Impact of Entrepreneurial Team Contractual Governance on New Venture Resilience: The Mediating Role of Resource Bricolage

Abstract

Entrepreneurial teams are seen as pilots with which to steer growth in new ventures. However, there is currently a lack of studies exploring how they work under conditions of uncertainty. Based on the upper echelons theory and institutional theory, this study aims to reveal the role of entrepreneurial teams in new venture resilience through a questionnaire survey. Based on the data of 549 valid respondents, we find that resource bricolage is the key factor in new venture resilience, for which entrepreneurial team autonomy management governance is the most effective means. Specifically, (1) Entrepreneurial team profit-sharing governance and management autonomy governance significantly improve new venture resilience, whereas equity governance does not. (2) All the assessed means of entrepreneurial team contractual governance positively stimulate resource bricolage, with management autonomy governance playing the greatest role. (3) Resource bricolage significantly promotes new venture resilience and plays a complete mediating role in the relationship between equity governance and organizational resilience, and also plays a partial mediating role in the relationships of profit-sharing governance and management autonomy governance in regard to organizational resilience. These results suggest that entrepreneurial teams should prioritize authorizing further management rights to encourage team members to take on additional responsibilities, which could improve the resource bricolage capacities of new ventures and thus strengthen their resilience in tackling struggles.