CFP: Early-stage financing of technology entrepreneurship (Venture Capital)

[entrepreneurship-phd at lists.uni-due.de]

From: Einar Rasmussen [mailto:Einar.Rasmussen at hibo.no] 
Date: Mon 23 Aug 2010 14:15

Call for papers:
Early-stage financing of technology entrepreneurship

Venture Capital
An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance
Published By: Routledge
www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13691066.asp

Special issue planned for publication in 2012

Guest Editors:
Roger Sørheim and Einar Rasmussen
Bodø Graduate School of Business, Norway

Purpose of the special issue
This special issue will explore questions related to the early-stage financing of new technology-based ventures (NTBVs). Over the last three decades a number of studies have shown the importance of NTBVs for wealth and job creation. One of the key challenges for NTBVs is access to finance. Whereas this may not be a general problem for the general population of new ventures it is a specific challenge for NTBVs because of their need for significant amounts of initial funding to develop their products and services and to gain a foothold in the marketplace. This is an important focus for policy intervention, but the academic literature has devoted relatively little attention to this issue. 

There are a number of studies on the role of institutional venture capital for funding of NTBVs but these typically occur in later stages of development when the firm has reached initial milestones such as technological verification and first sales and are capable of attracting venture capitalists. Studies of business angels have often looked at early stage ventures, but only a handful of these have focused on the role as investors in NTBVs. Moreover, the majority of studies on finance of technology based ventures have a supply side focus. There is clearly a need for more studies on the financing process of NTBVs that take a demand-side perspective. 

Research topics
We invite empirical papers that can provide insights into the early-stage financing of NTBFs. We encourage both qualitative and quantitative approaches using the new venture, the financing sources, or a combination of these as units of analysis. The number of studies with rigorous theoretical backing has grown significantly over last few years and we encourage contributors to build further on previous research and/or introducing new theoretical perspectives. Possible topics for papers include, but are not limited to:
. Sources of financing for technology-based new ventures. We know that technology-based new ventures rely on many different sources for financing, but more knowledge is needed about the mix of different sources in different contexts and phases of venture development. We encourage studies considering financing from sources such as family and friends, business angels, seed-funding, early-stage venture capital, government grants, loans, alliances, and combinations of these.
. Linking early-stage financing and subsequent performance and outcomes. The link between sources of financing and later performance of technology-based new ventures is not well established. We seek papers looking at the financial performance of these ventures but equally important are studies considering other goals such as employment growth, innovativeness, and social or environmental outcomes. 
. The role of policy and government support schemes. Most countries have a variety of support schemes for technology-based firms. Studies looking at the rationale, design, use, and impact of these schemes are welcomed. 
. Firm strategies to overcome financing constraints. The entrepreneurship literature has paid increasing attention to how entrepreneurs and new ventures make use of strategies such as symbolic management, storytelling, and interorganizational endorsements to increase legitimacy and access resources. We encourage studies exploring the strategies used by technology-based new firms to become attractive and receive financing from different sources. 
. Non-financial contributions from financing sources. Recently, more attention has been devoted to the importance of the competence and networks provided by investors to new ventures. We welcome studies on the non-financial contributions from different financing sources related to provision of resources, networks, business planning, etc.
. Other issues. Papers exploring early-stage financing of university spin-off ventures or ventures situated within incubators or science parks, financing from industry partners and alliances, bootstrap financing, the cost associated with financing, the process of obtaining financing, differences in the availability and the process of obtaining financing in different locations, and other related themes are welcomed.

Submission and deadlines 
Authors are encouraged to submit paper proposals to the special issue editors who are happy to provide feedback. Papers will be reviewed using Venture Capital's normal double-blind review process. The timeline for the special issue is as follows:
31st December 2010    Deadline for full paper submission
31st March 2011          Completion of review process
31st July 2011             Submission of revised papers
31st October 2011       Deadline for making final revisions
2012                           Journal publication

For questions regarding the content of the issue, please contact the special issue editors:
Roger Sørheim, Bodø Graduate School of Business, Norway, roger.sorheim at hibo.no 
Einar Rasmussen, Bodø Graduate School of Business, Norway, einar.rasmussen at hibo.no