Nascent entrepreneurial team formation and processes: a behavioral microfoundational approach

This thesis investigates how entrepreneurial teams form and make foundational governance decisions at the earliest stages of venture creation. It focuses on two central processes: cofounder selection and equity ownership negotiation. By adopting a behavioral perspective, the thesis examines how founders navigate relational and instrumental considerations under uncertainty when assembling their teams and allocating ownership. Chapter 1 develops a process model of cofounder selection in nascent entrepreneurial teams. Drawing on qualitative data from 14 teams and multiple decision episodes, the study shows that founders sustain an aspiration to integrate both interpersonal and resource-based considerations. Rather than choosing between these orientations, they adjust how they enact them as team formation unfolds. The chapter provides a dynamic account of how hybrid cofounder selection emerges over time through interaction. Chapter 2 examines how variation in team formation strategy intensity relates to early outcomes. Introducing the concept of formation-strategy intensity—the degree to which founders integrate skill-based and relational attributes in their selection decisions—the study analyzes survey data from 185 nascent teams using multivariate regression models. The findings show that higher dual intensity enhances team productivity and early legitimacy, while resource-seeking intensity alone yields more limited benefits and interpersonal attraction alone does not significantly predict outcomes. Chapter 3 focuses on equity ownership negotiation prior to formal allocation. Based on qualitative data from nascent teams, the study develops a process model explaining how entitlement perceptions are constructed, contested, and revised during negotiation. The findings show that founders’ self-concepts shape which ownership adjustments are experienced as legitimate, influencing how equity arrangements stabilize over time. Together, the three studies provide an integrated account of how early entrepreneurial teams are assembled and governed, highlighting the cognitive and relational mechanisms that shape team composition, productivity, and ownership structure in the absence of established routines or performance signals.