The venture capital (VC) landscape is a crucial driver of economic growth and innovation, comprising a diverse range of capital investors. This dissertation highlights the heterogeneity, performance, and massive and rapid scaling efforts in this sector, focusing on the two dominant actors: Independent Venture Capital (IVC) and Corporate Venture Capital (CVC). The first study examines the contrasting lifespans of CVCs and IVCs, highlighting the early termination patterns of CVCs. The second study delves into the diverse nature of CVCs and analyzes their influence on the efficiency of portfolio firms. The third study probes the hypercompetitive environment in the VC landscape. It examines its implications and funds' strategies to provide quality signals to investors and startups in a hypercompetitive market. The fourth study looks deeper at the beneficiaries of VC funding: digital startups. Specifically, it delves into massive and rapid business scaling dynamics, shedding light on the key drivers behind this growth trajectory and its tensions. In sum, this dissertation advances the prevailing knowledge on venture capital and digital entrepreneurship, offering a deeper exploration of the heterogeneity of the VC landscape with a spotlight on CVCs. Additionally, it provides frontier research into hypercompetition and the underlying dynamics of massive and rapid business scaling.

The topic of sustainability has found its way into the corporate entrepreneurship activities of large corporations. The Sustainable Corporate Entrepreneurship (SCE) strand is still in its infancy. Since most large corporations engage in corporate entrepreneurship and are exploring new business models inside and outside corporate boundaries, several questions arise from different viewpoints. First, from corporate perspective researchers and business leaders wonder which internal modes of SCE activities have emerged in business practice and how large corporations explore sustainable value propositions. Second, from entrepreneur and investor perspective, the question emerges which factors influence the likelihood of corporate ventures, such as spin-offs from corporations, raising venture capital to scale sustainable business models. Therefore, to further develop the field of SCE, this cumulative dissertation presents three research papers analysing sustainable corporate entrepreneurship at the intersection of corporations and start-ups.

Portés par des changements technologiques, des cadres juridiques nouveaux, une demande de financement croissante de la part des entreprises innovantes et une montée en maturité des opérateurs du marché, les professionnels du financement de l’innovation ont pour partie modifié leurs pratiques et de nouveaux outils émergent. Ces nombreuses évolutions posent des questionnements théoriques essentiels.La thèse vise à investiguer trois de ces modes de financement. Le premier, les Social Impact Bonds (autrement dénommés en France Contrats à Impact Social) sont un mode de financement de l’innovation sociale non entrepreneuriale apparu en 2010 en Grande-Bretagne. Le second outil analysé est celui du financement participatif (crowdfunding). Forme émergente de financement des projets entrepreneuriaux par la foule sur internet, il connait une croissance forte depuis une décennie. La thèse questionne l’impact du degré d’innovation sur la réussite des campagnes. Le troisième et dernier outil évoqué dans la thèse est celui des fonds de Multi Corporate Venture Capital (MCVC), et leurs formes organisationnelles. / Driven by technological change, new legal frameworks, growing demand for cash from start-ups, and a growing maturity of market operators, innovation finance professionals have partly modified their practices. On the one hand, traditional financing tools have modernized their organizations and methods, and on the other, new forms of financing have emerged. These numerous evolutions open essential theoretical questions, while questioning the traditional theories of the financing of innovation as well as suggesting new theoretical considerations.The thesis investigates three of these modes of financing. The first, the Social Impact Bonds (otherwise known as Contrats à Impact Social, in France) are a way of financing the non-entrepreneurial social innovation that appeared in 2010 in Great Britain. The second tool analyzed is about equity crowdfunding. Emerging form of financing entrepreneurial projects by the crowd on the internet, it knows a strong growth since a decade. The thesis analyzes the impact of innovation degree on campaigns’ success. The third and last tool mentioned in this thesis is that of the funds of Multi Corporate Venture Capital (MCVC).