Skip to main content
. 2022 Oct 4;61(1):173–221. doi: 10.1007/s11187-022-00684-9

Table 13.

Prominent themes in private equity research

Theme Author(s) Title Source Year TC
Theme #1: Venture capital (TP: 89; TC: 3,490)
Most cited article Sahlman, WA The structure and governance of venture-capital organizations Journal of Financial Economics 1990 123
Berger, AN; Udell, GF The economics of small business finance: The roles of private equity and debt markets in the financial growth cycle Journal of Banking and Finance 1998 98
Hellmann, T; Puri, M Venture capital and the professionalization of start-up firms: Empirical evidence Journal of Finance 2002 85
Kaplan, SN; Strömberg, P Financial contracting theory meets the real world: An empirical analysis of venture capital contracts Review of Economic Studies 2003 81
Cumming, D; Walz, U Private equity returns and disclosure around the world Journal of International Business Studies 2010 77
Key topics

• Financial contracting

• Financing lifecycle

• Institutional aspects of venture capital

Theme #2: Buyouts and privatization (TP: 45; TC: 1,937)
Most cited article Kaplan, SN; Strömberg, P Leveraged buyouts and private equity Journal of Economic Perspectives 2009 141
Jensen, MC Agency costs of free cash flow, corporate finance, and takeovers American Economic Review 1986 120
Kaplan, SN The effects of management buyouts on operating performance and value Journal of Financial Economics 1989 106
Jensen, MC Eclipse of the public corporation Harvard Business Review 1989 84
Cumming, D; Siegel, DS; Wright, M Private equity, leveraged buyouts and governance Journal of Corporate Finance 2007 83
Key topics

• Leveraged buyouts

• Management buyouts

• Agency cost of buyouts (management/owner conflict of interest)

Theme #3: Market mechanisms and venture capital backed IPOs (TP: 29; TC: 1,044)
Most cited article Jensen, MC; Meckling, WH Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure Journal of Financial Economics 1976 134
Gompers, PA Grandstanding in the venture capital industry Journal of Financial Economics 1996 75
Myers, SC; Majluf, NS Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have Journal of Financial Economics 1984 64
Heckman, JJ Sample selection bias as a specification error Econometrica 1979 54
Barry, CB; Muscarella, CJ; Peavy III, JW; Vetsuypens, MR The role of venture capital in the creation of public companies. Evidence from the going-public process Journal of Financial Economics 1990 43
Key topics

• Market mechanisms

• Information asymmetry

Effect of venture capital on firm’s decision to go public

Theme #4: Valuation and performance of private equity investment (TP: 26; TC: 1,320)
Most cited article Kaplan, SN; Schoar, A Private equity performance: Returns, persistence, and capital flows Journal of Finance 2005 205
Metrick, A; Yasuda, A The economics of private equity funds Review of Financial Studies 2010 91
Phalippou, L; Gottschalg, O The performance of private equity funds Review of Financial Studies 2009 90
Cochrane, JH The risk and return of venture capital Journal of Financial Economics 2005 84
Gompers, P; Lerner, J Money chasing deals? The impact of fund inflows on private equity valuations Journal of Financial Economics 2000 83
Key topics Factors affecting performance and valuation of private equity investments

TP total publications. TC total citations received from publications within the dataset used in this study