Abstract

In assessing new business proposals, venture capitalists rely on their own implicit theories (beliefs) about the attributes that a potentially successful business should possess. From these 'commonsense theories' venture capitalists develop decision rules (selection criteria) to assess the potential viability (and likely profitability) of new business proposals. Although identifying these selection criteria is important, it is also important to determine whether the criteria actually work; that is, are they related to future business success? Despite a call for such confirmatory research, there have only been a handful of studies to date that have attempted to validate venture capitalists' selection criteria. This article reviews and analyses previous empirical studies examining the reasons for small and mediumenterprise success and failure, and the results provide support for (validate) the selection criteria developed for a sample of UK venture capitalists.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.