The paper shows that, as owners accumulate larger stakes and hence become less risk-tolerant, their incentives to monitor management are attenuated because monitoring shifts some of the firm's risk from management to owners. This counterbalances the positive effect which more concentrated...

This paper surveys empirical and theoretical studies of various control mechanisms embedded in venture capital contracts. These mechanisms mitigate incentive problems and opportunistic behavior arising in the uncertain environment of financing young hightechnology enterprises that predominantly...

The relationship between a venture capitalist and an entrepreneur is modeled to investigate the impact of public subsidies on venture capital investments in start-up enterprises. In this model, the venture capitalist only finances start-up enterprises if he has sufficient expertise to make...

This paper analyses the link between venture capitalists' sources of funds, such as banks and pension funds, and the specialization pattern of venture capital investments in particular industries and particular stages of enterprises' development. Based on a panel data set of Western European...

Venture capital activity differs considerably across countries. Venture capital markets are highly developed in few countries, while these markets are almost nonexistent in many other countries. This paper examines the conditions that have to be fulfilled for liquid venture capital markets to...

This paper examines the impact of venture capitalists' reputation building and experience accumulation on the genesis of venture capital markets. Venture capitalists must accumulate experience to successfully support high-technology enterprises. They must build reputation, i.e., a track record...

This paper analyses the impact of public equity schemes on venture capitalist's incentives to finance start-up enterprises and to support the management teams. In a double-sided moral hazard model, it is shown that experienced venture capitalists, who have already financed start-up enterprises,...

Using an agency framework, this paper examines advantages of offering venture capitalists a choice between public equity and loan schemes. Both schemes can be used to promote venture capital investments in hightechnology enterprises since they encourage inexperienced venture capitalists to...

Die Bedeutung von Risikokapital für innovative Industrien wurde in der Literatur vielfach hervorgehoben. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt die Entwicklungen des deutschen Risikokapitalmarktes für Biotechnologie im Zeitraum 1995-2005 dar und geht auf regionale Unterschiede ein. Der...