The broad goal of this thesis is to explore what is currently motivating consumers to adopt BigTech mobile payment services in the Netherlands. The term BigTech refers to a collection of the largest and most dominant companies in the IT industry, including Google, Apple, Meta, and Amazon, among others. The BigTechs have been leveraging their core competencies in order to enter the financial industry by offering contactless mobile payment services, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Further involvement of BigTechs in the financial industry could lead to increased systemic risk, as well as power concentration risks due to their already large influential market power. The Dutch central bank (DNB) and the Dutch competitive authority (ACM) have released reports in which they acknowledge these risks. They state that the competitive balance between BigTech and the financial incumbents will moreover depend on the relative distrust the consumer currently has towards the BigTechs as provider of financial services compared to incumbent financial institutions. Both authorities indicate that the direction which this competitive balance is taking remains unclear, yet the adoption of contactless mobile payment services in the Netherlands, the majority of which is provided by BigTechs Apple and Google, has seen increasing growth. Therefore, this thesis aims to evaluate whether this distrust still wields this influential balancing power in the Netherlands, or if there are other motives that are more strongly influencing this trend instead. Reviewing the relevant past literature found moderating and mediating effects between constructs examined in mobile payment studies to often be excluded from analysis. As a result, this thesis also aims to address this research gap. A suitable starting research framework was selected after reviewing eleven prominent research models and a conceptual model was designed based on these reviews. Data was subsequently collected using an online survey questionnaire. The 217 collected responses were subjected to data analysis of which the results indicate that the Dutch consumer is mainly driven by three functional motives regarding respectively: how well the technology is expected to perform, how well the technology is perceivably supported, and to which extent the consumer has habits that are similar to using mobile payment services. Perceptions of involved risk and feelings of distrust towards providers of mobile payment services only reduced the incentive to adopt the technology among respondents within the age group of 25-34, and solely weakened the performance-based motive. It was furthermore found that the habit-based motive reduced both risk perception and distrust of the users. No motivational differences were found between users of BigTech services or those offered by financial incumbents, or between users and non-users. The Dutch relevant authorities may induce from this research that the competitive balance in the Dutch financial sector is likely tipping in favour of BigTech as consumers are driven mainly by utilitarian needs to which BigTech can more easily cater than financial incumbents. Dutch financial incumbents may therefore require additional support to reduce the potential for harmful levels of competitive pressure in the financial sector and limit the sector’s exposure to concentration risk, which the involvement of BigTech can bring about. Dutch financial incumbents may induce from this research that the contemporary Dutch consumer mainly prefers improved functional capabilities. According to the results, performance, wide-spread support, and fit with consumers’ existing habits, should serve as key focus areas for improvement in order to compete efficiently. The theoretical contribution that this research made regards the discovered mediating and moderating effects of the evaluated constructs in mobile payment adoption research. The obtained results thereby implore future research in this field to similarly evaluate such effects in order to increase the explanatory power of the employed research model and potentially derive additional and crucial insights.

