Smart money for social ventures: An analysis of the value-adding activities of philanthropic venture capitalists

Abstract

Philanthropic venture capitalists (PhVCs) provide social entrepreneurs with financial and nonfinancial resources. This paper studies how and why PhVCs engage in value-adding activities. Employing an inductive case study method, our study shows that value-adding activities engaged in by PhVCs are similar to the activities carried out by traditional venture capitalists. Further, we find self-efficacy and goal setting theories to be particularly relevant in studying why PhVCs engage in value-adding activities. Concretely, PhVCs engage in value-adding activities that are in line with their efficacy beliefs and that facilitate the achievement of lower-order goals related to professionalization, self-sustainability, and expansion. As such, they aim at reaching the higher-end goal of scaling the social venture.