Practices of European and American venture capitalists: homogeneity and heterogeneity at work

Abstract

Driven by diverse institutional contexts, regional venture capital (VC) markets have expanded unevenly over the past decades, with the US market remaining the global leader. Although considerable attention has been devoted to understanding the institutional drivers of VC activity, scholars are only beginning to examine whether and how institutions shape VCs’ investment decisions, particularly in non-US markets. Addressing this theoretically and practically relevant gap, we provide new insights based on a comprehensive survey of 611 independent VC managers in Continental Europe. Comparing European VCs’ practices with those of their US counterparts, we unveil both homogeneity and significant heterogeneity, particularly in investment selection, valuation methods, and the perceived drivers of investment performance. Our findings highlight the central role of institutions in shaping VC practices and provide valuable insights into this underexplored dimension of the global VC landscape, with implications for investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers.