Early stage investment decision and psychology: The missing link

• Main Authors: Deffains-Crapsky, Catherine, Ola, Abdel Malik
• Other Authors: Groupe de Recherche Angevin en Economie et Management (GRANEM), Institut National de l'Horticulture et du Paysage-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université d'Angers (UA)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: cognitive psychology; early stage financing; mindfulness; Uncertainty; [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hal.univ-angers.fr/hal-02538795

International audience This paper presents a theoretical analysis. We make a critical review of the existing literature linked to the evaluation of the value creation potential of entrepreneurial firms. Financing at early stage is crucial because it allows a reliable redefinition of a business idea in order to build a great firm. In this paper we want to explain why theorists know little about the early stage investment decision by venture capital or business angels. We show that the psychological aspects, in spite of their recognition as an essential part of the financial decision making long time ago, hold little attention in the literature. The consequence is the lack of a global and relevant model on the identification of investment opportunity. The gap between the research object (the innovative idea at early stage) and approaches used by theorists is significant. We highlight the concept of mindfulness and we propose a framework stemming from psychological paradigms and make recommendations which can guide entrepreneurial finance researches in the future. This analysis reinforces our belief that an important paradigmatic change has to be made to encircle better this category of decision. The issue is also epistemological because it leads to wonder about the research practices towards the theorist objectives.