Research approach & methodology

Qualitative research approach

This approach was chosen because it is particularly suitable for insufficiently understood phenomena. This characteristic was given by Strauss & Corbin (1998) and is fitting for this research. The current dynamics shaping the VC industry on a global scale has never existed before. In order to understand how German VCs perceive the current ecosystem and innovate employees of German VCs have been intereviewed. According to Tracxn there were 764 German VCs mid 2021. 115 potential interview partners have been identified by complementing an investor list curated by Peak Capital with personal research and knowledge about the ecosystem. Out of those 40 have been contacted and finally 9 participated.

To give a better understanding of the interview partners a detailed overview was created:

The table shows 10 interview partners. 9, as previously stated, are VC funds and the last one is a researcher focusing on this topic from TUM.

Methodology

The methodology can be divided into four different steps:

1. Conducting the interviews
2. Transcribing the interviews
3. Coding the interviews
4. Building the coneptual framework

The conceptual framework which builds the foundation for this research can be seen here: