Can Government Official Visits Actually Help Young Technology Enterprises?

Financial constraints can be a predictor of the failure or bankruptcy of young technology-based enterprises (YTBEs). YTBEs are often trapped in a dilemma: Whether they should disclose key information on innovation capabilities to attract external funding. We argue that visits of government officials-especially in China-are an effective means for YTBEs to resolve this dilemma. The visits help YTBEs not only avoid divulging core information but also improve access to external financing. Some practical implications for managers adopting this practice include tactics to amplify the effect of the visits, two contextual characteristics of our findings, when to lobby for the visits, and strategies to lobby for the visits. Policy makers can foster economic growth and environmental sustainability by strategically selecting enterprises to visit.