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Legality and venture governance around the world

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  • Cumming, Douglas
  • Schmidt, Daniel
  • Walz, Uwe

Abstract

We analyze governance with a dataset on investments of venture capitalists in 3848 portfolio firms in 39 countries from North and South America, Europe and Asia spanning 1971-2003. We find that cross-country differences in Legality have a significant impact on the governance structure of investments in the VC industry: better laws facilitate faster deal screening and deal origination, a higher probability of syndication and a lower probability of potentially harmful co-investment, and facilitate board representation of the investor. We also show better laws reduce the probability that the investor requires periodic cash flows prior to exit, which is in conjunction with an increased probability of investment in high-tech companies.

Suggested Citation

  • Cumming, Douglas & Schmidt, Daniel & Walz, Uwe, 2004. "Legality and venture governance around the world," CFS Working Paper Series 2004/17, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:cfswop:200417
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. L. Bottazzi & M. Da Rin & T. Hellmann, 2007. "The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital," Working Papers 612, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    2. Cumming, Douglas & Siegel, Donald S. & Wright, Mike, 2007. "Private equity, leveraged buyouts and governance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 439-460, September.
    3. Bottazzi, Laura & Da Rin, Marco & Hellmann, Thomas, 2009. "What is the role of legal systems in financial intermediation? Theory and evidence," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 559-598, October.
    4. Cumming, Douglas J., 2005. "Capital structure in venture finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 550-585, June.
    5. Groh, Alexander P. & Liechtenstein, Heinrich & Canela, Miguel A., 2008. "Limited partners' perceptions of the Central Eastern European venture capital and private equity market," IESE Research Papers D/727, IESE Business School.
    6. Elsayed Elsiefy, 2014. "Fundamental Requirements for Building an Islamic Venture Capital Model," Accounting and Finance Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 3(1), pages 1-55, February.
    7. Thi X. A. Tran & Thi L. A. Nguyen & Thi H. L. Nguyen, 2016. "Affect of Uncertainty Avoidance on Venture Capital Investing Activities in Asian Countries," Asian Social Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(12), pages 152-152, December.
    8. Cumming, Douglas & Zhang, Yelin, 2016. "Alternative investments in emerging markets: A review and new trends," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 1-23.
    9. Leonardo de Lima Ribeiro & Antonio Gledson de Carvalho, 2007. "Private equity and venture capital in an emerging economy: evidence from Brazil," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 111-126, December.
    10. Cumming, Douglas & Johan, Sofia Atiqah binti, 2008. "Preplanned exit strategies in venture capital," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(7), pages 1209-1241, October.
    11. Cumming, Douglas J., 2005. "Agency costs, institutions, learning, and taxation in venture capital contracting," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 573-622, September.
    12. Tereza Tykvová, 2006. "How do investment patterns of independent and captive private equity funds differ? Evidence from Germany," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 20(4), pages 399-418, December.
    13. Douglas Cumming, 2005. "Review Essay: Global Venture Capital Transactions," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 185-201, January.
    14. Groh, Alexander P., 2009. "Private equity in emerging markets," IESE Research Papers D/779, IESE Business School.
    15. Cumming, Douglas & Fleming, Grant & Schwienbacher, Armin, 2006. "Legality and venture capital exits," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 214-245, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Venture Capital; Corporate Governance; Syndication; Entrepreneurial Finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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