Actors at the wealth–power nexus—oligarchs, cronies, plutocrats, and the like—have become increas... more Actors at the wealth–power nexus—oligarchs, cronies, plutocrats, and the like—have become increasingly consequential in the global economic, political, and organizational landscapes. Yet, we know little about them, especially the processes by which they gain wealth or power, and then transform one into the other. I suggest that one reason for our limited understanding is that we are prisoners of Aristotle’s conceptualization of them as groups. To break out of that prison, a turn to the individual level seems warranted. This turn opens up new theoretical perspectives that focus on individuals and their processes, including effectuation, process research, biology and neuroscience, and arts and literature. These perspectives put individual-level processes front and center in the uncertain contexts in which these actors create and transform wealth and power.
We consider how new organizational forms originate, focusing on the role of powerless actors in i... more We consider how new organizational forms originate, focusing on the role of powerless actors in industry emergence. This process “is pre-eminently a political phenomenon” (Stinchcombe, 1965). New organizational forms—a primary source of organizational speciation—may be a product of the construction of markets using soft power (Santos and Eisenhardt, 2009). Organizational speciation transforms entrepreneurs into institutional entrepreneurs whose distributed agency leads
... In an LAO setting larger players are more likely to be successful institutional entrepreneurs... more ... In an LAO setting larger players are more likely to be successful institutional entrepreneurs (Greenwood, Suddaby, and Hinings, 2002 ... Lingelbach, David C.; Gilbert, Evan; and Murray, Gordon (2010) "TOWARD A PROCESS MODEL OF VENTURE CAPITAL EMERGENCE: THE ...
Page 1. Neither Pirates nor Politicos: The Emergence of Venture Capital in Weak Institutional Env... more Page 1. Neither Pirates nor Politicos: The Emergence of Venture Capital in Weak Institutional Environments Submitted by David Charles Lingelbach, to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management, April 2009 ...
This paper reflects on the policy formation process in the burgeoning area of venture capital fin... more This paper reflects on the policy formation process in the burgeoning area of venture capital finance. An important question is raised as to why so little extant academic research, of both rigor and relevance, is employed in policy formation. The authors argue that the long term, international and comparative perspective of the academic researcher is of increasing importance in government. The gap between policy practice and academic empiricism is illustrated by reference to contemporary policy interest in the creation of public/private (‘hybrid’) venture capital funds. The rubric of 12 Meditations is employed as a device to communicate across the academic/policy maker divide.
We consider how new organizational forms originate, focusing on the role of powerless actors in i... more We consider how new organizational forms originate, focusing on the role of powerless actors in industry emergence. This process “is pre-eminently a political phenomenon” (Stinchcombe, 1965). New organizational forms—a primary source of organizational speciation—may be a product of the construction of markets using soft power (Santos and Eisenhardt, 2009). Organizational speciation transforms entrepreneurs into institutional entrepreneurs whose distributed agency leads to political and non-deterministic emergence (Battilana, Leca, and Boxenbaum, 2009). Most approaches characterize speciation as a consequence of insignificant or random initial factors. Entrepreneurs are more likely to cause new organizational form emergence when both asset cospecialization and futurity are low (Rumelt, 1987), requiring rapid institutionalization through force or domination mechanisms (Lawrence, Winn, and Jennings, 2001). However, these mechanisms are unlikely to be available to powerless institutiona...
We consider how venture capital (VC) industries emerge in limited access orders (LAOs; North, Wal... more We consider how venture capital (VC) industries emerge in limited access orders (LAOs; North, Wallis, and Weingast, 2009), focusing on the role of diffusion. Rumelt (1987) suggested that VC emerges when entrepreneurial firms require low levels of asset cospecialization and where expected returns occurs in the near future. This imperative for near-term returns is complicated in LAOs, where the first members of a VC population must act as institutional entrepreneurs in a context inimical to innovation and its challenge to elites’ economic rents, and requires rapid institutionalization. Diffusion—“the process in which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system” (Rogers, 2003)—plays a central role in the success of this process, which is based on force or domination mechanisms (Lawrence, Winn, and Jennings, 2001). In an LAO setting larger players are more likely to be successful institutional entrepreneurs (Greenwood, Suddaby, a...
