Heterogeneity Of New Venture Team And Performance Based On Guanxi Orientation: The Mediating Of Team Conflict

In terms of the practical problem in the development of new venture team, this study review the relative studies of new venture team in Eastern and Western field, and build a integrated model of functional heterogeneity, team conflict and new venture performance based on China's guanxi orientation. In this paper, I try to ask the following three questions: (1) what role does functional heterogeneity play on new venture performance? (2) does functional heterogeneity lead to team conflict, then influence new venture performance? (3) how to use guanxi orientation to influence functional heterogeneity, conflict, and new venture performance?For testing the theoretical hypotheses, I did a survey of new venture team in five cities, and used heirarchical linear regression (HLR) and structure equation model (SEM) to test the eight theoretical hypotheses. I found four of them were supported by data, two of them were partly supported, while the other two hypotheses were not supported. These results implied that (1) there was a positive relationship between functional heterogeneity and cognitive conflict, as well as functional heterogeneity and emotional conflict. (2) cognitive conflict is positively associated with new venture performance, while emotional conflict is negatively associated with new venture performance. (3) guanxi orientation can reduce emotional conflict, however, it also limited cognitive conflict and negatively influence functional heterogeneity.This study build a research framework combing with the existing theories and practical experience, which is related with functional heterogeneity and conflict management based on China's guanxi orientation. Using the statistic method to measure the relative variables and test the hypotheses. The findings as bellow:(1) the direct influence of functional heterogeneity and growth performance is not significant. Although from the human capital perspective functional heterogeneity could positively influence new venture performance, in this work I didn't found this kind of relationship. The result imply that the explanation of new venture team from only one theory is not enough, therefore, the study which can combine more comprehensive theories together will be needed.(2) there are significantly positive relationships between functional heterogeneity and cognitive/emotional conflict, as well as the positive relationships between cognitive/emotional conflict and new venture performance. Based on the research of functional heterogeneity of new venture team, I build a"heterogeneity-conflict-performance"framework combing with organization behavior. The findings are: a. Functional heterogeneity could lead to emotional conflict, then play a negative role on new venture performance; b. Functional heterogeneity could improve cognitive, then play a positive role on new venture performance.(3) guanxi orientation could reduce team conflict directly and indirectly. In China's culture context, this study employed a new conception named guanxi orientation, and built the linkages between (1) guanxi orientation and functional heterogeneity; (2) guanxi orientation and team conflict. I found through empirical study: a. guanxi orientation could reduce emotional and cognitive conflict directly; b. guanxi orientation could reduce team conflict through controlling functional heterogeneity.The innovation views in this study can be concluded as following:Firstly, this study built a integrated framework, and explore the relationship among guanxi orientation, functional heterogeneity, team conflict and new venture performance systematicly. Most of Eastern management thinking origin from collectivism, while in West management theory is built based on the level of individual. The research on new venture team included individual characteristics and the problem on the group level. Choosing this theme will apply a good chance to join the eastern and western theory together. From the existing research on entrepreneurship, the research on team level is not enough, as well as the development on theory and empirical studies are also lacked. Concerning of this problem, this study will promote the development of this research area, and try to explore the combination of eastern and western academic thinking together in entrepreneurship research field. Secondly, this study built a framework of functional heterogeneity and team conflict based on human capital theory and organization behavior. On human capital perspective, the functional heterogeneity of new venture team enriched the composition of human capital, applied more information for strategic decision which will be helpful for improve the quality of decision. However, I didn't find the direct relationship between functional heterogeneity and new venture performance. From the perspective of organization behavior, this study built the mechanism model of"functional heterogeneity- team conflict- new venture performance". The empirical study found team conflict mediated the relationship functional heterogeneity of new venture and performance. On the one hand, functional heterogeneity enriched the diversity of cognition of new venture team, which apply more information and perspectives for solving problems, and will be helpful for improving the quality of decision, and promoting new venture performance. On the other hand, functional heterogeneity of new venture team might lead to emotional conflict among team members, which will lead to the dynamism of member's emotion, distrust, plus the coordination cost, and hinder the growth of new venture.Thirdly, this study extended the implication of guanxi orientation in new venture team theory, and analysis the relationship between guanxi orientation and functional heterogeneity, and also team conflict. Although Guanxi orientation as a special phenomenon and conception in China was concerned by many authors, during to the complication of social connection and the specialization of conception this conception was not given enough studies in China's context. In new venture team studies, this study found that guanxi orientation was adopted for explanation the problem between individual and group. The role of guanxi orientation in China's management practice is not substituted. Guanxi as a norm and social capital in China's society influence individual behavior in a long term. With the economy transition the instruction characteristics of guanxi was paid more and more attention. From the practical experience guanxi-based strategy will be more help to acquiring competitive advantage and economic resource. While at the meanwhile, the implication of guanxi leads to many negative effects as well. Therefore, the implication of guanxi in practice should be paid more attention. Facing the problem in functional heterogeneity and team conflict, this study employed guanxi orientation, and use China's traditional management thinking to explain this phenomenon. The results in this study implied that guanxi orientation could be used in management of new venture team, and will be helpful for the formation of common idea and management of conflict in new venture team. From the empirical study, I found guanxi orientation could control team's emotional conflict in both direct way and indirect way. That is because the resolution of emotional conflict is needed to invest many time and cost, since if emotional conflict occurred will influence team performance negatively, therefore using guanxi orientation could be helpful for advising and resolving emotional conflict. However, at the meanwhile this study also found that there is a limitation in the implication of guanxi orientation. Guanxi orientation might reduce the cognitive conflict and lead to the homogeneity of team composition, which will play negatively effects on the formation of multiple points, and might lead to group thinking problem, reduce team performance finally.