This paper provides an empirical analysis of risk handling arrangements adopted in the relationship between the venture capital investor and his investee. The theoretical framework adopted is principal-agent analysis, which views the investee as a risk averse agent entering into a risk sharing...

<title/> This paper appeals to UK evidence on venture capital. The investor is regarded as the principal, and the investee as the agent. Relations between the two are analysed in terms of risk management, information handling, and the trading of risk and information. In the data analysed, investors and...

This paper supports two key principles of real options reasoning: (a) the value of waiting and (b) the value of staging. It tests whether real options logic applies to small firms implementing significant changes (e.g. in technology) in a model of small firm performance, estimated on data...

This paper links the economist's analysis of free trade with the business strategist's analysis of the forces behind the globalisation of competition. It is argued that, although the drive to globalisation may seem different from the seeking of superior outcomes in competitive markets, this may...

This paper examines, in a high technology context, how investor and investee behave, and interact, in the face of risk. The evidence on which it is based was obtained by fieldwork methods, over the period 2000-2, examining a sample of UK investors and investees active in high technology areas....

The main hypothesis examines whether real options logic is applied by entrepreneurs in undertaking key organisational change (e.g. ownership, technology, location, line of business etc.). This is explored in a model of firm performance using data collected in face-to-face interviews with...

This paper reports on: (a) new primary source evidence on; and (b) statistical and econometric analysis of high technology clusters in Scotland. It focuses on the following sectors: software, life sciences, microelectronics, optoelectronics, and digital media. Evidence on a postal and e-mailed...

The paper examines the co-evolution of different dimensions of information systems for a sample of fast-growing small firms. The investigation uses primary source longitudinal empirical evidence. The data are taken from a large database on the lifecycle experience of one-hundred-and-fifty new...

This paper is an empirical investigation into the ways in which venture capitalists value (and invest in) high technology firms, focusing on financial reporting, risk disclosure and intangible assets. It is based on questionnaire returns from UK investors in diverse sectors, ranging from...

This paper uses statistical analysis to characterise ‘industry practice’, in terms of concordance of investors concerning appropriate practice. The evidence was gathered by field work methods in 2000-01, and refers to the practices of twenty UK venture capital investors, who accounted for...