Correspondence: Siah Hwee Ang, Department of International Business, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. Tel: +64 9 373 7599 ext. 84459; Fax: +64 9 308 2324. E-mail: s.ang@auckland.ac.nz

¹is Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Business at the University of Auckland Business School. Before the University of Auckland, he spent several years at Cass Business School, City University, London, UK and the National University of Singapore Business School, where he completed his PhD. His main research interests are in the areas of international business strategy, alliances, technology strategy, biotechnology, venture capital and reputation dynamics. He teaches strategy courses at all levels, and research methods course at the postgraduate level. He is also the assistant editor of Long Range Planning, a top academic-practitioner strategy journal.

Received 4 July 2006; Revised 4 July 2006.

Abstract

Biotechnology companies can access financial and management resources through venture capitalist (VC) firms. An analysis of 1,490 VC investments shows that country-of-origin (CO) of biotech companies has an effect on the participation by VC firms in various biotech subsectors. Specifically, it is found that US biotech companies tend to have higher amount received per VC firm, greater number of VC firms investing in them and greater biotech investment experience of the investing VC firms. Asia-Pacific biotech companies have consistently less VC firms investing in them and these investing VC firms tend to have less biotech investment experience. VC firms with greater biotech investment experience are also investing in European biotech companies more than those from the Americas less US. CO also correlates with outcomes in the four of the six key biotech subsectors studied. These findings suggest a strong CO effect of VC investment in biotech companies.