Financing new ventures in China: System antecedents and institutionalization

Abstract

China's system for funding new ventures is a relatively recent phenomenon emerging from decades of government-led technology policy and a still-transitioning business system. This paper first proposes a general framework in which this financing system is defined as the country-specific configuration of actors, rules and practices by which investment funds are pooled, investment targets identified, funds invested and monitored, and returns appropriated. The paper uses this framework to link the centralized government system of the 1980s to today's nascent venture capital industry. The analysis leads to policy and managerial implications, as well as a research agenda for further studies in the Chinese context and across different venture financing systems.