.
    5. Francesco Maria Barbini & Marco Corsino & Paola Giuri, 2021. "How do universities shape founding teams? Social proximity and informal mechanisms of knowledge transfer in student entrepreneurship," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1046-1082, August.
    6. Shepherd, Dean A. & Breugst, Nicola & Patzelt, Holger, 2023. "A founding-team model of creating a venture's culture," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2).
    7. Wise, Sean & Yeganegi, Sepideh & Laplume, André O., 2022. "Startup team ethnic diversity and investment capital raised," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    8. Kier, Alexander S. & McMullen, Jeffery S., 2020. "Entrepreneurial imaginativeness and new venture ideation in newly forming teams," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    9. Tonoyan, Vartuhi & Boudreaux, Christopher J., 2023. "Gender diversity in firm ownership: Direct and indirect effects on firm-level innovation across 29 emerging economies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(4).
    10. Carolin Bock & Christian Hackober, 2020. "Unicorns—what drives multibillion-dollar valuations?," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 13(3), pages 949-984, November.
    11. Swarnodeep Homroy & Kwok Tong Soo, 2020. "Team diversity and individual performance," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 88(4), pages 507-530, July.
    12. Darova, Ornella & Duchene, Anne, 2024. "Diversity in Teams: Collaboration and Performance in Experiments with Different Tasks," MPRA Paper 120519, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Decision-making; Online survey; Top management teams; Upper echelons; Venture capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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