Is There a Relationship Between VC Firm Business Process Flow Management and Investment Decisions?

Abstract

This study on the management of business process flows of venture capital (VC) firms explores the relationship between the utilization rate of the human resources within the VC firm and deal (project) rejection rate under consideration of contextual factors. We employ an exploratory research design (a historical case analysis) as well as quantitativemodel oriented research based on empirical data in order to understand what is really going on in terms of VC firm processes with regard to their system dynamics. We utilize a longitudinal data set comprising 11 years of archival data covering 3,340 investment decisions collected from a European-based VC firm. The results indicate that, over time, there are considerable dynamics in the VC decision making process. Specifically, the investment decisions of venture capitalists are influenced by firm-specific factors related to the human capital resources of the firm, namely management capacity. Implications of these results for research and practice, in venture capital as well as other service industries, are discussed.