The Impact of Entrepreneurial Team Relational Governance on Opportunity Pivoting and New Venture Performance: A Moderated Mediation Model

Strategic adaptation in highly dynamic environments is a central focus of entrepreneurship research. However, existing studies lack a rigorous analysis of the mechanisms linking relational governance to opportunity pivoting (OP). Consequently, the effectiveness of OP remains inconclusive. Based on dynamic capabilities theory, this study uses two-wave survey data from 471 new ventures to examine the associations among entrepreneurial team relational governance (ETRG), opportunity pivoting, new venture performance, and AI-environmental dynamism (AIED), focusing on the indirect (mediating) association of OP between ETRG and new venture performance and the moderating association of AIED. The results show that ETRG is positively associated with OP, that OP is positively associated with new venture performance (a significant indirect association). In addition, AIED positively moderates the relationship between ETRG and OP. The theoretical contributions of this study are threefold. First, it highlights the role of relational governance in relating to entrepreneurial team opportunity pivoting. Second, it clarifies the indirect pathway—relational governance → opportunity pivoting → new venture performance—as an associational mechanism. Third, it identifies the boundary conditions for effective governance in the AI era, providing practical implications for optimizing governance mechanisms to navigate technological turbulence.