Interpersonal Social Relationships and Startup Teams Success

Abstract

This study aims to establish a model of start-up team’s Interpersonal Social Relationship (ISR) quality in order to predict team success. The core reason why many start-ups fail is not because of problems in their business; it is rather because of arguments and interpersonal conflicts in their team. Understanding what makes teams come together, work together and stay together is an important, but currently under evaluated, aspect. Drawing on theoretical as well as empirical literature, we find out eight features (i.e., interpersonal communication, team coordination, mutual support, team cohesion, team potency, interpersonal trust, team norms & team conflicts) of ISR. To sum up, this study predicts that interpersonal social relationship quality is vital for the success of start-up teams. The accurate assessment of ISR quality is immensely crucial for investors in order to achieve team/start-up success.