Venture Capital 20 years on: reflections on the evolution of a field

Harrison, R. T. and Mason, C. M. (2019) Venture Capital 20 years on: reflections on the evolution of a field. Venture Capital, 21(1), pp. 1-34. (doi: 10.1080/13691066.2019.1562627)

Abstract

This paper reviews the circumstances surrounding the launch of Venture Capital: An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance in 1999. It highlights a number of significant changes in the structure of the entrepreneurial finance market over the past 20 years, notably the decline of “classic” venture capital, the effective closure of the small-cap IPO market, the scale-up problem and the emergence of a second equity gap, the geographical dispersion of venture capital and the institutionalisation of the business angel market. A number of new players in the market – coinvestment schemes, equity crowdfunding platforms and blockchain technology-based Initial Coin Offerings – are discussed and the challenges and opportunities they pose for investors, entrepreneurs, policy makers, regulators and academic researchers are assessed. Against this background, a number of key features of the evolution of the content and focus of the Journal are discussed. The paper finishes with a summary of the papers included in this Special Issue.

• Item Type: Articles (Editorial)
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mason, Professor Colin
• Authors: Harrison, R. T., and Mason, C. M.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Journal Name: Venture Capital
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 1369-1066
• ISSN (Online): 1464-5343
• Published Online: 21 March 2019
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor and Francis Group
• First Published: First published in Venture Capital 21(1): 1-34
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy