Analysis of the role of venture capitalists as Orchestra tors of innovation Networks

The necessity of existence of orchestrator in the leadership of innovation networks is emphasized. Venture capitalists have extensive network activities and high influence in the companies they support, which puts them in the position of organizing innovation networks; but the investigation of their roles and capabilities needed for orchestratation has been weak in previous researches. The purpose of the current research is to analyze the roles and capabilities of venture capitalists for orchestratoring innovation networks. For this purpose, in this research, a multiple-case study and data collection was done through a purposeful sampling method with semi-structured interviews with 6 experts active in 3 venture capital companies in Iran, and in order to analyze and integrate the obtained data, a qualitative method of thematic analysis and MaxQDA softwar was used.  According to the obtained results 7 key themes were recognized including, attracting key members, managing knowledge, creating a value chain and cooperation, creating stability and motivating the members of the network and evaluating them, as main orchestrators' role, as well as, required capabilities (including technical, managerial and networking) to be successful in performing these roles. Based on these roles and capabilities, the situation of the three venture capitalists under study was compared and conclusions were drawn regarding the success factors of playing the leadership role of the innovation network by the venture capitalists.