While recent literature has depicted status as an intangible asset that is firm-specific and mobile, we have a limited understanding of whether status confers advantage in a way similar to other intangible assets. This study examines the macro-structural contingencies that influence the marginal...

This dissertation analyzes where and when experienced investors add value to startups. Building on the resource-dependence theory and the relational view of the firm, I argue that the positive effect of investor experience on startup performance is stronger when the startup faces a more...

Breakthrough (high-impact) innovation often happens at startups, which require external financing ex ante, when there is only an invention with potential to become a breakthrough, and uncertainty is at its peak. Are we underfunding breakthrough inventions? Extant research has focused on...

Extant scholarship has typically assumed that VC firms prefer to pick winners. I offer an alternative perspective: that specialist VC firms can select less attractive startups—with innovative potential but in need of help—and then contribute to the startups’ innovative processes so they...