Team trust and control in new venture emergence
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research
ISSN: 1355-2554
Article publication date: 22 January 2018
Issue publication date: 23 May 2018
Abstract
Purpose
Effective internal dynamics of new venture teams is seen as a key contributor to venture success. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways in which new venture teams consisting of nascent entrepreneurs initiate trust and control during venture emergence.
Design/methodology/approach
Dimensions of trust and control are developed into an analytical framework applied to documented team norms. Coding detects frequency of trust and control dimensions. Supplementary data triangulate findings and explore follow-on effects in team dynamics and venture emergence.
Findings
Frequency of coded dimensions generates a venture team profile. Teams prime their dynamics through use of trust and/or control language in documented norms. Priming is seen to influence entrepreneurial perseverance during venture emergence, stemming either directly from team dynamics, or indirectly from key shareholder relationships or environmental conditions.
Research limitations/implications
Data are bounded to a specific contextual setting representing incubation and education, where the nascent entrepreneurs are simultaneously students. The complexity of venture emergence means that multiple factors influencing new venture teams may influence trust and control in ways currently unaccounted for.
Practical implications
Exploration of trust and control during venture emergence emphasizes soft-skills critical to entrepreneurial perseverance and venture success. Team norms can be designed to prime toward trust or control, and can be indicative of teams’ sensitivity to external factors, enabling evidence for intervention.
Originality/value
The paper illustrates ways in which trust and control influence team dynamics during venture emergence.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Carin Sävetun for her contributions as a third independent coder of primary data used in the study, and the reviewers of earlier versions of the paper for their constructive and valuable comments.
Citation
Williams Middleton, K. and Nowell, P. (2018), "Team trust and control in new venture emergence", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 882-910. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-01-2017-0048
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited