IN THE BEGINNING: IDENTITY PROCESSES AND ORGANIZING IN MULTI-FOUNDER NASCENT VENTURES

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Powell, E. Erin; Baker, Ted
• 署名单位: Clemson University; Rutgers University System; Rutgers University New Brunswick; University of Cape Town
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4273
• DOI: 10.5465/amj.2015.0175
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 2381-2414
• 关键词: ENTREPRENEURIAL PASSION; social identity; teams; performance; SUGGESTIONS; Negotiation; management; creation; panel; work

摘要

We conducted a longitudinal field study of nine nascent ventures attempting to revitalize local municipalities to understand how and why identity processes shape organizing in multi-founder nascent ventures. We develop grounded theory and a process model showing how the patterning of founders' social and role identities shapes early structuring processes, how this in turn influences the construction of a collective identity prototype and its attempted enforcement by an in-group, and how the overall process influences whether or not founders remain engaged in their joint organizing efforts. In some cases, founders' identities adjust as they experience periods of pragmatic deference, contestation, and domination by an in-group that moves increasingly toward identity homophily. Our contributions extend the growing entrepreneurship literature on founder identity from an individual focus toward understanding how founding teams work through organizing issues, and from a focus on established organizations to exploring why and whether teams move forward in nascent ventures. We open up a series of important questions for future research about how founders become who we are.