IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v38y2014i4p833-861.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effects of Perceived Control on Venture Capitalist Investment Decisions: A Configurational Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Will Drover
  • Matthew S. Wood
  • G. Tyge Payne

Abstract

Drawing on agency and configurations theories, this study examines how perceived level of control over the entrepreneur influences venture capitalist (VC) decision making. We model the direct effects of perceived control and the interactive effects of control with entrepreneurial prestige and opportunity attractiveness to determine how various combinations of factors influence VCs’ willingness to invest. We test our conceptualizations using conjoint analyses of 552 VC investment decisions. The results show that perceived control is directly related to investment likelihood, but different configurations of control, entrepreneur prestige, and opportunity attractiveness result in different outcomes. Our findings support a configurational perspective of VC decision making.

Suggested Citation

  • Will Drover & Matthew S. Wood & G. Tyge Payne, 2014. "The Effects of Perceived Control on Venture Capitalist Investment Decisions: A Configurational Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(4), pages 833-861, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:38:y:2014:i:4:p:833-861
    DOI: 10.1111/etap.12012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/etap.12012
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/etap.12012?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fried, Vance H. & Bruton, Garry D. & Hisrich, Robert D., 1998. "Strategy and the board of directors in venture capital-backed firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 493-503, November.
    2. Mitchell, J. Robert & Shepherd, Dean A., 2010. "To thine own self be true: Images of self, images of opportunity, and entrepreneurial action," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 138-154, January.
    3. J. Michael Haynie & Dean A. Shepherd & Jeffery S. McMullen, 2009. "An Opportunity for Me? The Role of Resources in Opportunity Evaluation Decisions," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 337-361, May.
    4. Zacharakis, Andrew L. & Meyer, G. Dale, 2000. "The potential of actuarial decision models: Can they improve the venture capital investment decision?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 323-346, July.
    5. Macmillan, Ian C. & Siegel, Robin & Narasimha, P. N. Subba, 1985. "Criteria used by venture capitalists to evaluate new venture proposals," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 119-128.
    6. Wang, Susheng & Zhou, Hailan, 2004. "Staged financing in venture capital: moral hazard and risks," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 131-155, January.
    7. Kelley A. Packalen, 2007. "Complementing Capital: The Role of Status, Demographic Features, and Social Capital in Founding Teams’ Abilities to Obtain Resources," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 31(6), pages 873-891, November.
    8. Elitzur, Ramy & Gavious, Arieh, 2003. "Contracting, signaling, and moral hazard: a model of entrepreneurs, 'angels,' and venture capitalists," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 709-725, November.
    9. Barney, Jay B. & Busenitz, Lowell W. & Fiet, James O. & Moesel, Douglas D., 1996. "New venture teams' assessment of learning assistance from venture capital firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 257-272, July.
    10. Green, Paul E & Srinivasan, V, 1978. "Conjoint Analysis in Consumer Research: Issues and Outlook," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 5(2), pages 103-123, Se.
    11. Danny Miller & Peter H. Friesen, 1984. "A Longitudinal Study of the Corporate Life Cycle," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(10), pages 1161-1183, October.
    12. Richard M. Burton & Jørgen Lauridsen & Børge Obel, 2002. "Return on Assets Loss from Situational and Contingency Misfits," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(11), pages 1461-1485, November.
    13. Franke, Nikolaus & Gruber, Marc & Harhoff, Dietmar & Henkel, Joachim, 2006. "What you are is what you like--similarity biases in venture capitalists' evaluations of start-up teams," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 802-826, November.
    14. Garry D. Bruton & Vance H. Fried & Robert D. Hisrich, 2000. "CEO Dismissal in Venture Capital-Backed Firms: Further Evidence from an Agency Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 24(4), pages 69-77, July.
    15. Hall, John & Hofer, Charles W., 1993. "Venture capitalists' decision criteria in new venture evaluation," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 25-42, January.
    16. James J. Heckman & Jeffrey A. Smith, 1995. "Assessing the Case for Social Experiments," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 85-110, Spring.
