Andreas Fili

Business angel–venture negotiation in the post-investment relationship: the use of the good cop, bad cop strategy

The paper reports on the utilization of the “good cop, bad cop” negotiation strategy in ongoing investor–venture relationships. Four cases of business angel – venture involvement are studied over a period of several years. Earlier research on the good cop, bad cop strategy has described its efficiency in obtaining maximum distribution in short-term distributive bargaining. This has been explained as a result of the emotional contrast effect unlocked by the sequence of interaction with the bad cop followed by interaction with the good cop. In an ongoing investment relationship, other rules apply. The present findings suggest that only a business angel who is already trusted can become a good cop – by virtue of introducing a bad cop. This is explained as a way of conducting negotiations without destroying the trust that has been built over time in the business angel–venture relationship. The strategy provides a scapegoat for the negativity associated with the negotiations. The bad cop assumes the blame, while the good cop is still trusted and can remain in the relationship, with less risk of being the target of any retained hostility.

The impact of financial capital, human capital and social capital on the evolution of Business Angel Networks

Business angels are very important for the growth and development of start-ups as they contribute much needed capital and competence to these firms. During the past decades the formation and growth of Business Angel Networks (BANs) has become an increasingly common phenomenon and an important issue for policy-makers in most Western economies. In this paper, we follow the inception and development of three local BANs. The data in this paper come from in-depth interviews with the founders of the networks as well as bankers, civil servants, entrepreneurs and local politicians. The results indicate that capital alone will not guarantee success in a BAN rather it is a combination of the financial capital, human capital and social capital among the founding partners of the network.