When Do Greedy Entrepreneurs Exhibit Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior? The Role of New Venture Team Trust

Abstract

Greed is an excessive form of self-interest that leads individuals to pursue material wealth and immaterial desires with little or no concern for the well-being of others. While the literature suggests that greed results in managers acting unethically, a situational strength perspective suggests that this may not always be the case. Therefore, this paper aims at understanding how the new venture context, particularly the role of a team member's affective and cognitive trust in the new venture team, shapes the manifestation of greed in entrepreneurs’ unethical pro-organizational behavior—behavior that allows new venture team members to advance their ventures despite the violation of social norms. Consistent with our theorizing, we find that new venture team members’ affective and cognitive trust in their teams shape the relationship between greed and unethical pro-organizational behavior in opposing ways. Particularly, higher levels of greed are more likely to be connected to unethical pro-organizational behavior when a member's affective trust in the team is high and cognitive trust in the team is low. Our study offers implications for the entrepreneurship and management literatures, alongside implications for practice.