The dynamism of IT entrepreneurial team: An evolutionary perspective

Abstract

This study dwells on the dynamic evolvement of IT entrepreneurial teams along their ventures? early stages. Through a longitudinal multiple-case study on six typical IT entrepreneurial teams, I find two different evolutionary paths in which IT entrepreneurial teams constantly adapt the compositional and managerial structures of the teams to the changing venture strategies and market contexts. Furthermore, I find that the founding resources and learning processes of the IT entrepreneurial team complement each other to explain the speed of team evolution. Finally, this study also amplifies the literature on entrepreneurial team turnover by unraveling the antecedents and consequences of team member entry and member exit. All these findings are integrated to establish a contextualized theory of IT entrepreneurial team evolution. Towards the end of this paper, important theoretical and practical contributions are drawn. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.