Relational composition and member turnover of entrepreneurial founder teams at the nascent stage: a typology and empirical evidence

Abstract

Team composition matters in shaping entrepreneurial outcomes. Focusing on the preexisting relationships among team members, this study examines how the social relational structure of entrepreneurial founder team influences membership turnover. After distinguishing entrepreneurial teams into family-only, non-family only, and family/non-family mixed ones, the study explores the possibility that family ties can serve as a glue in family-only teams, while they can become a source of schism in teams mixed with family and non-family members. Using data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, this research finds that family-only teams have a stable and rigid relational structure with low levels of both member exit and entry, while family/non-family mixed teams have the most vulnerable structure where members tend to leave but new members are unlikely to be recruited. Additionally, non-family teams have an unstable and fluidic structure with a high rate of both member exit and entry. These findings have implications for advancing our understanding of how social relational composition influences the organizational outcomes of entrepreneurial teams.

RÉSUMÉ

La composition de l’équipe est importante pour façonner les résultats de l’entreprise. En se concentrant sur les relations préexistantes entre les membres de l’équipe, cette étude examine comment la structure relationnelle de l’équipe de fondateurs d’une entreprise influence la rotation des membres. Après avoir distingué les équipes entrepreneuriales en équipes familiales uniquement, non familiales uniquement, et mixtes familiales/non familiales, l’étude explore la possibilité que les liens familiaux puissent servir de ciment dans les équipes familiales uniquement, alors qu’ils peuvent devenir une source de schisme dans les équipes mixtes composées de membres familiaux et non familiaux. En utilisant les données du Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, cette recherche montre que les équipes exclusivement familiales ont une structure relationnelle stable et rigide avec de faibles niveaux de sorties et d’entrées de membres, tandis que les équipes mixtes familiales/non familiales ont la structure la plus vulnérable où les membres ont tendance à partir, mais où il est plus improbable que de nouveaux membres soient recrutés. De plus, les équipes non familiales ont une structure instable et fluide avec un taux élevé de sorties et d’entrées des membres. Ces résultats ont des implications pour faire progresser notre compréhension de la façon dont la composition relationnelle sociale influence les résultats organisationnels des équipes entrepreneuriales.

Keywords:

• Nascent entrepreneurial teams
• relational composition
• member entry
• member exit

Mots-clés:

• équipes entrepreneuriales naissantes
• composition relationnelle
• entrée des membres
• sortie des membres

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 When information was not available, I used the last available response and assumed there was no change in the team type across waves.

2 Sectors are differentiated into 16 categories: (1) retail store; (2) restaurant tavern, bar, or nightclub; (3) customer or consumer service; (4) health, education or social services; (5) manufacturing; (6) construction; (7) agriculture; (8) mining; (9) wholesale distribution; (10) transportation; (11) utilities; (12) communications; (13) finance; (14) insurance; (15) real estate; (16) business consulting or service

3 Regions are categorized into four parts: (1) West; (2) North Central; (3) North East; (4) South

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the research fund of Hanyang University (HY-2021)

Notes on contributors

Yisook Lim

Dr. Yisook Lim is Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Hanyang University, ERICA, South Korea. Her research interests include entrepreneurship, organization theory, and social networks. Her research primarily focuses on how the relational, social, and institutional structures shape organization development. Her publication has appeared in Small Business Economics, Social Networks, Sociological Forum, and Plos One. Professor Lim holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, ILR School, at Cornell University.