Entrepreneur–venture capitalist relationships: mitigating post-investment dyadic tensions

Abstract

This paper addresses the notion of goal alignment in venture-backed firms. Aligning the goals of entrepreneurs to VCs' goals, and vice versa, may be the first step towards building strong mutual relationships between the two. Yet, little is know about the long-term outcomes of the aspects of these relationships as the literature to date has considered to a great extent the relationship between VC and entrepreneur as a ‘black box’. This paper makes an attempt to half-open this ‘black box’ by exploring the dyadic tensions between VCs and entrepreneurs in the course of de-internationalization that is perceived as a negative deviation from what is normal or expected. The data emerged from a case study research that used critical incident technique for data collection, analysis and interpretation. Grounded in data, the paper proposes the typology of goal alignment that was generated by cross-tabulating entrepreneurs' and VCs’ agendas. Four types of alignment emerged: life changing opportunity, enslavement, no marriage and illusive alignment. The concept of goal alignment is unidirectional; it is geared towards the VCs' agenda of a quick exit.

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