In the current environmental conditions, with the rise of sustainable finance concepts like Environmental, Societal and Governance (ESG), firms in the financial sector have found new ways to drive sustainable change. Banks in particular play a key role in promoting sustainable practices both within their organization and also have a significant effect on the global economy. However, banks have had difficulties integrating ESG practices in their sustainable credit distribution products to corporate clients. Due to the qualitative nature of ESG data, even with the involvement of regulatory bodies, there are no established standardized processes for ESG integration. Literature exhibits a clear knowledge gap on the utilization of ESG data in the credit risk assessment process. Furthermore, the primary barriers faced during this process have been attributed to comparability, materiality, accuracy, and reliability of ESG data quality with the lack of comparability having the most significant impact. Hence, based on the knowledge gap identified, the following main research questions were formed: “How can banks in the EU effectively utilize corporate ESG data during the sustainable corporate financing process?” By fusing a thorough literature review and 11 interviews of professionals from the banking industry, consultancies, and asset management companies, a process flow diagram was mapped highlighting the different phases of the sustainable corporate financing process. The main phases were comprised of: Opportunity, Due diligence, Determining need for ESG data, Sourcing ESG data, Corporate Sustainability Assessment, Setting KPI’s and Decision. Furthermore, during this process the primary barriers were classified as Data Quality Barriers (Lack of Materiality, Lack of Accuracy, Lack of Comparability and Lack of Reliability) and Integration Challenges (Lack of Data, Sourcing Data, Quantification of Data). Given the relevance of the comparability barrier, its effects were studied in more detail and was followed by proposing a conceptual framework bolstered by stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and institutional theory to solve the barrier of Lack of Comparability. The relevant dependent variables in this framework were identified as: Data Harmonization Initiatives, Standardization Efforts, Industry Collaboration, Regulatory Interventions/Compliance and Client Engagements. As directed by the conceptual framework, banks were recommended to adopt the dependent variables Data Harmonization Initiatives, Standardization Efforts and Industry Collaboration and were further advised to help clients adhere to compliance. Furthermore, stakeholders' motivation and regulatory incentives were highlighted as key determiners in addressing the barrier. A processual validity approach was adopted to ensure validity throughout the research process which additionally consisted of validating the generated process flow and conceptual framework by relevant experts. The outcomes of the explorative research showcased the intricacies in the sustainability credit risk assessment and the stakeholders involved while highlighting the interrelation between the barriers identified. Though the lack of a comparability conceptual framework was proposed to be a barrier with significant effects, during the interview analysis it was revealed that the advent of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) would have a significant effect on this barrier and that challenges like sourcing ESG data and lack of ESG data would be more relevant in a few years. Although the conceptual framework accounted for this, some of the limitations in this research study were the inability to recruit more interviewees and also the inability to gather interview data from an external data provider to retrieve a true holistic approach. For future research, studies are recommended to research the effects of the implementation of CSRD and to study the state of other pressing barriers.

This thesis serves as an attempt to establish the initial empirical linkage between environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and startup valuation by venture capitalists. While substantial academic work has addressed the ESG topic and how firms’ ESG characteristics impact their financial performance and valuations, relatively little ink has been spilled on the issue in the entrepreneurial finance literature. An important impediment for researchers and for investors in the entrepreneurial finance markets wanting to adopt the practice of responsible investing has been the lack of a unified framework for the assessment and quantification of startups’ ESG characteristics. This thesis proposes a startup ESG framework that is based on the status quo of existing ESG frameworks and related literature. The study then analyses a proprietary dataset of 47 technological startups that seek funding from the Dutch venture capital (VC) firm FORWARD.one, to empirically investigate whether the positive relationship between firms’ ESG characteristics and financial valuation, found in the public market setting and the crowdfunding and token offering setting, also holds in the VC context. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) analysis and Independent Sample t-Tests are used to examine the impact of the startups’ ESG risk scores on their financial valuations. The results indicate that the amount of ESG risk in a startup is negatively correlated to its financial valuation, meaning that venture capitalists do value startups’ ESG characteristics. As a result also those entrepreneurs that seek funding from venture capitalists have an economic incentive to work on their sustainability performance. However, this study finds that sustainability performance is only valued to the extent that it concerns ESG risk management, i.e. minimizing ESG-related negative externalities. The creation of ESG-related positive externalities is not valued by purely financially driven venture capitalists. The study does not attempt to establish a causal mechanism. The findings contributes to the still emergent literature around the role of ESG in entrepreneurial finance markets and several promising avenues for further research are suggested.

In a world marked by rapid technological advancements and environmental concerns, clean technology clusters have become hubs of innovation. Attracting investment in these clusters has gained significant attention from scholars and industry professionals, which aim at understanding which activities companies can undertake in order to increase the attractiveness of the cluster and region. This study explores the factors influencing investment attractiveness in clean technology clusters, focusing on company-level variables like patenting activity, publishing activity, and proximity to universities. Using a case study approach, the research analyzes four Western European clean technology clusters, aiming to uncover insights and differences in investment attractiveness. The four clusters are Aclima (Basque Country, Spain), CLEAN (Central Region, Denmark), Greenreality (South Karelia, Denmark) and Water Alliance (The Netherlands). The analysis is divided into the single case reports for each cluster, exploring the variables at the company level, and into the cross-case analysis, bring the previous observations together at the cluster level. The findings highlight the positive impact of patenting activity on cluster attractiveness for the clusters under study. While no distinct relationships were found for publishing activity and university proximity, the cluster-level additional factors in consideration provided useful identifying some potentially meaningful differences between the clusters, such as the approach and recognition of their regions and countries toward sustainability. However, the study also acknowledges its limitations, mainly stated as the availability and quality of data, as well as some methodological decisions on the assessment of investment attractiveness, suggesting future research opportunities in this dynamic field. From elaborating a more refined iteration of this study to approaching new topics, the findings and limitations of this research invite future researchers to enrich the body of knowledge associated with clean technology clusters, and in particular with their funding dynamics. The implications of this study mainly concern the positive influence of patenting on the attractiveness of companies and clusters. Pursuing and supporting this kind of intellectual protection activity could prove to be a powerful tool for firms and cluster managers.

