Equity investors and entrepreneurs: A conflict perspective

This chapter explores sources of agency conflicts between investors and entrepreneurs and actions undertaken by investors to mitigate against agency conflict. Given that a principal agent relationship exists between equity investors and entrepreneurs, conflicts arise as the interest of firm investors (and firm insiders) and entrepreneurs are not perfectly aligned. Primary-source data on sources of agency conflicts and actions to mitigate agency conflicts collected in face-to-face interviews with the founders of equity financed high technology manufacturing and knowledge intensive services firms in Ireland are examined.