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This paper seeks to understand the dynamics of new venture financing across 20 business start‐ups.

A total of 20 cases were explored, via initial discussions with the founder(s), and follow‐up contact to confirm sources of financing acquired during new venture creation. This approach was adopted because of the challenges associated with acquiring full details of start‐up financing, and in particular informal forms of new venture financing.

Significant variation in, and scale of, new venture financing was identified. In multiple cases, funding patterns did not tally with established explanations of small business financing.

The primary limitation of the analysis is the focus on a small number of individual cases. Although this allowed for more detailed analysis, it does not make the findings applicable across the small business population as a whole. New ventures acquired very different forms of finance, and in different configurations or “bundles”, so creating a wide range of start‐up financing patterns and overall levels of capitalisation. This suggests that multiple factors influence founder decisions on start‐up funding acquisition. It also indicates the wide divergence between highly capitalised and under‐capitalised start‐ups.

Many of the new ventures were started with low levels of capitalisation, which as the literature suggests is a strong determinant of reduced prospects for survival. This suggests a possible “financing deficit”, rather than gap, for a proportion of business start‐ups.

The paper provides an alternative methodology for considering new venture financing, and as a result concludes that standard, rational theories of small business financing may not always hold for new ventures.

Muslim entrepreneurs face various obstacles when starting their business, especially in gaining access to financing. Some financing practices have some Sharia violations, so this paper tries to explore the opportunities and challenges of one financing alternative for Muslim entrepreneurship development in Indonesia that fully complies with Sharia principles. This paper aims to further understand the concept of venture capital and how it relates to Islamic teachings, and the paper ends with the suggestion for future research direction.

This study uses qualitative methods with descriptive and exploratory analysis. A case study approach using semi-structured in-depth interviews with several key informants were conducted to identify the opportunities and challenges for Muslim entrepreneurs in gaining access to Islamic financing. Various literary syntheses are also provided to better understand alternative financing for business development of Muslim entrepreneurs.

Muslim entrepreneurship, depending on their goals and needs in obtaining financing, uses different models in the process of agreements with capital-funding institutions based on Sharia principles. Sharia venture capital is one alternative financing that gives freedom for Muslim entrepreneurs to develop their business based on the Islamic system, without thinking about the requirements that must be met in obtaining access to the financing. However, it seems that this scheme still has relatively low interest, especially from Muslim entrepreneurs because they do not know the information and procedures of Sharia venture capital.

Some policy implications include increasing capital from Sharia venture capital institutions, the role of the government in providing adequate policy support and incentives and broader socialization and education about the existence and importance of developing Sharia venture capital. Practical implications include useful information for Muslim entrepreneurs to address financing issues in their entrepreneurial activities and suggest insights for future research.

This study provides the link of financial access for Muslim entrepreneurs to Sharia venture capital as a new financing business innovation. Thus, it contributes to the literature on Sharia venture capital and Muslim entrepreneurship. The authors also propose some useful recommendations for further research in this field.

Take the image of the entrepreneur as a driven accepter of risk, an individual (or set of individuals) hungry to amass a fortune as quickly as possible. This image is consistent with the traditional finance theory view of entrepreneurial startups, one that assumes that profit maximization is the firm’s sole motivation (Chaganti, DeCarolis & Deeds, 1995). Myers’s (1994) cost explanation of the pecking order hypothesis (i.e. entrepreneurs prefer internally generated funds first, debt next, and external equity last) incorporates this economically rational view of entrepreneurs’ financing preferences. According to this view, information asymmetry and uncertainty make the availability of external financing very limited and the cost of it prohibitively high. To compensate, entrepreneurs must give up greater and greater control in order to “buy” funds needed to achieve the desired growth and profitability. Indeed, Brophy and Shulman (1992, p. 65) state, “Those entrepreneurs willing to relinquish absolute independence in order to maximize expected shareholder wealth through corporate growth are deemed rational investors in the finance literature.” Undoubtedly, cost and availability explanations of financing choices are valid for many new and small businesses. However, many entrepreneurship researchers have long been dissatisfied with the incompleteness of this perspective.

U.S. venture capital financings of U.S. entrepreneurial firms with up to 213 observations are consistent with the proposition that convertible preferred equity is the optimal form of venture capital finance. This paper introduces new evidence from 208 U.S. venture capital financings of Canadian entrepreneurial firms. In contrast to U.S. venture capital investments in U.S. entrepreneurial firms, U.S. venture capitalists finance Canadian entrepreneurial firms with a variety of forms of finance. The differences between domestic and international U.S. venture capitalist financing structures are not attributable to differences in the definition of the term ‘venture capital’. The data point to the importance of institutional determinants of venture capitalist capital structures within the U.S. and abroad. Among other things, the data indicate that U.S. venture capitalists often do not choose convertible preferred shares in the absence of tax considerations in favor of that financing vehicle.