This master thesis seeks to better understand the investment valuation procedure followed by software venture capitalists (VC) in the European context. I explain how VCs perform fair value estimations of software start-ups with the emerging comparable analysis technique. Furthermore, this study examines the relative importance of start-up characteristics in determining the multiple and how these factors influence the VC’s valuation behaviour. Additionally, I explore whether this behaviour and the multiples paid can be explained by differences in VC firm experience at a time of historically low interest rates and record-breaking fund inflows. Based on 36 interviews with European VCs, primarily from the Benelux region, I find that all start-up characteristics matter in the determination of the multiple, but the management team a little more. As a result, software VCs are willing to pay higher multiples for stellar management teams than for exceptional business characteristics. In contrast with the other characteristics, poor traction does not necessarily kill the deal, but VCs might rather use it to enforce a lower valuation. Overall, VC firm experience is not a strong predictor of the valuation behaviour and ARR multiples paid for deals. However, I do find that more experienced VCs are willing to pay higher premiums for benchmark-exceeding traction than their less experienced counterparts.

Poland represents an emergent venture capital (VC) market and it faces several critical challenges that impede its growth and dynamism. Key issues identified include a lack of growth capital, diminishing market activity, dependency on public funds, and a scarcity of foreign investment. To address these challenges, this thesis proposes the internationalisation of Poland's VC market by attracting foreign capital as a viable solution. Given that emergent VC markets similar to Poland are understudied in existing literature, this study provides a qualitative analysis framework to better understand these markets through the perspectives of industry participants. Focal to the research are the determinants of the foreign investor's decision to enter the Polish market with different degrees of commitment. The key results reveal ecosystem dynamics, incorporating complex network of variables and processes, which ultimately have their effect on the perception of risk and return in such ecosystem. This comprehensive analysis aims to offer new insights into the unique dynamics of emergent VC markets and propose actionable strategies to address the ecosystem issues and enhance their development, by integrating into the global venture capital landscape.

Poland represents an emergent venture capital (VC) market and it faces several critical challenges that impede its growth and dynamism. Key issues identified include a lack of growth capital, diminishing market activity, dependency on public funds, and a scarcity of foreign investment. To address these challenges, this thesis proposes the internationalisation of Poland's VC market by attracting foreign capital as a viable solution. Given that emergent VC markets similar to Poland are understudied in existing literature, this study provides a qualitative analysis framework to better understand these markets through the perspectives of industry participants. Focal to the research are the determinants of the foreign investor's decision to enter the Polish market with different degrees of commitment. The key results reveal ecosystem dynamics, incorporating complex network of variables and processes, which ultimately have their effect on the perception of risk and return in such ecosystem. This comprehensive analysis aims to offer new insights into the unique dynamics of emergent VC markets and propose actionable strategies to address the ecosystem issues and enhance their development, by integrating into the global venture capital landscape.

Poland represents an emergent venture capital (VC) market and it faces several critical challenges that impede its growth and dynamism. Key issues identified include a lack of growth capital, diminishing market activity, dependency on public funds, and a scarcity of foreign investment. To address these challenges, this thesis proposes the internationalisation of Poland's VC market by attracting foreign capital as a viable solution. Given that emergent VC markets similar to Poland are understudied in existing literature, this study provides a qualitative analysis framework to better understand these markets through the perspectives of industry participants. Focal to the research are the determinants of the foreign investor's decision to enter the Polish market with different degrees of commitment. The key results reveal ecosystem dynamics, incorporating complex network of variables and processes, which ultimately have their effect on the perception of risk and return in such ecosystem. This comprehensive analysis aims to offer new insights into the unique dynamics of emergent VC markets and propose actionable strategies to address the ecosystem issues and enhance their development, by integrating into the global venture capital landscape.