I like how you think: The role of cognitive similarity as a decision bias

Charles Y. Murnieks, J. Michael Haynie, Robert E. Wiltbank, Troy Harting

Research output: Contribution to journalConference Articlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

We decompose the decision-making processes of a sample of venture capitalists (VCs), investigating the degree to which 'cognitive similarity' (shared patterns of reasoning between the investor and the founder) is related to the VCs' evaluations of prospective venture deals.' Employing conjoint analysis and hierarchical linear modeling techniques, we model the VCs' assessment of a series of venture deals as a function of three attributes: the economics of the opportunity, the human capital of the founder, and the reasoning patterns of the founder. We find VCs prefer to invest in founders who demonstrate patterns of reasoning similar to their own. Further, we find that when cognitive similarity is present, the relative importance of the entrepreneur's human capital becomes even more important in the VCs' assessment of the venture deal.

Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalAcademy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings
DOIs
StatePublished - 2007
Externally publishedYes
Event67th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, AOM 2007 - Philadelphia, PA, United States
Duration: Aug 3 2007Aug 8 2007

Keywords

  • Cognition
  • Effectuation
  • Venture capital

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Management Information Systems
  • Management of Technology and Innovation

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