Aspirations, innovation, and corporate venture capital: A behavioral perspective

This study takes an organizational decision‐making perspective to examine when firms are likely to utilize CVC units as a mechanism for externalizing R&D. We draw insights from the behavioral theory of the firm to argue that managerial aspirations for innovation‐related goals are an important driver of CVC initiatives within firms. We test our argument by examining both the adoption and termination of CVC units for a sample of information technology firms from 1992 to 2003. Results show that a firm is more likely to adopt and less likely to terminate a CVC unit when its innovation performance is closest to its social aspirations.