How Potential Knowledge Spillovers between Venture Capitalists’ Entrepreneurial Projects Affect the Specialization and Diversification of VC Funds When VC Effort Has Value

Research concerning diversification and specialization of venture capital funds typically does not consider how a VC's effort might influence performance of different portfolios. We develop a model that analyzes VC effort when there is the potential for cross-sectional and/or serial knowledge spillover among projects. The model generates two implications concerning VC effort and performance. First, VC post-investment effort is a nonmonotonic function of performance shocks, especially for diversified VCs. Second, greater cross-sectional and serial knowledge spillovers improve the performance of specialization relative to diversification, and shape how the number of decision stages in a project affects portfolio choice