Sustainable Venture Capital Investments: An Enabler Investigation

Elena Antarciuc, Qinghua Zhu, Jaber Almarri, Senlin Zhao, Yunting Feng and Martin Agyemang
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Elena Antarciuc: Faculty of Management and Economics, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian 116024, China
Qinghua Zhu: Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030, China
Jaber Almarri: Faculty of Management and Economics, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian 116024, China
Senlin Zhao: School of Economics and Management, Shanghai Maritime University, 1550 Haigang Ave, Shanghai 201306, China
Yunting Feng: Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030, China
Martin Agyemang: Faculty of Management and Economics, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian 116024, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-22

Abstract: Investing in sustainable projects can help tackle the current sustainability challenges. Venture capital investments can contribute significantly to the growth of sustainable start-ups. Sustainable venture capital (SVC) research is just emerging. This paper identifies enablers for sustainable venture capital investments in Saudi Arabia taking into account different stakeholders and firm’s tangible and intangible resources. Using perspectives from venture capital experts in Saudi Arabia and the grey-based Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method, this study pinpoints the most critical enablers and investigates their causal and effect interconnections. The methodological process consists of reviewing the SVC literature and consulting the experts to identify the SVC enablers, creating a questionnaire, acquiring the answers from four experts, analyzing the data with grey-based DEMATEL and performing a sensitivity analysis. The government use of international standards, policies and regulations for sustainable investments, the commitment of the venture capitalists to sustainability and their deep understanding of sustainable business models are the most influential enablers. The paper concludes with implications for different actors, limitations and prospective directions for the sustainable venture capital research.

Keywords: venture capital; sustainability; enablers; Saudi Arabia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:4:p:1204-:d:141339

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