Partners in power: job mobility and dynamic deal‐making

Abstract

Abstract This research considers how the connectedness of venture capital (VC) firms changes with the job mobility of managers between those firms. A continuous‐time Markov chain model is developed to test whether managers are able to ‘drag’ prior inter‐firm relational ties with them as they move between employing firms. The findings support the hypothesis that increasing the stock of managers is material to creating inter‐firm ties. However, managers are not found to drag their prior links to new network positions. This result is consistent with an institutional view of VC syndication, suggesting that inter‐firm relations are other than managerial in nature.