Venture capital (VC) is concerned with seed, startup, and early stage investing in firms involved... more Venture capital (VC) is concerned with seed, startup, and early stage investing in firms involved with innovative products or processes. Existing variance studies of VC provide an incomplete understanding of VC emergence, emphasizing either macro-level enabling conditions or the efficient fund-level operation of the VC cycle. Following Tsoukas and Chia (2002), our study focuses on the non-prototypical portion of the VC phenomenon, which is found in weak institutional environments characteristic of many developing countries. In these contexts, VC is more likely to be an unstable organizational form and hence subject to change. As a consequence, new VC forms and emergence processes may arise in these environments, providing data in support of a more complete, processual model of VC emergence. This paper reports findings of an exploratory case study of the VC emergence process in Botswana. Our main contribution is to develop a multi-stage process model of VC emergence. Our model consis...
An exploratory longitudinal case study of the South African venture capital (VC) industry is used... more An exploratory longitudinal case study of the South African venture capital (VC) industry is used to evaluate two perspectives on the VC emergence process. The first views VC emergence as the resolution of the simultaneity problem. We propose a second perspective, which sees emergence as the product of a teleological process involving coproduction between private sector fund managers and public sector investors. We develop process data from four sources: Semi-structured interviews with current and past VC practitioners in South Africa, archival research at fund managers and newspapers, direct observation, and a review of relevant research. Our analysis shows the centrality of coproduction to the industry’s emergence. These results suggest an alternative to the simultaneity model for explaining VC industry emergence in weak institutional environments.
Investment Strategies, Structures, and Policies, 2010
ABSTRACT This paper reflects on the policy formation process in the burgeoning area of early-stag... more ABSTRACT This paper reflects on the policy formation process in the burgeoning area of early-stage, venture capital finance. An important question is raised as to why so little extant academic research, of both rigor and relevance, is employed in policy formation. The authors argue that the long term, international and comparative perspective of the academic researcher is of increasing importance in government. The gap between policy practice and academic empiricism is illustrated by reference to contemporary policy interest in the creation of public/private (‘hybrid’) venture capital funds. The rubric of Twelve Meditations is employed as a device to communicate across the academic/policy maker divide.
Actors at the wealth–power nexus—oligarchs, cronies, plutocrats, and the like—have become increas... more Actors at the wealth–power nexus—oligarchs, cronies, plutocrats, and the like—have become increasingly consequential in the global economic, political, and organizational landscapes. Yet, we know little about them, especially the processes by which they gain wealth or power, and then transform one into the other. I suggest that one reason for our limited understanding is that we are prisoners of Aristotle’s conceptualization of them as groups. To break out of that prison, a turn to the individual level seems warranted. This turn opens up new theoretical perspectives that focus on individuals and their processes, including effectuation, process research, biology and neuroscience, and arts and literature. These perspectives put individual-level processes front and center in the uncertain contexts in which these actors create and transform wealth and power.
We consider how new organizational forms originate, focusing on the role of powerless actors in i... more We consider how new organizational forms originate, focusing on the role of powerless actors in industry emergence. This process “is pre-eminently a political phenomenon” (Stinchcombe, 1965). New organizational forms—a primary source of organizational speciation—may be a product of the construction of markets using soft power (Santos and Eisenhardt, 2009). Organizational speciation transforms entrepreneurs into institutional entrepreneurs whose distributed agency leads
... In an LAO setting larger players are more likely to be successful institutional entrepreneurs... more ... In an LAO setting larger players are more likely to be successful institutional entrepreneurs (Greenwood, Suddaby, and Hinings, 2002 ... Lingelbach, David C.; Gilbert, Evan; and Murray, Gordon (2010) "TOWARD A PROCESS MODEL OF VENTURE CAPITAL EMERGENCE: THE ...
Page 1. Neither Pirates nor Politicos: The Emergence of Venture Capital in Weak Institutional Env... more Page 1. Neither Pirates nor Politicos: The Emergence of Venture Capital in Weak Institutional Environments Submitted by David Charles Lingelbach, to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management, April 2009 ...
