Express Yourself or Stay Mystery? The Effect of Self-Disclosure on Entrepreneurial Identity of Team Members

Jingjing Zhang,Yun Duan,Yangyu Zhang

doi:10.4236/jss.2018.612018

Abstract

The entrepreneurial identity of team members is vital to team stability and entrepreneurial success. How to improve the identity of team members is a significant issue for entrepreneurs to ponder. Combining literature analysis and empirical research, this paper discusses the following issues: 1) Whether the entrepreneur’s self-disclosure has a positive impact on the members’ entrepreneurial identity; 2) The internal mechanism of how entrepreneur’s self-disclosure affects the team members’ entrepreneurial identity. The results show that in the context of entrepreneurship in China, the self-disclosure of entrepreneurs can promote the entrepreneurial identity of the team members, and the entrepreneurial passion mediates the relationship between them.

Highlights

Entrepreneurship is like “thousands of horses crossing a single bridge”, and only a few can survive and develop in the fierce competition
The results show that in the context of entrepreneurship in China, the self-disclosure of entrepreneurs can promote the entrepreneurial identity of the team members, and the entrepreneurial passion mediates the relationship between them
Since entrepreneurial teams are confronted with more complex environments and greater risks than ordinary teams, how to increase the entrepreneurial identity of team members through self-disclosure is important for entrepreneurs in the Chinese context where “relationship” means a lot

Summary

Introduction

Entrepreneurship is like “thousands of horses crossing a single bridge”, and only a few can survive and develop in the fierce competition. In this process, the entrepreneur’s personal abilities are often limited, and entrepreneurial success depends largely on the team’s success [1]. A high level of entrepreneurial identity is critical to the coordination and cooperation of the entrepreneurial team. In the context of entrepreneurship, self-disclosure does promote relationships and deepen communication between members. Since entrepreneurial teams are confronted with more complex environments and greater risks than ordinary teams, how to increase the entrepreneurial identity of team members through self-disclosure is important for entrepreneurs in the Chinese context where “relationship” means a lot

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Conclusion