Venturing into New Territory: Career Experiences of Corporate Venture Capital Managers and Practice Variation

When organizations adopt new practices, the practices are often modified to fit the new context. We argue that managers who implement new practices modify them, and that the extent of practice variation is determined by two types of these managers’ career experience: experience with the practice itself and experience that enables assessment of the fit between the practice and the adopting firm. We test these arguments by observing information technology firms’ modification of venture capital practices in corporate venture capital units. This study contributes to diffusion research by developing and testing a framework for understanding the role of individuals in practice variation.