How Starting Strategy and Network Structure Shape Problemistic Search: An Examination of Venture Capital Firms

Jake Duke, Taha Havakhor, Rachel Mui and Owen Parker

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2022, vol. 46, issue 5, 1344-1373

Abstract: Building on the behavioral theory of the firm, we empirically examine how starting strategies and syndication networks can influence venture capital (VC) firms’ problemistic search. We propose that: (a) depending on a VC’s strategic starting point, that is, the VC’s extent of specialization, the directionality of problemistic search may change to either expanding or contracting search activities; and (b) depending on search direction, structural holes in syndication networks can either impede or facilitate the problemistic search process. In a sample of U.S. VC firms, we find results consistent with our predictions, which have important implications for entrepreneurship and organizational strategy research.

Keywords: behavioral theory of the firm; structural holes; syndication networks; portfolio strategy; venture capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10422587211033574 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:entthe:v:46:y:2022:i:5:p:1344-1373

DOI: 10.1177/10422587211033574

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().