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Reducing information frictions in venture capital: The role of new venture competitions

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  • Howell, Sabrina T.

Abstract

Venture capital, an important source of financing for potentially high-growth new businesses, is believed to suffer from information frictions. This paper quantifies the magnitude of these frictions among participants in new venture competitions. In a regression discontinuity design with data from 87 competitions, winning a round increases the chances of external financing by about 35%. Winning is most impactful for ventures that are ranked just above the cutoff but receive no cash prize, and judge ranks strongly predict venture success. The results indicate that these information problems in new venture finance are large, and competitions can help resolve them through certification.

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  • Howell, Sabrina T., 2020. "Reducing information frictions in venture capital: The role of new venture competitions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(3), pages 676-694.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:136:y:2020:i:3:p:676-694
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2019.10.009
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    Cited by:

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    2. Anna Stansbury & Dan Turner & Ed Balls, 2023. "Tackling the UK’s regional economic inequality: binding constraints and avenues for policy intervention," Contemporary Social Science, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3-4), pages 318-356, August.
    3. Matteo Aquilina & Giulio Cornelli & Marina Sanchez del Villar, 2024. "Regulation, information asymmetries and the funding of new ventures," BIS Working Papers 1162, Bank for International Settlements.
    4. de Bettignies, Jean-Etienne & Ries, John, 2023. "When less is more: Information and the financing of innovation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 346-369.
    5. Melcangi, Davide & Turen, Javier, 2023. "Subsidizing startups under imperfect information," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 93-109.
    6. Chang, Shih-Chung & Wang, Frank Yong, 2024. "Two-sided asymmetric information and convertible securities in venture financing," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    7. Quignon, Aurelien, 2023. "Crowd-based feedback and early-stage entrepreneurial performance: Evidence from a digital platform," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(7).
    8. Hong, Suting & Li, Guangwei & Wang, Wangshuai & Zhao, Zhiqi, 2022. "Does winning a venture competition encourage entrepreneurial exploration? Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Fu, Hui & Qi, Huilan & An, Yunbi, 2024. "When do venture capital and startups team up? Matching matters," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    10. Lin William Cong & Sabrina T. Howell, 2021. "Policy Uncertainty and Innovation: Evidence from Initial Public Offering Interventions in China," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(11), pages 7238-7261, November.
    11. Matthew R. Denes & Sabrina T. Howell & Filippo Mezzanotti & Xinxin Wang & Ting Xu, 2020. "Investor Tax Credits and Entrepreneurship: Evidence from U.S. States," NBER Working Papers 27751, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Indu Khurana & Daniel J. Lee, 2023. "Gender bias in high stakes pitching: an NLP approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 485-502, February.
    13. Cumming, Douglas J. & Sewaid, Ahmed, 2021. "FinTech loans, self-employment, and financial performance," CFS Working Paper Series 667, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    14. Welter, Chris & Holcomb, Tim R. & McIlwraith, John, 2023. "The inefficiencies of venture capital funding," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    15. Huang, Xing & Ivković, Zoran & Jiang, John Xuefeng & Wang, Isabel Yanyan, 2023. "Angel investment and first impressions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(2), pages 161-178.
    16. Gonzalez-Uribe, Juanita & Hmaddi, Ouafaa, 2022. "The multi-dimensional impacts of business accelerators: what does the research tell us?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115461, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Venture capital; Entrepreneurship; Information asymmetry; New venture competitions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services
    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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