The Doctoral School in Economics, Finance and Management (DSEFM) is pleased to invite you to Angela Altmeier’s doctoral defence on 25 June 2025 at 09:00.
Decoding Digital Footprints in Entrepreneurship: The Influence of Personality on Investment Behaviour and Venture Outcomes in Business Angel Financing
Thesis by: Angela Altmeier
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Christian Fisch
Thesis Abstract:
This doctoral thesis investigates how personality-related factors shape business angels’ investment behavior and venture outcomes. Drawing on diverse psychological theories and leveraging language-based text analysis methods, including AI, the thesis explores the role of individual differences between business angels and their relationship with outcomes such as the successful acquisition of follow-on funding and syndication behavior. More specifically, the first study examines how psychological attributes such as clout, risk-taking, and analytical thinking influence business angels’ likelihood of investing in ventures that secure follow-on funding.
The second study replicates existing research on the Big Five personality traits and their effect on syndication decisions, highlighting the importance of methodological robustness when applying AI tools in entrepreneurship research. The third study analyses the impact of personality similarity in the Big Five personality traits between business angels and founders, showing that alignment in specific personality traits can be beneficial or harmful for the successful acquisition of follow-on funding.
The findings of this doctoral thesis improve the understanding of the psychological foundations of entrepreneurial finance, emphasizing that personality plays a critical role in early-stage investment decisions and venture outcomes. The thesis also outlines key limitations related to the use of social media data and AI-based measurement tools and offers both theoretical and practical implications for researchers, investors, and founders. Finally, it proposes avenues for future research to deepen insights into investment behavior and improve outcomes within entrepreneurial ecosystems.