Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Appliquées à la Gestion

The literature on venture-capital investment and entrepreneurship has demonstrated the important role played by mental representations in the entrepreneur – investor relationship. This research draws on shared mental model ({SMM}) theory to structure a comparative analysis of investor and entrepreneur representations regarding success and the factors that influence it. Through 16 interviews conducted with four entrepreneur – investor pairs, we highlight the need to study representations in greater depth in order to identify potential misalignments. We demonstrate the relevance of {SMMs} and the use of cognitive maps in capturing and comparing actors’ representations through multi-level and multi-approach analysis.