    17. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    18. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    19. De Clercq, Dirk & Sapienza, Harry J., 2006. "Effects of relational capital and commitment on venture capitalists' perception of portfolio company performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 326-347, May.
    20. David Ahlstrom & Garry D. Bruton, 2006. "Venture Capital in Emerging Economies: Networks and Institutional Change," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(2), pages 299-320, March.
    21. Steven N. Kaplan & Per Strömberg, 2003. "Financial Contracting Theory Meets the Real World: An Empirical Analysis of Venture Capital Contracts," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 281-315.
    22. Tyzoon T. Tyebjee & Albert V. Bruno, 1984. "A Model of Venture Capitalist Investment Activity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(9), pages 1051-1066, September.
    23. Jeffery S. McMullen & D. Ray Bagby & Leslie E. Palich, 2008. "Economic Freedom and the Motivation to Engage in Entrepreneurial Action," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(5), pages 875-895, September.
    24. Zacharakis, Andrew L. & Meyer, G. Dale, 1998. "A lack of insight: do venture capitalists really understand their own decision process?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 57-76, January.
    25. Hsu, David H., 2007. "Experienced entrepreneurial founders, organizational capital, and venture capital funding," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 722-741, June.
    26. Thomas Hellmann, 1998. "The Allocation of Control Rights in Venture Capital Contracts," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 29(1), pages 57-76, Spring.
    27. Dimo Dimov, 2010. "Nascent Entrepreneurs and Venture Emergence: Opportunity Confidence, Human Capital, and Early Planning," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 1123-1153, September.
    28. Tian, Xuan, 2011. "The causes and consequences of venture capital stage financing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(1), pages 132-159, July.
    29. Dean A. Shepherd, 1999. "Venture Capitalists' Assessment of New Venture Survival," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(5), pages 621-632, May.
    30. Berggren, Bjorn & Olofsson, Christer & Silver, Lars, 2000. "Control Aversion and the Search for External Financing in Swedish SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 233-242.
    31. Shepherd, Dean A. & Zacharakis, Andrew & Baron, Robert A., 2003. "VCs' decision processes: Evidence suggesting more experience may not always be better," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 381-401, May.
    32. Richard M. Burton & Jørgen Lauridsen & Børge Obel, 2003. "Erratum: Return on Assets Loss from Situational and Contingency Misfits," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(8), pages 1119-1119, August.
    33. Sarason, Yolanda & Dean, Tom & Dillard, Jesse F., 2006. "Entrepreneurship as the nexus of individual and opportunity: A structuration view," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 286-305, May.
    34. Williamson, Oliver E, 1988. "The Logic of Economic Organization," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(1), pages 65-93, Spring.
    35. Mark Casson, 2000. "Economics of International Business," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2063.
    36. Thomas Hellmann & Manju Puri, 2002. "Venture Capital and the Professionalization of Start‐Up Firms: Empirical Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 169-197, February.
    37. Charles Y. Murnieks & J. Michael Haynie & Robert E. Wiltbank & Troy Harting, 2011. "‘I Like How You Think’: Similarity as an Interaction Bias in the Investor–Entrepreneur Dyad," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(7), pages 1533-1561, November.
    38. Norris Krueger, 1993. "The Impact of Prior Entrepreneurial Exposure on Perceptions of New Venture Feasibility and Desirability," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 18(1), pages 5-21, October.
    39. Amit, Raphael & Brander, James & Zott, Christoph, 1998. "Why do venture capital firms exist? theory and canadian evidence," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 441-466, November.
    40. Wiklund, Johan & Shepherd, Dean, 2005. "Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 71-91, January.
    41. Jennifer M. Walske & Andrew Zacharakis, 2009. "Genetically Engineered: Why Some Venture Capital Firms are more Successful than Others," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(1), pages 297-318, January.
    42. Lloyd Steier & Royston Greenwood, 1995. "Venture Capitalist Relationships In The Deal Structuring And Post‐Investment Stages Of New Firm Creation," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 337-357, May.
    43. G. Tyge Payne, 2006. "Examining Configurations and Firm Performance in a Suboptimal Equifinality Context," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(6), pages 756-770, December.
    44. Michael A. Hitt & David Ahlstrom & M. Tina Dacin & Edward Levitas & Lilia Svobodina, 2004. "The Institutional Effects on Strategic Alliance Partner Selection in Transition Economies: China vs. Russia," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 173-185, April.
