An Exploratory Study of a Chinese IT Unicorn Company

Abstract

Purpose - As the research of Chinese unicorn companies is still in early stages, this paper aims to investigate the factors that influence the success of Chinese IT unicorns. Design/methodology/approach - This study is conducted as a single case study and used various sources such as interviews, internal data, press releases, IR data, etc. to enhance the reliability and validity. Findings - First, the characteristics of the start-up team, social capital, and strategies as internal factors affect the success of unicorns. Among them, the more Guanxi in social capital factors, the greater the possibility of growing into an IT unicorn company. Second, the role of venture capital and geographical location have been identified that two factors affect the success of unicorns. In the role of venture capital, it has been confirmed that the world s top-level venture capital company or a company that has been invested by “BATJ” is more likely to grow into a unicorn company in China. Research implications or Originality - This paper distinguishes between internal and external factors to explain the factors that affect the growth of unicorn companies, which lays the foundation for future research, such as the exploration of the unicorns and the development of new variables.