Research and projects

1. From Failure to Innovation: Strategic Knowledge Transfer in Corporate Venture Capital (Job market paper)

Abstract: This paper investigates whether corporate venture capital (CVC)—investments made by incumbent firms through their own venture arms—strategically extract value from failed start-up investments and facilitate the reallocation of innovation and talent. I find that, compared with a CVC’s successful investments, the parent firm is more likely to pursue new innovations in the broader technological areas pioneered by its failed start-ups, while avoiding the specific technology classes where these ventures failed. These findings point to a learning-from-failure mechanism through which incumbent firms capture value from their CVC activity. Consistent with this view, I find that when the patent classes of failed start-ups lie outside the parent firm’s existing technological portfolio, parent firms subsequently exhibit greater patent citations, patent acquisitions, and inventor absorption from failed portfolio ventures than from successful ones. Moreover, failed ventures tend to be concentrated in technological areas that overlap more with the parent firm’s competitors, enabling CVCs to monitor emerging competitive threats and opportunities. Overall, the results highlight the important role CVCs play in preserving and redeploying valuable knowledge generated through entrepreneurial experimentation.

• Presentations: Scheduled Presentations: FIRN PhD Symposium 2025, AFA PhD Poster Session 2026

2. Hiring CEOs from the Non-Profit Sector (joint with Tianyu Cai, Leo Liu and Jason Zein)

Abstract: CEOs with experience in the non-profit sector now represent one-third of all CEOs in the S&P 1500, a fivefold increase compared to three decades ago. This study examines the causes and consequences of this trend. We find that these CEOs are often hired to enhance their firms’ ESG performance. Notably, these ESG enhancements are more significant when the CEO’s non-profit experience was in an organization catering to intrinsic societal needs (e.g., food shelters), rather than in other areas (e.g., museums or arts galleries). Our results suggest that a CEO’s intrinsic interest in societal issues may drive greater engagement with ESG matters at their firm. We find limited evidence that CEOs directly develop ESG-relevant skills in the non-profit sector, as observed ESG improvements often extend beyond the specific operational domain of the non-profit where the CEO previously worked. This paper sheds light on the evolving recruitment processes for top managers and how corporate boards are adapting to the growing importance of sustainability in business.

• Award: New Zealand Finance Meeting (NZFM) Runner-up Paper Award

• Presentations: AFA 2024, NZFM 2024, FIRN 2023, AFAANZ 2023, CAFM 2022, AFBC 2022, FMA Asia-Pacific 2022

3. What Does Skewness Teach Us About Venture Capital Managerial Skill? (joint with Peter Pham, David Robinson, Roham Rezaei and Jason Zein)

Abstract: This paper investigates whether the degree of return skewness within a VC fund portfolio is informative of managerial skill. While VC investment returns are typically highly skewed, we document substantial variations in skewness of within-fund return distributions. A numerical simulation shows that when portfolio size is limited (as is typical in VC), a single outlier that distorts average returns, makes it possible to mistake luck for skill. Using proprietary portfolio company-level return data, we provide empirical evidence consistent with this notion. Given the same mean return, a fund with a highly skewed return distribution is less likely to sustain strong performance in its successor funds compared to one with more uniformly distributed deal returns. Although some funds may deliberately pursue high-skewness strategies, such outcomes are not reliably replicated. Nonetheless, these funds are more likely to raise follow-on capital, suggesting that limited partners may place disproportionate weight on outlying successes. These findings underscore the importance of looking beyond headline IRRs and considering the higher moments of VC fund returns when evaluating GP skill.

• Presentations: Private Equity Research Consortium (PERC) Symposium 2026 [Scheduled] (premier academic conference on private equity and venture capital research), Asia Innovation and Entrepreneurship Association (AIEA) Seminar [Scheduled]

4. The Buy and Build Strategy in Private Equity Buyouts: Value Creation or Window Dressing? (joint with Ludovic Phalippou and Jason Zein)

Abstract: This paper investigates whether private equity (PE) sponsors use add-on acquisitions to create the appearance of strong earnings growth in their portfolio firms. Focusing on PE-backed firms that eventually go public, we find that those undertaking a high volume of add-on acquisitions tend to underperform their peers in the long run when their IPO prospectuses fail to clearly disclose the sources of earnings growth. These firms experience more negative abnormal returns around earnings announcements in the first year after the IPO and receive overly optimistic analyst forecasts. Moreover, PE sponsors tend to exit these add-on intensive firms significantly earlier after listing, suggesting a strategic effort to capitalize on temporarily inflated valuations. The effects are most pronounced during economic downturns, when organic growth is harder to achieve. Overall, the findings highlight the need for clearer disclosure and greater transparency in PE-backed firms.