This study aims to examine the venture capital (VC) industry in China. It has demonstrated a history of high growth with significant variations over time. The authors have examined the trends and determinants of VC investments in China over a 20-year period from 1995 to 2014. They find that the aggregate amount of VC investments, the total number of venture deals and the average amount of venture investments per deal in China are all significantly impacted by macroeconomic conditions (i.e. GDP, export, money supply), technology innovations and financial market indicators (i.e. initial public offerings (IPOs), interest rate, price-to-earnings ratio, etc.). They also find that the 2007 China A-Share stock market crash and the subsequent global financial crisis have motivated VCists in China to adjust their investment strategies and risk levels by allocating more capital to later-stage investments and securing more deals with later-round financings. However, after the 2008 global financial crisis, the China’s venture industry has recovered faster compared to the US counterpart response.

The authors first perform trend analysis of VC investments at an aggregate level, by stages of development, and across industry from 1995 to 2014.To test H1 and H2, the authors use multiple regression models with lagged explanatory variables. To test H3, the authors use univariate tests to compare the measures of VC investments at an aggregate level, stage funds ratios, stage deals ratios and financing series ratios during both a five-year and seven-year time windows around the 2007 A-Share stock market crash and the subsequent financial crisis.

The development of the VC industry in China has demonstrated a history of high growth with significant variation over time. The authors find that the aggregate amount of VC investments, the total number of venture deals and the average amount of venture investments per deal in China are all significantly impacted by macroeconomic conditions (i.e. GDP, export, money supply), technology innovations and financial market indicators (i.e. IPOs, interest rate, price-to-earnings ratio, etc.). The authors also find that the 2007 China A-Share stock market crash and the subsequent global financial crisis have motivated VCists in China to adjust their investment strategies and risk by allocating more capital to later-stage investments and securing more deals with later-round financings. However, the China VC industry has recovered faster compared to the USA just after the 2008 global financial crisis.

There are also limitations in the study. The VC data in China in the earlier 1990s might not be very reliable due to the quality of statistics. Therefore, the trend analysis and discussions mainly focus on the time after 2000. Also, the authors cannot find VC financing sequence data for the analysis. Second, there is no doubt that the policy impact from Chinese transforming economic system and government policies on its VC industry is substantial (Su and Wang, 2013). However, they cannot find an appropriate variable to be included in the empirical models to consider this effect. Further study on this area would provide meaningful information. Third, although the authors have done comparison study between the VC industry in China in this study and the VC industry in the US documented in Ning et al. (2015) and discussed some interesting findings, more in-depth research in this area will be very useful.

The findings have meaningful implications for VCists and start-up companies seeking equity financings in China. VCists should closely monitor macroeconomic and market conditions to make appropriate adjustments to their risk and investment strategies. Entrepreneurs seeking equity financings for their business could also monitor the identified macroeconomic and market indicators, which can help them with their timing and to negotiate a better equity financing deal. VC financing is more likely to succeed when key macroeconomic and market indicators become favorable.

This paper contributes to the literature by testing the supply and demand theory on the VC market proposed by Poterba (1989) and Gompers and Lerner (1998) from the macroeconomic perspective using 20 years’ VC data from China. The authors also examine how the 2007 A-Share stock market crash and the subsequent financial crisis affected VCists to adjust their risk levels and investment strategies. It provides useful information for international academia and policymakers to understand the quick rise of China VC industry. The authors also find that the macroeconomic drivers of VC industry are somewhat different under different economic systems.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between low-wealth business founders in the USA and external startup funding. Specifically, the authors test whether a founders’ low personal net worth is correlated with a lower probability of acquiring funding from outside sources during the business creation process.

The authors use a double-hurdle Cragg model to jointly estimate: first, the decision to acquire external financing; and second, the amount received. The sample is the US-based Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II (PSED II). The PSED II tracks business founders attempting to start ventures from 2005 to 2012.

Receipt of outside financing during business formation is largely determined by the business founder’s personal finances (controlling for human capital, venture type and industry, and whether money was sought in the first place). A higher household net worth results in larger amounts of external funding received. Low-wealth business founders, therefore, are less likely to get external funds, and they receive lower amounts when they do. The disparity between low-and high-wealth business founders is more pronounced for formal, monitored sources of external financing such as bank loans.

