Syndicating to save money, but where to get the knowledge to spend it? A case study about the Dutch venture capital industry.
Summary
Studies about interfirm relationships within the venture capital industry are usually focussed on syndication networks. Little is known about the relations venture capital firms have in order to obtain complementary knowledge needed to make and manage investments, something this case study provides insight to. It is found that venture capital firms in the Netherlands mainly use actors other than their syndication partners for this. Dutch venture capital firms seem to be careful sharing knowledge with each other due to the competition they face. Learning may however take place when they syndicate deals, but this seems to be only a by-product since financial motives are the main reason to cooperate. The knowledge relations venture capital firms have, are located as geographically dispersed as their syndication partners and both relations are mainly social in nature. Evidence is found that a large number of knowledge relations positively influences the funds’ performance, as measured by number of successful exits, assets under management, and number of employees.