Haojing Han - Research

More Than Money: Does Corporate Venture Capital Support Survival or Tilt Toward Strategic Exits?

Second Year Paper

This paper asks whether corporate venture capital (CVC) provides safer capital or merely steers startups toward strategic acquisitions by their corporate parents. Using PitchBook data on VC-backed startups founded between 2000 and 2022, I compare CVC- and independent VC-backed firms matched on industry and region, and trace their operating status, bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, or IPO. CVC-backed companies have a lower bankruptcy incidence and a higher likelihood of exit via acquisition or IPO than comparable, independently backed startups. The smaller average treatment effect relative to the sample mean differences is consistent with favorable selection in CVC investment. Decomposing M&A shows that about one-third of exits for CVC-backed firms are takeovers by a prior CVC investor. Once this inside option is separated, CVC-backed firms are less likely than others to be acquired by outside buyers. Accounting for the mutually exclusive nature of exits leaves the bankruptcy effect essentially unchanged, implying that parent takeovers are not simply bailouts. Overall, the evidence points to CVC as patient, strategically motivated capital that is associated with lower bankruptcy while tilting successful exits toward the corporate parent.

Unveiling Divergent Impact Elasticity: How Cost of Capital Affects Emissions

First Year Paper

This paper examines the impact of financing costs on greenhouse gas emissions across green, brown, and neutral firms. I find that green firms are highly sensitive to increases in financing costs, with higher costs of equity and debt (COE and COD), bond yields, and weighted average cost of capital (WACC) consistently being associated with increased emissions. In contrast, brown firms display mixed responses: higher COD is associated with lower emissions, while increased COE is significantly related to higher emissions. The effects of brown firms counterbalance each other, resulting in no significant overall impact on WACC. These findings highlight how financial constraints can have varying effects on firms' environmental performance, with green firms particularly vulnerable to higher capital costs across most financing sources. Brown firms, while responsive to debt and equity costs, show divergent behaviors that complicate their emissions outcomes. The study underscores the importance of designing financial policies and investment strategies that support firms' sustainability efforts, particularly for those with strong environmental commitments.

Working with: Prof. Jonathan Cohn and Prof. Clemens Sialm.
Organized a weekly reading group with Prof Andres Almazan on Corporate finance

Undergraduate Research Experience

Heterogeneity of Entrepreneurship Participation between Asian and White Females

Undergraduate thesis advised by Uday Rajan

Using Crunchbase and Current Population Survey data, I study race and gender differences among VC-backed founders and incorporated entrepreneurs. I replicate the higher female share among Asian founders relative to White founders and extend the analysis to non-VC-backed entrepreneurs; after controlling for age, education, marital status, and number of children, I find no significant difference in entrepreneurship participation between Asian and White females.

Research Assistance

• Prof. Yan Chen (University of Michigan School of Information), 2022–2023

• Prof. Justin Huang (University of Michigan Ross School of Business, Marketing), 2021–2023

• Prof. Shalena Srna (University of Michigan Ross School of Business, Marketing), 2020–2021

• Prof. Guodong Chen (NYU Shanghai, Finance), 2021