Organization and Strategy Online Seminar（2020-09）

Topic: It's Not You, It's Me: Corporate Technological Learning and Investment Termination in Corporate Venture Capital

Speaker: Peiyuan Huang,University of Pittsburgh

Time: Thursday, 24 Sep, 10:00-11:30 am

Location: Microsoft Teams Online conference room

Abstract:

Corporate venture capital (CVC) investment has become an important source of critical resources to corporate investors and invested ventures alike. However, despite an extensive exploration of the establishment and performance outcomes of CVC-venture dyads, the literature has largely neglected the mechanisms that lead to the termination decision of an established CVC-venture relationship. Although termination has been studied in independent venture capital, the dual objectives of CVC investors, i.e., technologic learning in addition to financial returns, make it important to study the unique factors that drive CVC investment termination. Applying a resource dependency framework, I theorized how the corporate investor’s achieved technological learning, as reflected in newly granted patents, explains the future likelihood of investment termination. I also explored how this investment dynamic is contingent on venture, corporate and dyadic level factors that alter interdependence in the dyad, which are manifested in venture new technology, corporate technology breadth and product market similarity respectively. Using a combined dataset on 2,525 CVC-venture dyads and corresponding organizational technology portfolios, I find support for my hypotheses.

Introduction:

Peiyuan Huang is a PhD candidate in Strategic Management at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to her doctoral studies, she got her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Economics at Peking University. Her current research focuses on corporate venture capital (CVC), innovation and strategic entrepreneurship. She largely explores how the CVC investments facilitate absorption of resource dependence and how organizational knowledge search process is affected by various types of stakeholders.

Her research has appeared on domestic and international leading journals, including Management World (in Chinese) and Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. With more than 10 papers presented in top international academic conferences, she has received research awards and fellowship from Peking University, University of Pittsburgh and Strategic Management Society.

Your participation is warmly welcomed!