Specialization and Success: Evidence from Venture Capital

被引:150
作者
Gompers, Paul [1 ]
Kovner, Anna [3 ]
Lerner, Josh [1 ,2 ]
机构
[1] Harvard Univ, Sch Business, Entrepreneurship Unit, Boston, MA 02163 USA
[2] Harvard Univ, Sch Business, Finance Unit, Boston, MA 02163 USA
[3] Fed Reserve Bank New York, New York, NY 10045 USA
关键词
INEFFICIENT INVESTMENT; PERFORMANCE; MARKETS;
D O I
10.1111/j.1530-9134.2009.00230.x
中图分类号
F [经济];
学科分类号
02 ;
摘要
This paper examines how organizational structure affects behavior and outcomes, studying the performance of different types of venture capital organizations. We find a strong positive relationship between the degree of specialization by individual venture capitalists at a firm and its success. When the individual investment professionals are highly specialized themselves, the marginal effect of increasing overall firm specialization is much weaker. The poorer performance by generalists appears to be due to both an inefficient allocation of funding across industries and poor selection of investments within industries. Venture capital organizations with more experience tend to outperform those with less experience.
引用
收藏
页码:817 / 844
页数:28
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