The internationalisation of business angel investment activity: a review and research agenda

Abstract

Prompted by the recent publication of two practitioner-led and oriented books profiling the global expansion of the business angel investment phenomenon, this paper reviews the evidence for the internationalisation of this increasingly important source of entrepreneurial finance. As business angel activity grows in prominence in emerging markets in particular, challenges are identified in terms of the definition of the phenomenon, the importance of institutional voids in shaping the development of this activity, and the role of cultural constraints in legitimising it. The paper identifies a tension between universalist and contextualist accounts of the emergence of this market which has implications for both future research and policy formation.

Stock option taxation and venture capital activity: a cross-country study

“…VC is far from the only source of entrepreneurial finance. Start-ups and expansion are also financed in a multitude of other ways, including the founder's own funds, debt, angel investments, and new types of financing, such as crowdfunding (Robb and Robinson 2014;Estrin, Gozmin, and Khavul forthcoming;Harrison 2017). Entrepreneurs often raise funds from several different sources and different types of finance can complement each other.…”

Internationalization of business angel investments: The role of investor experience

“…The increase in the globalization of financial markets is deemed to contribute to reduce the "local bias" and possibly foster cross-border investments (Chan et al, 2005). Similar trends may be expected from BA investing, which has been referred to as a global phenomenon (Harrison, 2017;May & Liu, 2016). In this study, we examine the extent to which prior individual experience of BA investors (whether as investor or entrepreneur) helps overcome local biases.…”

“…However, although much BA investing is still localized 1 , BAs do consider making long-distance investments, especially if good opportunities are available beyond their preferred maximum distance (Harrison et al, 2010;Harrison, 2017). Cross-border angel investments have grown in recent years (EBAN, 2017;Gvetadze et al, 2020;Harrison et al, 2010) 2 and the emergence of transnational initiatives such as the European Business Angels Network and the Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia have encouraged the involvement of angel investors in international deals (May & Liu, 2016).…”

Challenges of business angels: does career matter?

“…This aligns with the view of a business angel career as a long-term learning process addressing both personal and investment goals (Lent et al ., 2002; Savickas et al ., 2009). Emerging focus areas like impact investing and social change further shape business angel activity (Harrison, 2017). Recent research highlights symbolic angel goals (personal development, supporting innovation) as key drivers of angel investing and potentially influencing career perceptions (Falcão et al ., 2023).…”