벤처캐피털과 스타트업 창업자 간 민족적·문화적 유사성이 벤처캐피털의 해외투자에 미치는 영향

This study examines how ethnic similarity and cultural similarity between venture capitalists (VCs) and startup founders affect VCs' decision-making in the context of cross-border investments. Venture capital investment involves high uncertainty and is susceptible to information asymmetry, as VCs typically invest in early-stage startups and recoup their capital after a substantial period. These risks can be amplified when VCs invest in foreign startups, where VCs face greater challenges in accessing relevant information for valuation and in monitoring invested startups due to cultural and geographical distance. Ethnic and cultural similarity between VCs and startup founders can alleviate concerns related to the liability of foreignness, thereby encouraging VCs to engage in riskier investment behaviors. Analyzing 1,499 investment rounds Korean VCs made into foreign startups between 1999 and 2025, this study finds that ethnic and cultural similarity between startup founder and VC is positively associated with early-stage investments and follow-on investments. Furthermore, VCs tend to invest smaller amounts per round in both ethnically and culturally similar startups, suggesting a strategy of experimentation—taking risks to put small amounts into multiple startups with modest success potential rather than concentrating large sums into a few highly successful startups. This study contributes to the cross-border VC investment literature by empirically validating the role of ethnic and cultural similarity between VCs and founders in shaping VCs’ investment decisions, thereby identifying key factors that influence cross-border investment strategies of VCs.