Firms invest in Corporate venture capital (CVC) for strategic reasons. Consistent with maintaining financial flexibility to fund CVC driven innovation and acquisitions, CVC investing firms hold less debt and more cash. Our results are more pronounced among the highest CVC investors and strategically driven CVC investors as such firms maintain the most conservative financial policies. CVC firms are more likely to acquire using cash and this relationship is more pronounced among strategic CVC firms. Overall, our results are consistent with studies that advances that firms with growth or investment opportunities maintain financial flexibility.

Using state-level data from the United States covering the period 1980 to 2020, we explore the effect of right-to-work (RTW) laws on venture capital (VC) investment. Employing a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that the passage of right-to-work laws increases venture capital investment. The results are robust to omitted variable bias, reverse causality and unobservable local economic conditions. We find that the positive effect of RTW laws on VC investments remains significant in states that are highly unionized and technological. • Right to work laws encourage Venture Capital Investment. • Uses state-level data from the United States covering the period 1980 to 2020. • Employs a difference-in-differences strategy. • The passage of right-to-work law increases Venture Capital investment by 80%.