The purpose of the study is to determine how signals of market orientation and brand storytelling affect the evaluation of start-ups by Shark Tank judges.
The authors analyzed 430 Shark Tank pitches to test their hypotheses. Their expert annotations based on elements of their conceptual model pave the way for them to deploy a large language model that gives us unique psycholinguistic insights into the start-up pitches.
The authors find that market responsiveness and external disadvantage and passion and determination in brand storytelling have a significant impact on the evaluations of start-ups by investors.
The research is set in an early-stage venture context in the US.
The research findings on business-to-investor interactions can benefit B2B marketers, start-ups and investors.
Their research which draws conceptual inspiration from the resource-based view of the firm and the signaling theory is unique in that the authors use cutting edge large-language model tools to draw psycholinguistic B2B insights from the Shark Tank interactions.
