The promise of family systems theory in understanding the emotional and interpersonal dynamics of early-stage entrepreneurial teams

Abstract

Being an entrepreneur is often a very emotionally intense experience as entrepreneurs are often driven by strong passion and face many ups and downs in their journey. While prior research has explored relational dynamics in entrepreneurial teams, less is known about how emotional interdependence shapes team functioning over time. Drawing on family systems theory, this paper conceptualizes early-stage entrepreneurial teams as emotionally interdependent systems, offering new insights into why some teams thrive under pressure while others fracture. We argue that team emotion, as well as many team processes and outcomes—such as conflict, turnover, and well-being—emerge not only from individual traits, states, or events, but from underlying and patterned emotional dynamics. In doing so we connect literature on psychological ownership, bonding, and co-founding relationships, offer new conceptual insights, and suggest novel ways of studying early-stage entrepreneurial teams. We conclude with potential research questions to encourage future theory development in the field.