Added Values durch Business Angels

A lot of studies show that business angels have got increased importance for the finance of small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in the English speaking world. But business angels usually offer more than only a financial service in the narrow sense. Business angels can contribute added values by their active involvements in the management of firms.A doctoral dissertation at the Department of Small Business Management of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration did not only analyze the research results available from, in this respect, more advanced countries, but also contributed data and experiences from Austria. Furthermore, this research project tried to find out which factors foster the effectiveness of business angel capital for the smaller firm beyond the pure finance function.From the analysis of 23 Austrian cases we can learn that a fit between the dimensions of the supply (business angels) and the demand (entrepreneur) is most important. The critical dimensions for this fit seem to be the quantity and quality of the involvement of the business angels, the attitude of the entrepreneur towards co-operation, and the demand for management services in the enterprise.