Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Using comprehensive data of 4893 interactions from the popular television show Shark Tank, we test whether gender match with entrepreneurs correlates with investors’ likelihood to extend funding offers. We find female investors are 35% more likely to engage with female (rather than male) entrepreneurs, while less systematic gender preferences emerge for male investors. Heterogeneity analyses suggest this result remains exclusive to non-male-dominated product categories, lending support to the industry representation hypothesis. We also find it is exclusive to ventures with lower asking valuations. Estimates are robust to the inclusion of a comprehensive set of control variables (such as asking valuation, investor-, and season-fixed effects) and a range of alternative specifications.
Source: Empirical Economics
Authors: Michael Jetter, Kieran Stockley
Institution: The University of Western Australia
Language: English
Subfield: Accounting
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,890
Funder: University of Western Australia
OpenAlex ID: W4295630782