Attributes of Entrepreneurial Teams as Elements of a Mental Model (Atrybuty zespolu przedsiebiorczego jako elementy modelu mentalnego)

Abstract

An entrepreneurial team can be defined as a small group of individuals holding ownership or control positions who create or develop an entrepreneurial venture and have shared commitments towards each other. Entrepreneurial teams start numerous new ventures or affect the performance of firms due to their social capital based on some characteristic attributes. The mental models of teams refer to internal, organized representation of team tasks, relations, skills and environment. A mental model of a team is dynamic and if it is shared by team members at the beginning of the team’s lifecycle, it is crucial for the team members’ cooperation and influences the team’s performance, satisfaction and viability. The vision of the entrepreneurial team’s characteristics is an important element of its members’ mental model that they start their cooperation with. The aim of this article is to define the initial mental model of an entrepreneurial team and diagnose the young Poles’ image of entrepreneurial teams that can be a trigger or a barrier in developing collaborative entrepreneurship. The method used was based on a survey with open-ended questions conducted among 120 students. The presented results allow for proposing an initial mental model for cooperation in entrepreneurial teams and putting forward recommendations for preparing students for adopting a more open attitude towards team-based innovative enterprises.