WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pankaj Patel and Rodney D’Souza, doctoral students at the University of Louisville, have received the fifth annual “Best Doctoral Paper” award from the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

They presented their winning paper, Uncovering Knowledge Structures of Venture Capital Investment Decision Making, at the annual meeting of United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). The award recognizes excellence in graduate-level papers that analyze issues of relevance to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

“Pankaj Patel and Rodney D’Souza have produced cutting edge research that has practical application for small businesses, especially those seeking venture capital funding,” said Dr. Chad Moutray, Chief Economist for the Office of Advocacy. “We hope this award will encourage others to further study his key sector of our economy.”

Uncovering Knowledge Structures of Venture Capital Investment Decision Making challenges the conventional wisdom that the makeup of entrepreneurial teams is more important in the venture capital funding decision than the inherent business potential of the new venture. The authors find that while team composition is a major factor in explaining why a business plan is rejected, it is not significant in explaining why a business plan is funded.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues.