Katja Grzebiela

• For VC-backed startups, their investors – who are also their main stakeholders – play a critical role. Only a limited number of notable contributions regarding in-depth examinations of stakeholders in the turnaround process exist. Several research studies highlight the research gap with regard to stakeholder management in turnaround situations. Due to the small and insufficient body of literature regarding the role of VCCs in turnarounds, I conducted an exploratory, qualitative empirical study based on four comprehensive turnaround cases, interviewing 14 co-founders and investors. Through a grounded theory approach, I developed a turnaround model, which takes into account the VCCs’ involvement. This dissertation shows that the general value-adding services of VCCs are during a turnaround only partially apparent. Moreover, the importance of the agency theory was again confirmed. It became clear how important continuous monitoring is for investors in order to identify problems in a portfolio company. Additionally, the findings show how important a good relationship between all parties involved is and how trust and transparency are essential during a turnaround.