The preoperational stage of a new venture is characterized by concept definition, idea enhancement, and strategy formulation. Entrepreneurs consult advisors in knowledge sharing activities. Trust is dominant in these entrepreneur-advisor relationships as entrepreneurs rely on an advisor's judgment to keep venture ideas away from competitors. However, the relationships between trust, knowledge sharing, and knowledge security during the preoperational stage of a new high-tech venture are not directly examined in many research studies. Concerning types of trust, McAllister (1995) defines two types of interpersonal trust: affective trust, which develops from emotional bonds between individuals, and calculative trust, which is based on an individual's level of competence and reliability. The present study applies McAllister's (1995) theory of types of trust to Kale, Singh, and Perlmutter (2000) findings to examine how trust relationships between entrepreneurs and advisors affect knowledge sharing and an entrepreneur's use of NDAs. This dissertation's research primary question is, "How does trust between an entrepreneur and advisors affect knowledge sharing and choices of knowledge security mechanisms during the preoperational stage of a new high-tech venture?" I used de Koning and Muzyka's (1999) classification of the entrepreneur's social context to define three advisor types: Close Friends, Business Associates, and Licensed Professionals. Linking these types with literature on trust and knowledge, I hypothesize seven relationships dealing with trust, knowledge sharing, and knowledge security. I used structured and non-structured interview formats to collect data on 143 entrepreneur/advisor relationships in South Florida. / The results confirmed that relationship length significantly contributed to affective trust and entrepreneurs were more likely to share knowledge with Business Associates than with Close Friends or Licen found t o be the dominant form of trust driving knowledge sharing but affective trust was not significantly found to impact the use of NDAs. Entrepreneurs expected all advisor types to be competent, experienced, and skilled, reporting nonsignificant differences in calculative trust across advisor types. I did not find the use of NDAs to be associated with any particular advisor type. Rather, NDAs were seldom used during the preoperational stage for reasons such as the entrepreneurs' desires to maintain positive relationships with advisors, along with their reliance on a strong institutional background. / by Abiola Omoyeni Fanimokun. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.