Diaz de Leon Lopez, Enrique2006-07-282006-07-2820012001http://hdl.handle.net/10012/611This dissertation documents three initial phases of an investigation into intangible aspects of new ventures. The assessment of intangibles, which are often present in start-ups, is a topic of recent interest (Steward 1997, Clement, Hammerer and Schwarz 1998, Shepherd and Douglas 1999, Sullivan 1999, Smart 1999, Boulton et al 2000), particularly during the early-stage investment-decision process of technology-based ventures. On one hand, investors are challenged to properly assess new opportunities. At the same time, entrepreneurs or innovators face the formidable task of communicating what is, sometimes, nothing more than just an "extraordinary" idea. In such situations, the decision to continue with the due diligence process, and finally to invest, is based frequently on those aspects that are intangible. Phase I of the research was a pilot study to elicit vocabulary from investors and determine their need to assess intangibles. A group of twelve investment-decision experts were interviewed. The interviews were content analysed. The results of the content analysis suggest that there is a need on the part of both investors and entrepreneurs to improve their assessment of intangibles when making an investment decision. Phase II used Repertory Grid, a technique based on personal construct psychology, to identify intangibles used by experts when assessing or communicating new venture opportunities. Five venture capitalists and five entrepreneurs were interviewed. The results reveal a total of 149 constructs. Principal component analyses indicate that each interviewee identified only a few major areas of emphasis in his or her thinking. Furthermore, a cluster analysis revealed that each investor had his or her own way of conceiving the intangibles in a given proposal. Next, an extremity analysis identified each person's most meaningful constructs. As a result of these analyses, the operation of intangibles during the investment-decision process is evident. From this phase, what is remarkable is the contribution of Repertory Grid technique to identify intangibles assessed by investors and communicated by entrepreneurs. Phase III involved the development of a fuzzy expert system as a diagnostic tool to assess intangibles in new technology-based ventures. The system was validated with five experts in investment-decision making. The results show a promising future of this tool when used for assisting entrepreneurs and investors to assess venture viability. Finally, the results of this research could also open the door for this technique to be applied in other areas such as: scientific proposals, requisition of grants, and assessment of employment candidates.application/pdf11174029 bytesapplication/pdfenCopyright: 2001, Díaz de León López, Enrique. All rights reserved.Harvested from Collections CanadaDoctoral Thesis