Interdisciplinary cooperation among people trained in technical and economic fields has been identified as an important success factor in new venture teams. However, empirical findings also indicate that individuals often refuse to engage in close and trustful relationships with representatives of other disciplines. Thus the question arises whether education programs on interdisciplinary cooperation may be suitable to prepare students for future activities in multifunctional business start-up teams. In this study, we investigate the psychological effects of an interdisciplinary business planning course held at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration with the intention of promoting cooperation between technology-oriented professionals and business management students. The findings show that this course experience changes the students' attitudinal beliefs with respect to representatives of the technical discipline by reducing stereotypical assumptions. At the same time, the course fosters awareness of the challenges involved in cross-disciplinary cooperation. The more students communicate with their technical counterparts and the more they familiarize themselves with the technical aspects of the project, the stronger these effects become.(author's abstract)

In order to remain competitive, firms must be able to merge diverse, differentiated people into teams. In comparison to solo ventures, venture teams not only offer a broader base of physical and financial resources and varying points of view, but also positively influence the profitability, growth, and survivability potential of new ventures. Despite the growing importance and potential benefits offered by venture teams, relatively little is known about assembling and maintaining effective venture teams in the field of entrepreneurship. More specifically, information is needed to understand what composition and combination of demographic characteristics of team members would contribute to the effectiveness and success of a venture team. In this study the relationship between venture team demographic characteristics and team effectiveness (which is defined in terms of the interpersonal process of venture team members in their group activities) is investigated. The demographic characteristics examined include average age, age heterogeneity, average level of education, educational background heterogeneity, gender heterogeneity, and functional background heterogeneity. A field study, involving face-to-face and telephone interviews with the venture teams is used to gather data from40 computer related venture teams in a large midwest U.S. city. The venture teams are identified through the local Chambers of Commerce, peer referrals, and library research. Information is gathered on demographics and team interpersonal process effectiveness using a pre-validated instrument. Data are analyzed using regression analysis. The results indicate that average age negatively and significantly relates with team interpersonal process effectiveness. Furthermore, average level of education positively and significantly relates with team interpersonal process effectiveness. The other demographic variables, age heterogeneity, educational background heterogeneity, gender heterogeneity, and functional background heterogeneity do not produce significant relationships.

The entrepreneurial team plays a crucial part in the new venture’s growth and success. This notion is present among many investors as they often choose to bet on the “jockey” (i.e. the team) instead of on the “horse” (i.e. the idea). Previous research has pointed to how diverse teams are better equipped to handle the complex practices a new venture is faced with, compared to homogeneous teams. The entrepreneurial environment has a prevalent gender inequality that hinders many women from entering and contributing to the industry. The purpose of this research was therefore to investigate what hinders and supports the formation and upholding of gender diverse teams. The study was written on commission for a Swedish incubator which led to an approach exploring how an incubator can influence and contribute to establishing these teams. Based on a literature review, the study chose an explorative and qualitative approach to answer the research questions as it was found that this area was relatively unexplored and contained little research on how to form and uphold gender diverse teams, especially in the Swedish incubator context. Data was collected through conducting semi-structured interviews with three different types of samples. These were the commissioner (i.e. the incubator team), incubatees (i.e. new venture teams of different compositions), and a few external actors within the Swedish incubator environment.  The findings pointed to that there are several more obstacles towards forming and upholding gender diverse teams than factors supporting it. More obstacles were found in terms of forming these teams and they related to entrepreneurs experiencing a lack of knowledge on how to find the right members with complementary skills. Contextual factors also affect the possibility to adopt an appropriate strategy to find team members. An inherent fear of bringing in someone new was also present among entrepreneurs. There is an absence of female role models which increases the difficulty and gap between men and women as the step becomes even larger for women to enter and succeed in the entrepreneurial environment. In terms of upholding gender diverse teams, conflict due to experienced personal differences and more challenging communication is common and can negatively affect the venture if not managed properly. Gender roles and stereotypes also have a negative impact. On the other hand, some supportive measures were also identified. In regards to team formation, resource seeking was a better option than interpersonal relationships when it came to forming a gender diverse team. Additionally, the increased demand for diversity among several actors like state agencies, incubators, and investors further pushes new ventures to form gender diverse teams. Among the incubatees, a shared outlook of wanting greater diversity and recognizing what it contributes with, shared motives, values, and expectations further supported the upholding of gender diverse teams. Other supportive measures were creating ownership directives and shareholder agreements as well as having complementary competencies, good communication, cohesion, and cognition. Further supportive measures an incubator can adopt related to strategy, networks, and placing initial demands on new ventures.

