When Do Entrepreneurs Accurately Evaluate Venture Capital Firms’ Track Records? a Bounded Rationality Perspective

r Academy of Management Journal 2016, Vol. 59, No. 5, 1535–1560. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.0316 WHEN DO ENTREPRENEURS ACCURATELY EVALUATE VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS’ TRACK RECORDS? A BOUNDED RATIONALITY PERSPECTIVE BENJAMIN L. HALLEN EMILY COX PAHNKE University of Washington There has been substantial research on the value of young firms engaging high-quality partners. This literature, as well as the broader firm reputation literature, has tended to assume that individuals leading such firms find it relatively easy to accurately assess potential partner quality as reflected in their track record of past performance and behavior. Yet this prior work has largely focused on information-rich environments where potential partners are generally large and receive substantial public attention, and with whom evaluators may have high familiarity. In contrast, we draw on bounded rationality to theorize about how in information-sparse environments, individuals may misperceive the quality indicated by a firm’s objective track record. We argue that accurate evaluations depend not only on individuals’ motivation and ability to access information but on the convergence of these factors with attributes of the potential partner being evaluated. We test and find support for our framework using a novel dataset of 1,278 ratings of the quality of 153 early-stage venture capital firms by entrepreneurs that approached these firms for investments. Overall, this paper extends understanding of firm reputation dynamics to information-sparse contexts, and explores why individuals such as entrepreneurs may at times have difficulty accurately evaluating partners. Young firms often lack critical resources (Stinchcombe, & Rosenberger, 2014; Vissa & Chacar, 2009), improve 1965) and are of indeterminate quality, and so benefit innovation (Pahnke, Katila, & Eisenhardt, 2015), and from working with the right partners. Partnerships enhance a firm’s reputation (Khaire, 2010; Pollock & with customers, suppliers, alliance partners, and Gulati, 2007; Stuart, Hoang, & Hybels, 1999). To gain equity investors may help young firms gain access these benefits, entrepreneurs look for high-quality to superior resources (Lee, Pollock, & Jin, 2011; partners (Hallen, 2008). Prior research has suggested Powell, Koput, & Smith-Doerr, 1996), provide aware- that entrepreneurs may be able to credibly assess the ness of important industry information (Hallen, Katila, quality of a potential partner’s underlying capabilities and behaviors by looking at their track record, or the quality of past behavior and outputs relative to com- The authors are especially appreciative of the guidance petitors (Agarwal, Ganco, & Ziedonis, 2009; Kaplan & of associate editor Tim Pollock and our three anonymous reviewers. We also thank TheFunded.com and Adeo Ressi, Schoar, 2005; Lee et al., 2011; Rindova, Williamson, who generously provided data for this research and expert Petkova, & Sever, 2005; Weigelt & Camerer, 1988). guidance on the phenomenon of entrepreneur fundraising. Although prior research has devoted substantial at- We thank seminar participants at the London Business tention to the benefits of high-quality partners for School, the University of Maryland Smith Entrepreneur- young firms, and has begun exploring how entrepre- ship Conference, the BYU Winter Strategy Conference, the neurs may attract such partners (Hallen & Eisenhardt, Atlanta Competitive Advantage Conference, the West 2012; Zott & Huy, 2007), such literature has generally Coast Research Symposium, University of North Carolina, assumed that it is relatively easy for entrepreneurs to Imperial College, INSEAD, and the Oxford Corporate identify high-quality partners. Reputation Symposium, along with Chris Bingham, David Similarly, much of the literature on firm reputation Kirsch, Gary Dushnitsky, Freek Vermuelen, Subra Tangi- rala, Jay Barney, Filipe Santos, Yan Gong, Suresh Kotha, has supported the idea that accurately evaluating and Kathy Eisenhardt for their helpful feedback and com- other firms is relatively easy. While definitions vary ments on this paper. The research assistance of Vivian Wei (Lange, Lee, & Dai, 2011; Rindova & Martins, 2012), Guo, Byungchae Jin, Daniel Malter, and Bryan Stroube is a common conceptualization of firm reputation is gratefully acknowledged. based on a stakeholder group’s collective perception 1535 Copyright of the Academy of Management, all rights reserved. Contents may not be copied, emailed, posted to a listserv, or otherwise transmitted without the copyright holder’s express written permission. Users may print, download, or email articles for individual use only. 1536 Academy of Management Journal October of a firm