Start-up Financing and Entrepreneurial Assistance: Three Papers Investigating Value-Added Contributions by Equity-Based Supporters

Aldosari, Samar (2025) Start-up Financing and Entrepreneurial Assistance: Three Papers Investigating Value-Added Contributions by Equity-Based Supporters. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

This thesis examines how equity-based supporters contribute to entrepreneurial value creation through financial and non-financial value-added contributions (VACs), and how their effectiveness is shaped by alignment with founders’ evolving needs and coordination across the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Moving beyond fragmented and supporter-specific perspectives, the study develops an integrated, multi-level explanation of how VACs are structured, delivered, and become effective under conditions of start-up fragility.

The research adopts an interpretivist, abductive design combining a systematic literature review of 106 peer-reviewed articles with qualitative analysis of 52 interviews with UK-based start-up founders. These components are integrated within a coherent analytical framework that examines VACs across conceptual, founder-level, and ecosystem-level dimensions.

Grounded in signalling theory and social capital theory, the thesis conceptualises VACs as mechanism-driven processes through which legitimacy is constructed and relational resources are mobilised. At the founder level, findings show that the effectiveness of VACs depends on alignment with stage-specific needs, timing of delivery, and relational embeddedness. Financial capital becomes more impactful when complemented by non-financial contributions such as mentorship, network access, and strategic guidance, particularly when these operate as credible signals and are enacted through trust-based relationships.

At the ecosystem level, the analysis shows that limitations in VAC effectiveness are not primarily due to resource scarcity, but to structural fragmentation. Weak coordination across support actors leads to duplicated, misaligned, and poorly sequenced contributions, constraining the coherence of signalling environments and the integration of relational networks.

The thesis advances a mechanism-based, multi-level framework for VAC effectiveness, demonstrating that value is not inherent in contributions themselves but emerges from the interaction among signalling processes, social capital structures, and lifecycle alignment. By integrating founder-level experiences with ecosystem-level dynamics, the study contributes to a more coherent understanding of entrepreneurial support and offers implications for investors, policymakers, and ecosystem designers.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Norwich Business School
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	17 Jun 2026 11:13
Last Modified:	17 Jun 2026 11:13
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103416
DOI:

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