Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Journal of Economics & Management Strategy

Specialization and Success: Evidence from Venture Capital

By: Paul A. Gompers, Anna Kovner and Josh Lerner
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:28
ShareBar

Abstract

This paper examines how organizational structure affects behavior and outcomes, studying the performance of different types of venture capital organizations. We find a strong positive relationship between the degree of specialization by individual venture capitalists at a firm and its success. When the individual investment professionals are highly specialized themselves, the marginal effect of increasing overall firm specialization is much weaker. The poorer performance by generalists appears to be due to both an inefficient allocation of funding across industries and poor selection of investments within industries. Venture capital organizations with more experience tend to outperform those with less experience.

Keywords

Experience and Expertise; Venture Capital; Organizational Structure; Outcome or Result; Performance Effectiveness; Behavior; Financial Services Industry

Citation

Gompers, Paul A., Anna Kovner, and Josh Lerner. "Specialization and Success: Evidence from Venture Capital." Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 18, no. 3 (Fall 2009): 817–844.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Authors

Paul A. Gompers

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

Josh Lerner

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • May 2025
    • Quarterly Journal of Economics

    The Diffusion of New Technologies

    By: Aakash Kalyani, Marcela Carvalho, Nicholas Bloom, Tarek Hassan, Josh Lerner and Ahmed Tahoun
    • March 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Mobvoi's Path Through Market Challenges and Business Reinvention

    By: Paul A. Gompers and Shu Lin
    • 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Private Equity and Workers: Modeling and Measuring Monopsony, Implicit Contracts, and Efficient Reallocation

    By: Kyle Herkenhoff, Josh Lerner, Gordon M. Phillips, Francisca Rebelo and Benjamin Sampson
More from the Authors
  • The Diffusion of New Technologies By: Aakash Kalyani, Marcela Carvalho, Nicholas Bloom, Tarek Hassan, Josh Lerner and Ahmed Tahoun
  • Mobvoi's Path Through Market Challenges and Business Reinvention By: Paul A. Gompers and Shu Lin
  • Private Equity and Workers: Modeling and Measuring Monopsony, Implicit Contracts, and Efficient Reallocation By: Kyle Herkenhoff, Josh Lerner, Gordon M. Phillips, Francisca Rebelo and Benjamin Sampson
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.