Renaissance of Alternate Finance: Bibliometric Visualization of Private Equity and Venture Capital

Abstract

PE/VC investment as a financial instrument plays a pivotal role in nurturing newly setup and growth-oriented firms. In this article, we attempted to visualize the most vibrant work done in the field of PE/VC and to put both private equity and venture into a single frame. Using bibliometric analysis techniques, we conducted a deep analysis of articles published in the past two decades in the Web of Science database. Most of the articles were exclusively published in top journals in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Italy, and France.

Our study reveals that academic research on the venture capital segment is more frequent than research on private equity investment. More than half of the articles were published on topics related to venture capital investment.

TOPICS: Real assets/alternative investments/private equity, information providers/credit ratings, financial crises and financial market history

Key Findings

• ▪ Bibliometric visualization reveals that York University, Harvard University, Polytechnic University of Milan, Stanford University, and Nottingham University are among the premier institutions continuously contributing in the field of PE/VC.

• ▪ Most of the articles were shared by the developed countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Italy, and France. Emerging markets (especially Asian markets) were less targeted in the fields of both private equity and venture capital.

• ▪ Academic research in the venture capital segment is more frequent than in private equity investment; more than half of the research was on topics related to venture capital investment. Private equity, while a larger tool for financing, was discussed in the literature less often.

• ▪ Research in the venture capital segment tended to discuss innovations, the experience of venture capitalists, and corporate governance mechanism; it rarely touched the fundamentals of venture capital, such as the rigorous methodology for performance measurement, venture capital as a value investment, financing rounds, strategic investment, or early exit by venture capital firms.