Mixed blessings: How top management team heterogeneity and governance structure influence the use of corporate venture capital by post-IPO firms

This study examines the role of the top management team (TMT) and governance structures in the use of corporate venture capital (CVC) in firms that have recently undergone an initial public offering (IPO). The study is unique in that it sheds light on governance-related antecedents of strategic decision making in such firms. We integrate the insights of behavioral agency and upper echelon perspectives to develop our hypotheses. Our results show that in the presence of non-duality, a negative curvilinear relationship exists between TMT heterogeneity and the use of CVC. We also find that TMT heterogeneity and ownership motivate the use of CVC but only up to a certain threshold. Our findings contribute to the literatures of entrepreneurship and strategy. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.