This paper reflects on the policy formation process in the burgeoning area of venture capital fin... more This paper reflects on the policy formation process in the burgeoning area of venture capital finance. An important question is raised as to why so little extant academic research, of both rigor and relevance, is employed in policy formation. The authors argue that the long term, international and comparative perspective of the academic researcher is of increasing importance in government. The gap between policy practice and academic empiricism is illustrated by reference to contemporary policy interest in the creation of public/private (‘hybrid’) venture capital funds. The rubric of 12 Meditations is employed as a device to communicate across the academic/policy maker divide.
We consider how new organizational forms originate, focusing on the role of powerless actors in i... more We consider how new organizational forms originate, focusing on the role of powerless actors in industry emergence. This process “is pre-eminently a political phenomenon” (Stinchcombe, 1965). New organizational forms—a primary source of organizational speciation—may be a product of the construction of markets using soft power (Santos and Eisenhardt, 2009). Organizational speciation transforms entrepreneurs into institutional entrepreneurs whose distributed agency leads to political and non-deterministic emergence (Battilana, Leca, and Boxenbaum, 2009). Most approaches characterize speciation as a consequence of insignificant or random initial factors. Entrepreneurs are more likely to cause new organizational form emergence when both asset cospecialization and futurity are low (Rumelt, 1987), requiring rapid institutionalization through force or domination mechanisms (Lawrence, Winn, and Jennings, 2001). However, these mechanisms are unlikely to be available to powerless institutiona...
We consider how venture capital (VC) industries emerge in limited access orders (LAOs; North, Wal... more We consider how venture capital (VC) industries emerge in limited access orders (LAOs; North, Wallis, and Weingast, 2009), focusing on the role of diffusion. Rumelt (1987) suggested that VC emerges when entrepreneurial firms require low levels of asset cospecialization and where expected returns occurs in the near future. This imperative for near-term returns is complicated in LAOs, where the first members of a VC population must act as institutional entrepreneurs in a context inimical to innovation and its challenge to elites’ economic rents, and requires rapid institutionalization. Diffusion—“the process in which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system” (Rogers, 2003)—plays a central role in the success of this process, which is based on force or domination mechanisms (Lawrence, Winn, and Jennings, 2001). In an LAO setting larger players are more likely to be successful institutional entrepreneurs (Greenwood, Suddaby, a...
Venture capital (VC) is concerned with seed, startup, and early stage investing in firms involved... more Venture capital (VC) is concerned with seed, startup, and early stage investing in firms involved with innovative products or processes. Existing variance studies of VC provide an incomplete understanding of VC emergence, emphasizing either macro-level enabling conditions or the efficient fund-level operation of the VC cycle. Following Tsoukas and Chia (2002), our study focuses on the non-prototypical portion of the VC phenomenon, which is found in weak institutional environments characteristic of many developing countries. In these contexts, VC is more likely to be an unstable organizational form and hence subject to change. As a consequence, new VC forms and emergence processes may arise in these environments, providing data in support of a more complete, processual model of VC emergence. This paper reports findings of an exploratory case study of the VC emergence process in Botswana. Our main contribution is to develop a multi-stage process model of VC emergence. Our model consis...
An exploratory longitudinal case study of the South African venture capital (VC) industry is used... more An exploratory longitudinal case study of the South African venture capital (VC) industry is used to evaluate two perspectives on the VC emergence process. The first views VC emergence as the resolution of the simultaneity problem. We propose a second perspective, which sees emergence as the product of a teleological process involving coproduction between private sector fund managers and public sector investors. We develop process data from four sources: Semi-structured interviews with current and past VC practitioners in South Africa, archival research at fund managers and newspapers, direct observation, and a review of relevant research. Our analysis shows the centrality of coproduction to the industry’s emergence. These results suggest an alternative to the simultaneity model for explaining VC industry emergence in weak institutional environments.
Investment Strategies, Structures, and Policies, 2010
ABSTRACT This paper reflects on the policy formation process in the burgeoning area of early-stag... more ABSTRACT This paper reflects on the policy formation process in the burgeoning area of early-stage, venture capital finance. An important question is raised as to why so little extant academic research, of both rigor and relevance, is employed in policy formation. The authors argue that the long term, international and comparative perspective of the academic researcher is of increasing importance in government. The gap between policy practice and academic empiricism is illustrated by reference to contemporary policy interest in the creation of public/private (‘hybrid’) venture capital funds. The rubric of Twelve Meditations is employed as a device to communicate across the academic/policy maker divide.
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