The Contingent Effects of Intrateam Abusive Behavior on Team Thriving and New Venture Performance

This study sheds light on the dark side of entrepreneurship by examining how and under what conditions abusive behavior within new venture teams (NVTs) relates to new venture performance. Using a national (USA) random sample of NVTs, we find that the relationship of intrateam abusive behavior (i.e., degree to which NVT members exhibit “hostile” verbal behaviors toward each other) with new venture performance (i.e., sales and employment growth) is mediated by NVT thriving (i.e., level of vitality and learning exhibited within the NVT). Results further demonstrate that perceived competitive intensity of the industry moderates this relationship, with the indirect effect of intrateam abusive behavior on new venture performance (via thriving) being significantly less negative at high, than at low, levels of competitive intensity. We therefore conclude that perceived competitive threats to the survival of startups act to mitigate the otherwise deleterious effects of abusive behavior occurring within NVTs. These results broaden existing knowledge regarding the dark side of entrepreneurship by expanding the conversation on this topic to include the NVT and providing evidence for why some NVTs, but not others, are able to sustain the growth of their firms despite the occurrence of abusive behavior between their members.

The Curvilinear Relationship Between Collective Team Identification and New Venture Performance: The Moderating Effect of Environmental Uncertainty

Many new ventures are founded and developed by teams rather than solo entrepreneurs. Therefore, the extent to which entrepreneurs identify with their teams is likely to have an important impact on the process and outcome of new venture creation in new venture teams. However, most of the relevant studies focus on entrepreneurs’ individual identity, and the identity at the team level has been overlooked. This study seeks to fill this gap by exploring the effect of collective team identification on new venture performance. The relationship between collective team identification and new venture performance was examined using a sample of 54 new venture teams in Internet Technology (IT) industry. The results show that the relationship between collective team identification and new venture performance is inverted U-shaped. Moreover, environmental uncertainty may moderate this curvilinear effect, such that this inverted U-shaped relationship is more salient at a low level of environmental uncertainty rather than at a high level of environmental uncertainty.

New Ventures Competitiveness and Success; Do Intellectual Capital, IT Capabilities, Entrepreneurial and Market Orientation Really Matter?

The failure ratio of new ventures across the globe pushes researchers towards finding solutions, but the response is not effective. This research project surveyed 297 new manufacturing enterprises from China to find factors that significantly contribute to the success of new ventures. The results indicated that intellectual capital significantly sustains performance and sustainable competitive advantage in new ventures. The relationship between intellectual capital and new venture performance is partially mediated by a sustainable competitive advantage. Information technology capabilities do not positively impact new venture performance and competitiveness. Entrepreneurial orientation has a significant influence on differentiation strategy and new venture performance. Sustainable competitive advantage does not mediate the path between entrepreneurial orientation and new venture performance, but it fully mediates the association between market orientation and new venture performance. This study recommends that new enterprises focus on intellectual capital, entrepreneurial orientation, and market orientation to acquire a sustainable position in the competitive market. New ventures should also evaluate their technological capabilities to understand why they do not play a vital role. Further implications have been stated.

Impact of entrepreneurial orientation on the performance of new ventures in China: the roles of entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition

Purpose This study aims to examine how entrepreneurial orientation affects new venture performance in a dynamic environment. The authors examine whether entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition mediate the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on new venture performance and whether environmental dynamics moderate the above effects. Design/methodology/approach This study uses questionnaires to collect data. The sample includes responses of managers from 274 new Chinese ventures. Regression analysis and bootstrapping are used to test the hypotheses. Findings Entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition play mediating roles between entrepreneurial orientation and new venture performance. Environmental dynamism positively moderates the relationship between opportunity recognition and new venture performance. Practical implications In a dynamic environment, new ventures should strengthen their entrepreneurial orientation, which would gradually improve their performance by improving their entrepreneurial bricolage and opportunity recognition ability. Originality/value This study innovatively explains the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and new venture performance from the perspectives of “flexible solutions to current problems” and “discovering and grasping potential new opportunities.” It does so by using the concepts of entrepreneurial bricolage and entrepreneurial opportunity identification in the context of a dynamic environment.

Does Start-Up Founding Strategy Increase or Decrease the Effects of Strategic Capabilities on New Venture Performance?

Many studies have provided evidence of a positive relationship between strategic capabilities and new venture performance. This study applies the resource-based view and strategic fit theory to develop a model that investigates how startup founding strategy affects the strength of the strategic capabilities–performance relationship in new ventures. We conduct an empirical study of 146 U.S. new ventures and 425 Chinese new ventures to test the proposed model. The results show that, for U.S. ventures, technology-driven strategy increases the effect of technology capabilities on new venture performance but decreases the effects of marketing and market-linking capabilities on new venture performance. By contrast, Chinese ventures' technology-driven strategy has a significantly negative moderating effect on the relationship between market-linking capabilities and performance. We discuss the implications of the empirical findings for ventures pursuing technology-driven and market-driven strategies.

The Role of Entrepreneurs’ Empathy in New Venture Performance: The Mediating Effects of Entrepreneurial Orientation

Previous research has found that entrepreneurs’ empathy promotes personal opportunity identification. However, the role that entrepreneurs’ empathy plays at the firm level in new ventures is still unclear. This study explores this question by investigating how perspective taking and empathic concern, which respectively represent the cognitive and affective component of entrepreneurs’ empathy, influence new venture performance with the mediating effects of entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Based on an empirical study with 341 new ventures, this research finds a positive relationship between perspective taking and new venture performance and a curvilinear relationship between empathic concern and new venture performance. In addition, both of these relationships are mediated by EO. This study sheds light on distinct impacts of the entrepreneur’s perspective taking and empathic concern at the firm level, enriches the antecedents of EO from the cognitive and affective factors of the entrepreneur, and extends the implications of the entrepreneur’s altruistic dispositions in commercial start-ups.