Talking inside the corridor or navigating the labyrinth: Market experience and information elaboration in founding teams

The search for potential markets is crucial for technology ventures. We propose that founding team members’ prior market experiences can be helpful but also dysfunctional because of the way the depth and breadth of these experiences shape information elaboration. Deep and broad market experiences challenge teams with two potential dysfunctions: talking inside the corridor (easy information exchange and low task conflict) and navigating the labyrinth (arduous information exchange and elevated task conflict). Data support that prior market experiences in the founding team affect initial venture performance, mediated by information exchange and task conflict, and moderated by lead founder personality.