Gazelles, ponies, and the impact of business angels’ characteristics on firm growth

Annalisa Croce, Elisa Ughetto, Stefano Bonini, Vincenzo Capizzi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigates whether the individual attributes and investment approaches of business angels (BAs) affect the growth of funded companies by distinguishing between two firm types: gazelles and ponies. We draw upon an original data set comprising 265 small Italian firms (49 that received BA financing and 216 in the propensity score matched control group). Building on insights drawn from the resource-based view and absorptive capacity theory, we find that BAs with entrepreneurial experience positively affect the sales growth of gazelles only. Moreover, the role of BAs’ investment experience and coaching in the growth rates of both gazelles and ponies is insignificant. Interestingly, monitoring helps boost ponies’ performance but stifles growth among gazelles.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)223-248
Number of pages26
JournalJournal of Small Business Management
Volume59
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

Keywords

  • Gazelle
  • business angel
  • firm growth

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