based on the quality of its track record perceptions of another firm’s track record?” to de- (Chandler, Haunschild, Rhee, & Beckman, 2013; velop theory at the boundaries of assumptions com- Pfarrer, Pollock, & Rindova, 2010; Pollock, Lee, Jin, & mon in the entrepreneurial partnership and firm Lashley, 2015). This literature is pertinent to the reputation literatures. In other words, we explore identification of high-quality partners as it shows when entrepreneurs are likely to perceive a potential that individuals’ perceptions of a firm’s quality are partner as having a high- or low-quality track record, indeed influenced by its track record of economic when comparing its past behavior and performance to performance and prior successes1 (Fombrun & competitors’ actually indicates the opposite. We Shanley, 1990; Lee et al., 2011; Rindova et al., ground our arguments in the concept of bounded ra- 2005). Likewise, a survey of academic experts from tionality, recognizing that individuals often engage in across functional backgrounds found similarity limited information gathering in order to reduce in ascriptions of firm reputations (Highhouse, cognitive effort (March, 1978; Simon, 1947; Tversky & Broadfoot, Yugo, & Devendorf, 2009). Overall, the Kahneman, 1974). We argue that in settings where firm reputation literature supports the assumption information is sparse, accurate evaluations may de- that entrepreneurs may find it relatively easy to pend on the convergence of characteristics of the evaluate and identify high-quality partners. evaluator and of the firm they are trying to evaluate, The firm reputation literature, however, has ten- and that even individuals with central social net- ded to focus on collective perceptions of large firms works and high motivation may misperceive firm in information-rich environments where substan- quality. Whereas the prior firm reputation literature tial information is disclosed by the firms themselves has emphasized track records and prominence as or by third-party intermediaries such as ratings distinct (though related) elements of a firm’s reputa- agencies. Yet information about potential partners tion (Lee et al., 2011; Rindova et al., 2005), we argue may be sparse if they are small, privately held, dis- that these attributes may have opposing effects on close only limited data, or do not garner attention evaluative misperceptions. from influential information intermediaries. Such We develop our predictions in the context of en- environments often lack the commensurability, or trepreneurs evaluating the past track records of VCs ease of firm comparisons, of information-rich envi- with whom they have met. This setting is charac- ronments (Espeland & Sauder, 2007). Entrepreneurs terized by sparse information and lacks information seek out partners from many different markets, some intermediaries such as analysts or widely accepted of which are information-sparse; for instance, en- third-party rankings to make data about VCs easily trepreneurs pursuing high-potential opportunities available. Substantial research has addressed the often seek capital and advice from venture capital subject of VC track records and shown that factors firms (VCs) that are small, privately held, and private such the extent of past investments having initial about key metrics such as returns. In such settings, it public offerings (IPOs), the number of other entre- is unclear whether it is indeed easy to evaluate the preneurs that have selected the VC as an investor, quality indicated by a firm’s track record of past and years of experience are indicative of a VC’s performance and behavior. This also raises questions ability to help ventures develop and innovate around the accuracy, bias, and sources of variance (Gompers, 1996; Hochberg, Ljungqvist, & Lu, 2007; across individuals evaluating firms—questions that Lee et al., 2011). are core to the firm reputation literature. Indeed, We employ hybrid methods, and utilize both while there is increasing awareness that social con- quantitative and qualitative analysis to help over- struction may play a role in how firms are perceived, come the limitations of individual research methods “the nature of the perceptions that underlie the (Edmondson & McManus, 2007; Kaplan, 2015). We favorability of reputations is poorly understood” conducted two waves of qualitative interviews to (Rindova & Martins, 2012: 21). validate and refine our underlying behavioral model In this paper, we ask the question “When will of entrepreneurs being boundedly rational and of- entrepreneurs be more or less accurate in their ten exerting limited effort in evaluations of VCs. We then tested our predictions of perceptual accuracy 1 Research on individual reputations within groups, using a novel dataset of 1,278 ratings of the quality however,

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