<p>Contemporary society focuses heavily on the individual and this is also characterized by an individual thinking that many people contribute to. This is furthermore shared in the field of entrepreneur research studies where a profound deal of time has been focused on the personal qualities of specific entrepreneurs. However, in modern settings today many corporations originate in a team-based structure, which therefore leads towards a different approach rather than examining exclusively on individuality. Previous research shows that entrepreneurial teams are establishing and growing at a steady pace, yet studies within this field has not developed in an extensive fashion. Entrepreneurial teams can be defined as a group of people who share a common goal, usually consisting of two or more individuals who commenced a foundation from the early stages of that specific firm and who originated an initial idea. This therefore generates an interest to further investigate entrepreneur studies. The development of the individuality of entrepreneurship has been revised previously. Nevertheless, analyzing the underlying factors to why individuals tend to establish teams of entrepreneurship is a reoccurring topic to this day.</p><p>The main purpose of this study is to map out these underlying factors and investigate the fundamental preferences of the individuals who prefer to create team-based entrepreneurships.</p><p>This study is of a deductive layout and has been carried out in a qualitative method. Eight separate interviews were carried out with the originators of respective business corporations, and underlying factors have been mapped out with the help of theories within the field of entrepreneurship.</p><p>Subsequent to the gathering of primary empirical data and with the support of important theory studies, certain conclusions can be made. The underlying motives behind the formation of entrepreneurial teams can be characterized by earlier experiences, friendship, and the addition of members who acts as supplements to the team. But also a sense of affinity within the group, the spread of risk-taking, and furthermore an addition of enjoyment to the group are all important factors when investigating team entrepreneurship.</p> / <p>I dagens samhälle fokuseras det mycket på individen och många präglas utav ett individualistiskt tänkande. Detta kan även ses inom entreprenörskapsforskning där det en längre tid fokuserats på entreprenörens personliga egenskaper. När det i dagsläget är vanligare än man tror att starta företag i team, bör inte endast de personliga egenskaperna undersökas. Tidigare studier visar på att entreprenöriella team etableras och växer i snabbare takt, dock är forskningen om entreprenöriella team inte så utvecklad och omfattande. Definitionen av ett entreprenöriellt team, är att det består av en grupp personer som har ett gemensamt mål. Denna grupp består av två eller fler personer, som samtliga har varit med från idéstadiet av företaget. Det är därför av intresse att bygga vidare på den befintliga forskningen. Att utveckla entreprenörens personliga egenskaper är redan utforskat, men att kartlägga de bakomliggande faktorerna till varför individer tenderar att bilda entreprenöriella team är idag ett aktuellt ämne.</p><p>Syftet med undersökningen blir därav att kartlägga de bakomliggande faktorer individer har, som gör att de startar företag i team.</p><p>Undersökningen har en deduktiv ansats, som har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod i form av åtta intervjuer med grundare från respektive företag. Med hjälp av teorier inom ämnet har bakomliggande faktorer kartlagts.</p><p>Efter att empirisk data samlats in och analyserats med hjälp av teorierna har följande slutsatser härletts. De bakomliggande faktorerna till entreprenöriella team är att de haft tidigare erfarenheter som påverkat, att de är vänner, att addition av ny medlem medför en resurs som kompletterar teamet, att det skapar samhörighet, att riskerna sprids, att det blir roligare, att kapital saknas och att det hela kan bero på tillfälligheter som gör att man formerar ett team.</p>

Contemporary society focuses heavily on the individual and this is also characterized by an individual thinking that many people contribute to. This is furthermore shared in the field of entrepreneur research studies where a profound deal of time has been focused on the personal qualities of specific entrepreneurs. However, in modern settings today many corporations originate in a team-based structure, which therefore leads towards a different approach rather than examining exclusively on individuality. Previous research shows that entrepreneurial teams are establishing and growing at a steady pace, yet studies within this field has not developed in an extensive fashion. Entrepreneurial teams can be defined as a group of people who share a common goal, usually consisting of two or more individuals who commenced a foundation from the early stages of that specific firm and who originated an initial idea. This therefore generates an interest to further investigate entrepreneur studies. The development of the individuality of entrepreneurship has been revised previously. Nevertheless, analyzing the underlying factors to why individuals tend to establish teams of entrepreneurship is a reoccurring topic to this day. The main purpose of this study is to map out these underlying factors and investigate the fundamental preferences of the individuals who prefer to create team-based entrepreneurships. This study is of a deductive layout and has been carried out in a qualitative method. Eight separate interviews were carried out with the originators of respective business corporations, and underlying factors have been mapped out with the help of theories within the field of entrepreneurship. Subsequent to the gathering of primary empirical data and with the support of important theory studies, certain conclusions can be made. The underlying motives behind the formation of entrepreneurial teams can be characterized by earlier experiences, friendship, and the addition of members who acts as supplements to the team. But also a sense of affinity within the group, the spread of risk-taking, and furthermore an addition of enjoyment to the group are all important factors when investigating team entrepreneurship. / I dagens samhälle fokuseras det mycket på individen och många präglas utav ett individualistiskt tänkande. Detta kan även ses inom entreprenörskapsforskning där det en längre tid fokuserats på entreprenörens personliga egenskaper. När det i dagsläget är vanligare än man tror att starta företag i team, bör inte endast de personliga egenskaperna undersökas. Tidigare studier visar på att entreprenöriella team etableras och växer i snabbare takt, dock är forskningen om entreprenöriella team inte så utvecklad och omfattande. Definitionen av ett entreprenöriellt team, är att det består av en grupp personer som har ett gemensamt mål. Denna grupp består av två eller fler personer, som samtliga har varit med från idéstadiet av företaget. Det är därför av intresse att bygga vidare på den befintliga forskningen. Att utveckla entreprenörens personliga egenskaper är redan utforskat, men att kartlägga de bakomliggande faktorerna till varför individer tenderar att bilda entreprenöriella team är idag ett aktuellt ämne. Syftet med undersökningen blir därav att kartlägga de bakomliggande faktorer individer har, som gör att de startar företag i team. Undersökningen har en deduktiv ansats, som har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod i form av åtta intervjuer med grundare från respektive företag. Med hjälp av teorier inom ämnet har bakomliggande faktorer kartlagts. Efter att empirisk data samlats in och analyserats med hjälp av teorierna har följande slutsatser härletts. De bakomliggande faktorerna till entreprenöriella team är att de haft tidigare erfarenheter som påverkat, att de är vänner, att addition av ny medlem medför en resurs som kompletterar teamet, att det skapar samhörighet, att riskerna sprids, att det blir roligare, att kapital saknas och att det hela kan bero på tillfälligheter som gör att man formerar ett team.