Out for the mission, or out for others: a values-based approach for B corporation decertification

Conflict within new venture teams (NVTs) is recognized as one of the main factors determining
success or failure of new ventures. However, empirical evidence on which specific conflict
behaviors are detrimental to team satisfaction and predict subsequent failure is still scarce. To
address this research need, we draw on insights from marriage research and examine the impact of
the “Four Horsemen” (criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling) as conflict behavior on
team satisfaction and exit intentions. In our longitudinal quasi-experimental study involving 45
dyadic NVTs, we assess conflict behavior in a lab setting and measure team satisfaction and
subsequent exit intentions through questionnaires. Our results indicate negative effects of criticism
and contempt on team satisfaction, while contempt predicts exit intentions three months later. The
present study introduces a novel perspective on NVT conflict and proposes an identification method
for promising NVTs based on their conflict behavior early in the entrepreneurial life cycle.