The paper examines decision-making in the venture capital industry based on evidence from emerging markets. It might me of interest for scholars from various backgrounds for several reasons:

First, the study employs qualitative methods and presents all steps required for a grounded theory analysis. So, if you are interested in a similar methodology, this is a good checkbox.

Second, the paper uses secondary interview data from YouTube, which is a promising idea for hard-to-get data that may often beсome an obstacle in qualitative research.

Third, it is a theoretically ambitious work. Its’ point of departure is an assessment that studies on the decision-making process at VC funds provide a context-free theory that does not consider the impact of the institutional environment on decisions generated by venture capitalists. The paper brings the concept of “institutional voids” in emerging markets (Khanna and Palepu, 1997) into VC context.

The result is a theoretical framework of VC decision-making in an institutional context which challenges the proposition of the current theory that decision-making is shaped solely by the principal-agent relationship in a stable environment. It shows that apart from the objective to reduce agency problems highlighted by previous theoretical considerations, VC decision-making mitigates the effect of weak institutions.

Program:

17:30 – 17:40 – opening speech

17:40 – 18:25 – presentation by Adel Dalal, topic: “VC Decision-Making in an Institutional Context”

18:25 – 18:55 – discussion

18:55 – 19:00 – Closing remarks: announcements of the next workshops

Adel Dalal, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow