Venture Capital Syndicate Diversity: Three Types and their Effects on Performance

This study investigates the relationship between venture capital (hereafter, VC) syndicate diversity and the IPO performance of an entrepreneurial company backed by the syndicate. Specifically, focusing on three types of diversity within a VC syndicate, which are aligned with Harrison and Klein’s seminal categorization in 2007 (i.e., separation, variety, and disparity), this study suggests their distinct effects on performance. Two stage least square analyses with 1,127 VC syndicate investments made by 6,268 VC firms strongly supported the hypotheses. The results showed that that capacity diversity decreases the performance and that expertise diversity and network diversity increase it.