Title: The role of venture capitalists in an organised innovation ecosystem: evidence from the USA

Authors: Matteo Rossi; Elvira Martini; Ashutosh Kolte

Addresses: Univerisity of Sannio, 82100 Benevento, Italy ' Telematic University "G. Fortunato", 82100, Benevento, Italy ' Department of Management Sciences (PUMBA), Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind, Pune, Maharashtra State, India

Abstract: In the knowledge-based economy (KBE), knowledge and innovation are key drivers of economic growth. However, they have become increasingly complex. In this context, some scholars underlined the importance of the financial system in KBE. This paper has a dual aim: to understand the specific support of informal investors in the USA and to analyse the different behaviour of informal investors in this innovation ecosystem. The first part is a descriptive analysis of the investment characteristics of these operators. In the second part, we discuss the empirical sense in which possible associations of the US actions are best understood. The main results are: 1) venture capitalists activity in the USA are focused in a few states; 2) venture capitalists present a positive correlation between the number of deals and amount invested; 3) small venture capitalists (thinkers) have a strategic approach to innovative firms more defined in comparison with the big VCs (gamblers).

Keywords: regional innovation ecosystem; knowledge-based economy; KBE; financial system; venture capitalists; the USA; ordinary least square; OLS.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBE.2021.116596

International Journal of Business Environment, 2021 Vol.12 No.3, pp.265 - 286

Received: 09 Jun 2020
Accepted: 26 Oct 2020
Published online: 28 Jul 2021 *

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