How does common ownership affect innovation? We study this question using project-level data on pharmaceutical startups and their venture capital (VC) investors. We find that common ownership leads VCs to hold back projects, withhold funding, and redirect innovation at lagging startups. Effects are stronger where R&D costs are larger, consistent with common owners aiming to cut duplicate costs. Effects are also stronger where technological similarity is greater and preexisting competition is lower, consistent with common owners seeking market power for their surviving projects. Overall, common VC ownership appears to generate social benefits, via improved innovation efficiency, but also social costs.

共同所有制如何影响创新？我们使用有关制药初创公司及其风险投资 (VC) 投资者的项目级数据来研究这个问题。我们发现，共同所有权导致风险投资公司在落后的初创公司中阻止项目、扣留资金和重新定向创新。在研发成本较高的地方，效果会更强，这与旨在削减重复成本的普通所有者一致。在技​​术相似性较大且先前存在的竞争较低的情况下，效果也会更强，这与普通所有者为其幸存项目寻求市场支配力一致。总的来说，共同的 VC 所有权似乎通过提高创新效率产生社会效益，但也会产生社会成本。