Technology spillovers and capital gains in corporate venture capital investments: evidence from the biopharmaceutical industry

Using a framework combining the real option perspective and appropriation concerns raised in the entrepreneurial finance literature, we find that technology spillovers and capital gains created by corporate venture capital (CVC) investments are positively related with each other in the biopharmaceutical industry. However, this positive relationship is significantly decreased or becomes negative when CVC investments are made with solely financial objectives or in early-stage startups. This study provides evidence that the nature of the relationship between technology spillovers and capital gains that constitute the corporate investors’ total returns created by CVC investments.