Because the study eliminates survivor bias by using a nationally representative sample of business founders who are in the venture creation process, the findings apply to both successful business founders and those who disengaged during the business creation process. The authors offer insights into the sources and amounts of external funds acquired by individuals across all levels of wealth. The authors accomplish this by disaggregating business founders into wealth quintiles. The study demonstrates the importance of personal wealth as a factor in acquiring external startup financing compared to human capital, industry, or personal characteristics.

If the ability to acquire external funding is significantly constrained, the quality of the opportunity and the skill of the business founder may be less a determinant of success at creating a new business as prior studies have suggested. Consequently, entrepreneurship (as measured by business formation) as a path toward upward, socioeconomic mobility will be afforded only to those individuals with sufficient financial endowments at the outset.

Unlike prior studies, the data used are not subject to survivor bias or an underrepresentation of self-employment. The statistical model jointly estimates acquisition of financing and the amount received. This resolves selection and censoring problems. Finally, the dependent variables directly measure liquidity constraints in the context of business formation, that is, before a new venture is created. Prior research contexts have typically studied existing businesses, and are therefore not true examinations of conditions affecting business creation.

Staged financing is a prominent feature of the venture capital investment process. With staged financing, venture capitalists (VCs) may choose to either make an investment or delay it at each round. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of market uncertainty, project-specific uncertainty and agency problems on these decisions.

The study uses data from Indian firms that received venture capital funding between 2000 and 2017. The duration between funding rounds is analysed using survival analysis. An accelerated failure time model is used to estimate the influence of market uncertainty, project-specific uncertainty and agency problems on the length of time between funding rounds.

VCs delay investment when there are high levels of uncertainty in the market; if market uncertainty increases by 1%, delay in funding increases by more than 6% (almost a month) on average. There is no statistically significant relationship found between the funding duration and project-specific uncertainty. Agency problems motivate VCs to invest sooner. An increase in agency problems results in a reduction of 55% (almost five months) in the length of time before the next funding round.

This study has useful business policy implications. It provides VCs with real option value drivers such as market uncertainty, agency problems, which influence the timing of decisions in staged investment processes. It will help to make the choice between investing and delaying at each round of financing more robust. Further, it is useful for VCs to differentiate between market uncertainty and agency problems against the backdrop of their different implications for staging decisions.

Few studies have examined staging decisions from a real options perspective in the context of a developed economy and very few from a developing economy perspective. This study increases understanding of staging decisions in the Indian context.

Explains how the adoption of Islamic law (Shariah) theoretically affects a political economy, why it requires the abolition of interest rates as a price for money and how this is achieved. Takes Saudi Arabia as an example of a Muslim country governed by Shariah and investigates how far it accords with theory. Argues that equity financing (including non‐interest bearing government bonds) has helped to finance growth and insulated the stock market from speculative financing. Looks at statistics on the financial structures, assets and loans of Saudi banks (including joing ventures with foreign banks) and concludes that they have “done well” in implementing Islamic principles; and that interest‐free financing is appropriate for this country.

The purpose of the paper is to analyse the financial search behaviour of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in different regions and the perceived importance of different external financiers for these firms.

A postal survey targeting the chief executive officers (CEOs) of 459 SMEs was distributed in different regions of Sweden.

Large differences exist in the financial search behaviour exhibited by firms in the four different types of regions. In the metropolitan areas, firms are more active in searching for new owners, especially professional investors. In smaller municipalities, banks dominate as the most important financier.

The study might not be generalised for other settings because it was carried out in Sweden. Furthermore, the regional types used might cause some concern as to whether the findings can be generalised.

The study provides evidence that policies need to be tailor‐made for different regions because the predominant type of financier differs greatly between regions. The findings also emphasise the need for policymakers to focus on equity gap issues in regional centres.

The paper fulfils an important role in elaborating on the use and importance of different types of financing in various regions.

This paper aims to explore the strategies used by venture capital (VC) firms in assisting entrepreneurs who have business potential but lack capital. The study also aims to investigate whether the VC strategy can be adopted by Islamic banks through musharakah financing.

Apart from content analysis, primary data were gathered from several interview sessions with the management of three VC firms and two Islamic banks.

Islamic banks in Malaysia have great potential to offer musharakah financing and mitigate risk by adopting the following five VC strategies: method of selection, channelling of funds, monitoring, non-capital assistance and period of investment. We propose the channelling of corporate social responsibility funds for musharakah financing as an initial step in applying VC strategy.

Given the limited number of willing and eligible respondents in Malaysia, the scope of this study can be widened to a cross-country analysis where musharakah financing is widely adopted.

This study motivates regulatory bodies and Islamic banks to consider musharakah financing using the risk monitoring strategy adopted from the VC industry.

This study is the first to empirically explore the strategy adopted by VC companies and evaluate whether such a strategy is suitable for the concept of musharakah financing.