    45. Petty, Jeffrey S. & Gruber, Marc, 2011. ""In pursuit of the real deal": A longitudinal study of VC decision making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 172-188, March.
    46. Hill, Susan A. & Birkinshaw, Julian, 2008. "Strategy-organization configurations in corporate venture units: Impact on performance and survival," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 423-444, July.
    47. Marianne P. Bitler & Tobias J. Moskowitz & Annette Vissing‐Jørgensen, 2005. "Testing Agency Theory with Entrepreneur Effort and Wealth," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(2), pages 539-576, April.
    48. Zacharakis, Andrew L. & Shepherd, Dean A., 2001. "The nature of information and overconfidence on venture capitalists' decision making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 311-332, July.
    49. Raphael Amit & Lawrence Glosten & Eitan Muller, 1990. "Entrepreneurial Ability, Venture Investments, and Risk Sharing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(10), pages 1233-1246, October.
    50. Lerner, Josh, 1995. "Venture Capitalists and the Oversight of Private Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(1), pages 301-318, March.
    51. Björn Berggren & Christer Olofsson & Lars Silver, 2000. "Control Aversion and The Search for External Financing in Swedish SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 233-242, November.
    52. Christopher B. Barry, 1994. "New Directions in Research on Venture Capital Finance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 23(3), Fall.
    53. Denis A. Grégoire & Pamela S. Barr & Dean A. Shepherd, 2010. "Cognitive Processes of Opportunity Recognition: The Role of Structural Alignment," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(2), pages 413-431, April.
    54. Robert A. Baron & Michael D. Ensley, 2006. "Opportunity Recognition as the Detection of Meaningful Patterns: Evidence from Comparisons of Novice and Experienced Entrepreneurs," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(9), pages 1331-1344, September.
    55. Gorman, Michael & Sahlman, William A., 1989. "What do venture capitalists do?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 231-248, July.
    56. Shepherd, Dean A. & Ettenson, Richard & Crouch, Andrew, 2000. "New venture strategy and profitability: A venture capitalist's assessment," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 15(5-6), pages 449-467.
    57. Wiltbank, Robert & Read, Stuart & Dew, Nicholas & Sarasvathy, Saras D., 2009. "Prediction and control under uncertainty: Outcomes in angel investing," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 116-133, March.
    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. Stevenson, Regan M. & Ciuchta, Michael P. & Letwin, Chaim & Dinger, Jenni M. & Vancouver, Jeffrey B., 2019. "Out of control or right on the money? Funder self-efficacy and crowd bias in equity crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 348-367.
    2. Richard A. Hunt & David M. Townsend & Elham Asgari & Daniel A. Lerner, 2019. "Bringing It All Back Home: Corporate Venturing and Renewal Through Spin-ins," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(6), pages 1166-1193, November.
    3. Faezeh Hanifzadeh, 2022. "A comprehensive model for determining the role of entrepreneurial decision-making in recognition and evaluation of opportunities: a meta-synthesis review," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 12(1), pages 395-422, December.
    4. Michael S. McLeod & G. Tyge Payne & Robert E. Evert, 2016. "Organizational Ethics Research: A Systematic Review of Methods and Analytical Techniques," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 429-443, March.
    5. Keith H. Brigham & G. Tyge Payne, 2015. "The Transitional Nature of the Multifamily Business," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(6), pages 1339-1347, November.
    6. Alessandra Allini & Adele Caldarelli & Rosanna Span?, 2017. "La disclosure nei Piani della Performance delle universit? italiane. Intenti simbolici verso approcci sostanziali di legittimazione," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(1), pages 37-59.
    7. Alessandra Allini & Adele Caldarelli & Rosanna Span? & Annamaria Zampella, 2019. "Legitimating efforts in Performance Plans. Evidences on the thoroughness of disclosure in the Italian Higher Education setting," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(1), pages 143-168.
    8. Simone Aresu & Luigi Rombi & Andrea Cardia, 2019. "Management accounting systems in venture capital-backed start-up companies," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(3), pages 35-58.
    9. Hor, Shoon Chan (Timothy) & Chang, Artemis & Torres de Oliveira, Rui & Davidsson, Per, 2021. "From the theories of financial resource acquisition to a theory for acquiring financial resources - how should digital ventures raise equity capital beyond seed funding," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 16(C).

