Venture Capital and Private Equity Research: A Bibliometric Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

Venture capital and private equity research has grown considerably in recent times with a heterogenous set of themes being explored. Using a large corpus from the Web of Science, this study used bibliometric analysis to present a comprehensive encapsulation of the fields’ geographical focus, methodological choices, prominent themes, and future research directions. Noteworthily, the foundational themes in venture capital research are adoption and financing processes, venture capital roles in business, governance, syndication, and the creation of public organizations. In private equity research, style drift into venture capital emerges as a key theme alongside buyouts and privatization, and valuation and performance.

Keywords: Bibliometric analysis, Venture capital, Private equity

JEL Classification: G23, G24, L26