Experiment Replication in Entrepreneurial Financing

Last registered on June 28, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Experiment Replication in Entrepreneurial Financing
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011614
Initial registration date
June 21, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 28, 2023, 2:55 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Ye Zhang
Affiliation
Columbia University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-06-21
End date
2023-07-31
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
Field Experiments, Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, Impact Investing, Discrimination, Human Capital
JEL code(s)
C93, D83, G11, G24, G40, Q56, J15, J16, J71.
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project is a complementary experimental study that replicates previous experiments in the entrepreneurial financing setting. The goal is to address any concerns about previous experiments' external validity and experimental power.

It aims to answer the following research questions:

a. Do U.S. early-stage investors discriminate against women-led startups and Asian-led startups?
If so, what's the mechanisms? Is this mainly driven by implicit discrimination?
(Replicate “Discrimination in the Venture Capital Industry: Evidence from Field Experiments,” 2020 by Ye Zhang)

b. How do U.S. early-stage investors evaluate impact ventures versus profit-driven ventures? (replicate Zhang 2021)
(Replicate "Impact Investing and the Venture Capital Industry: Experimental Evidence," 2021 by Ye Zhang)

c. What other startup human and non-human characteristics also influence U.S. early-stage investors' investment evaluations and decisions? (Replicate “How Venture Capitalists and Startups Bet on Each Other: Evidence From an Experimental System,” 2020 by Ye Zhang and Mehran Ebrahimian.)

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Zhang, Ye. 2023. "Experiment Replication in Entrepreneurial Financing." AEA RCT Registry. June 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11614-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Each experimental subject evaluates 16 hypothetical startup profiles, whose startup characteristics are orthogonally randomized. These startup characteristics include startup founders' gender, race, startups' ESG characteristics, traction/growth, etc. Given that this is a replication project, all the experimental design is the same as that in the following papers.

“Discrimination in the Venture Capital Industry: Evidence from Field Experiments,” 2020 by Ye Zhang
"Impact Investing and the Venture Capital Industry: Experimental Evidence," 2021 by Ye Zhang
“How Venture Capitalists and Startups Bet on Each Other: Evidence From an Experimental System,” 2020 by Ye Zhang and Mehran Ebrahimian.

Intervention Start Date
2023-06-21
Intervention End Date
2023-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Primary Outcome: Contact Interest Ratings (Q3)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Primary Outcome: Contact Interest Ratings (Q3). It is not constructed, it is directly collected.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary outcomes: profitability evaluations (Q1), availability evaluations (Q2), risk evaluations (Q5), investment interest ratings (Q4), page submission time (unit: seconds), donation amount, ESG attitudes based on Q3.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Given that this is a replication study, all the other outcomes examined in Zhang (2020), Zhang (2021), and Ebrahimian and Zhang (2020) will also be tested in the replication data.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The design is the same as those used in the following papers:
“Discrimination in the Venture Capital Industry: Evidence from Two Randomized Controlled Trials,” 2020 by Ye Zhang
"Impact Investing and the Venture Capital Industry: Experimental Evidence," 2021 by Ye Zhang
“How Venture Capitalists and Startups Bet on Each Other: Evidence From an Experimental System,” 2020 by Mehran Ebrahimian, and Ye Zhang

Experimental Design Details
The design is the same as those used in the following papers:
“Discrimination in the Venture Capital Industry: Evidence from Two Randomized Controlled Trials,” 2020 by Ye Zhang
"Impact Investing and the Venture Capital Industry: Experimental Evidence," 2021 by Ye Zhang
“How Venture Capitalists and Startups Bet on Each Other: Evidence From an Experimental System,” 2020 by Mehran Ebrahimian, and Ye Zhang

All these papers have been uploaded in the AEA RCT Registry Platform.
Randomization Method
In the first IRR experimental section, the project exploits within-individual-level randomization. Each participant evaluates 16 randomly generated startup profiles and provides their evaluations of each startup's profitability, availability, contact interesting ratings, investment interest ratings, and risk.
In the donation game, the project exploits across-individual-level randomization. participants decide how much money to donate to each randomly displayed startup team.
Randomization Unit
Randomization Unit: investor-level

In the first IRR experimental section, the project exploits within-individual-level randomization. Each participant evaluates 16 randomly generated startup profiles and provides their evaluations of each startup's profitability, availability, contact interesting ratings, investment interest ratings, and risk.
In the donation game, the project exploits across-individual-level randomization. participants decide how much money to donate to each randomly displayed startup team.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
approximately 100 subjects
Sample size: planned number of observations
roughly 100 subjects who will provide 1600 evaluation results. For details, please see the pre-registration data analysis plan.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
roughly 100 subjects who will provide 1600 evaluation results. For details, please see the pre-registration data analysis plan.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
roughly 100 subjects who provide 1600 evaluation results. For details, please see the pre-registration data analysis plan.
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Stockholm School of Economics IRB
IRB Approval Date
2023-02-23
IRB Approval Number
DR 2022-2
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials