Venture Relatedness and Learning Proficiency as Drivers of Venture Operations Autonomy

Corporations initiate new business ventures that can range from highly related to highly unrelated to their existing business operations. The degree of new internal corporate venture (ICV) relatedness is assumed to drive the degree of operations autonomy parent corporations grant their ventures, with operations autonomy being a well-recognized determinant of ICV performance. This research examines the influence of a venture's learning proficiency on the relationship between venture relatedness and operations autonomy. Results from 145 ICVs operating in 72 parent corporations indicate that learning proficiency strongly moderates the relationship between parent–venture relatedness and autonomy, but the direction of the moderating effect depends on the type of relatedness being considered, i.e., either market familiarity or product similarity. This research highlights the importance of recognizing differences in the likely acquisition modes and transferability of distinct resource types when considering the involvement of parent corporation-level management in the operations of their ventures. Fundamentally, the specific resource types (i.e., property-based or knowledge-based) implied by the different forms of venture relatedness are best understood as inviting or deterring corporate involvement in a venture's operational decision making when considered in light of the degree of learning proficiency demonstrated by those ventures.