Firms often depend on relationships with other firms to access important resources. When a crisis strikes a firm, continuation of those relationships can be jeopardized, as many indirectly affected firms will leave the relationship. This abandonment can be particularly harmful if the crisis struck firm is dependent on the relationship for valuable resources. However, some firms choose to continue their relationships with the crisis struck firms. We consider what makes those firms resist the temptation to respond rigidly and abandon the crisis struck firm. We contend that firms that defy such indirect threats do so as a result of threat-defiant learning, which stems from confidence gained from their prior relational experiences. We test the concept of threat-defiant learning in the context of venture capital firms’ (VCs) investments after venture crises in the form of venture involvement in a lawsuit. Studying 435 VCs’ decisions on whether to continue to invest in 105 ventures experiencing lawsuits, we find support for threat-defiant learning. This study contributes to the literature on crisis, threat-rigidity, and entrepreneurship by showing how firms can resist threat-rigidity in interfirm relationships, and specifically, how VCs learn from experience to defy threats posed by venture lawsuits and make post-lawsuit follow-on investments.

中文翻译：

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当危机来临时，谁会留下来？风险资本家对危机中风险投资的反抗威胁学习反应

公司通常依赖与其他公司的关系来获取重要资源。当危机袭击公司时，这些关系的延续可能会受到威胁，因为许多间接受影响的公司将离开这种关系。如果危机打击公司依赖于宝贵资源的关系，这种放弃可能特别有害。然而，一些公司选择继续与受危机影响的公司建立关系。我们考虑是什么让这些公司抵制住硬性反应的诱惑并坚决放弃危机。我们认为，无视这种间接威胁的公司之所以这样做是因为无视威胁学习的结果，这源于从他们先前的关系经验中获得的信心。我们在风险投资公司 (VC) 以风险参与诉讼的形式出现风险危机后投资的背景下测试了威胁违抗学习的概念。研究 435 家风险投资公司关于是否继续投资于 105 家面临诉讼的风险企业的决定，我们发现了对威胁挑战学习的支持。本研究通过展示企业如何在公司间关系中抵制威胁刚性，特别是风险投资如何从经验中学习以应对风险诉讼带来的威胁并在诉讼后跟进，从而为关于危机、威胁刚性和创业精神的文献做出贡献。关于投资。