Mixed Methods in Venture Capital Research: An Illustrative Study and Directions for Future Work

Abstract

Professor Wright's body of research on venture capital (VC) has advanced the field and facilitated recent research on new sources of financing for start-ups, such as crowdfunding and blockchain. In this paper, inspired by Professor Wright's pursuit of encouraging new directions in research, we first demonstrate – with an illustrative study on VC learning – that mixed methods research, which combines quantitative and qualitative data, can be helpful in VC research. We also present some possible mixed methods directions for future research. We conclude with a short and critical discussion on both methods and research practices. In doing so, we hope to stimulate scholars’ interest in these underutilized methods.