How do corporate VCs make decisions?

Amanda Wang and Ilya Strebulaev conducted in-depth interviews of 74 corporate VC units (CVCs) of large US companies in the S&P 500 index. 74 may not seem a large number but it is more than three out of every four corporate VCs among all the S&P 500 companies!
 
They have learnt a great deal – most importantly, how different CVCs are from one another.
 
As a preview, check how CVC units are funded by their “parents.” Most CVCs invest from their parents’ balance sheet, and many parents give their CVCs only a small degree of budget autonomy. This may worry founders and portfolio companies and also makes the personal relationship and informal trust with parent executives (as well as actual CVC results) critical for CVC survival and success.
 
This research has been done with support of the Venture Capital Initiative at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.