    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. Petty, Jeffrey S. & Gruber, Marc, 2011. ""In pursuit of the real deal": A longitudinal study of VC decision making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 172-188, March.
    2. Drover, Will & Wood, Matthew S. & Fassin, Yves, 2014. "Take the money or run? Investors' ethical reputation and entrepreneurs' willingness to partner," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 723-740.
    3. Johannes Wallmeroth & Peter Wirtz & Alexander Peter Groh, 2017. "Institutional Seed Financing, Angel Financing, and Crowdfunding of Entrepreneurial Ventures: A Literature Review," Working Papers hal-01527999, HAL.
    4. Alexandra Moritz & Walter Diegel & Joern Block & Christian Fisch, 2022. "VC investors’ venture screening: the role of the decision maker’s education and experience," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 92(1), pages 27-63, January.
    5. Rafał Morawczyński, 2020. "Venture Capitalists’ Investment Criteria in Poland: Entrepreneurial Opportunities, Entrepreneurs, and Founding Teams," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-30, October.
    6. Hoenig, Daniel & Henkel, Joachim, 2015. "Quality signals? The role of patents, alliances, and team experience in venture capital financing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 1049-1064.
    7. Colombo, Massimo G. & Grilli, Luca, 2010. "On growth drivers of high-tech start-ups: Exploring the role of founders' human capital and venture capital," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 610-626, November.
    8. Jens Burchardt & Ulrich Hommel & Dzidziso Samuel Kamuriwo & Carolina Billitteri, 2016. "Venture Capital Contracting in Theory and Practice: Implications for Entrepreneurship Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(1), pages 25-48, January.
    9. Rin, Marco Da & Hellmann, Thomas & Puri, Manju, 2013. "A Survey of Venture Capital Research," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 573-648, Elsevier.
    10. Dawson, Alexandra, 2011. "Private equity investment decisions in family firms: The role of human resources and agency costs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 189-199, March.
    11. Roma, Paolo & Vasi, Maria & Kolympiris, Christos, 2021. "On the signaling effect of reward-based crowdfunding: (When) do later stage venture capitalists rely more on the crowd than their peers?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(6).
    12. M. Knockaert & T. Vanacker, 2011. "The Association between Venture Capitalists’ Selection and Value Adding Behavior: Evidence from Early Stage High Tech Venture Capitalists," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 11/741, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    13. Rohit Aggarwal & David Kryscynski & Harpreet Singh, 2015. "Evaluating Venture Technical Competence in Venture Capitalist Investment Decisions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(11), pages 2685-2706, November.
    14. Woike, Jan K. & Hoffrage, Ulrich & Petty, Jeffrey S., 2015. "Picking profitable investments: The success of equal weighting in simulated venture capitalist decision making," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(8), pages 1705-1716.
    15. Mirjam Knockaert & Tom Vanacker, 2013. "The association between venture capitalists’ selection and value adding behavior: evidence from early stage high tech venture capitalists," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 493-509, April.
    16. Dohyeon Kim & Su Yong Lee, 2022. "When venture capitalists are attracted by the experienced," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, December.
    17. Kwanghui Lim & Brian Cu, 2012. "The effects of social networks and contractual characteristics on the relationship between venture capitalists and entrepreneurs," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 573-596, September.
    18. Guenther, Christina & Özcan, Serden & Sassmannshausen, Dirk, 2022. "Referrals among VCs and the length of due diligence: The effect of relational embeddedness," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(5).
    19. Rosenbusch, Nina & Brinckmann, Jan & Müller, Verena, 2013. "Does acquiring venture capital pay off for the funded firms? A meta-analysis on the relationship between venture capital investment and funded firm financial performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 335-353.
    20. Li, Yong & Vertinsky, Ilan B. & Li, Jing, 2014. "National distances, international experience, and venture capital investment performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 471-489.

    More about this item

    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:sae:entthe:v:38:y:2014:i:4:p:833-861. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.