Research and resources on co-founder conflict

A selection of the most relevant scientific research, articles and academic insights shaping our approach to co-founder conflict, relational dynamics, and founder performance.
All evidence-based. All directly relevant to fast-moving entrepreneurial teams.

Founding teams and startup survival

The founder’s dilemmas
Noam Wasserman, Harvard Business School
A decade-long study of over 10,000 founders.
Shows how misalignment, unclear expectations and relational friction drive early startup failure.

Founding team formation and early hiring
Wasserman, 2008 – Management Science
Explains how early team decisions influence trust, clarity and long-term conflict risk.

Team composition and startup survival
Ruef, Aldrich & Carter, 2003 – American Sociological Review
One of the first large-scale studies linking team diversity, relationship patterns and survival rates.

When founders are too similar
Beckman, 2006 – Administrative Science Quarterly
Shows how similarity reduces early conflict but increases strategic conflict later.

Conflict in entrepreneurial teams
Ensley, Pearson & Amason, 2002 – Journal of Business Venturing
A core study on how task conflict becomes personal conflict when stress rises.

Trust, communication and relationship dynamics

The four horsemen of conflict
John Gottman, 1990–1999
Not startup-specific, but the most predictive model of relational breakdown.
Criticism, defensiveness, contempt and stonewalling are the same behaviours seen in co-founder collapse.

Attachment styles in workplace relationships
Harms, 2011 – Journal of Applied Psychology
Shows how attachment patterns shape trust, communication and conflict resolution in professional partnerships.

Interpersonal trust and team performance
Dirks, 1999 – Administrative Science Quarterly
Explains how trust erosion impacts speed, coordination and psychological safety.

Psychological safety and learning behaviour
Amy Edmondson, 1999 – Administrative Science Quarterly
The foundation of all high-performing teams.
One of the most cited papers in organisational psychology.

Stress, burnout and emotional dynamics in founders

Entrepreneurial burnout and its consequences
Shepherd, 2009 – Journal of Business Venturing
Shows how stress and emotional overload intensify defensiveness, withdrawal and conflict.

Emotional fluctuations of entrepreneurs
Uy, Foo & Song, 2013 – Journal of Business Venturing
Daily emotional swings influence decisions, communication and team climate.

Emotional intelligence and entrepreneurial team performance
Foo, 2011 – Journal of Management Studies
Clear evidence that emotional intelligence reduces conflict risk.

Role clarity, expectations and equity

Role conflict and role ambiguity in startups
Kearney, Shemla & Scholz, 2019 – Small Business Economics
Role ambiguity is one of the strongest predictors of interpersonal friction.

Equity splits and founder expectations
Noam Wasserman, 2010
Empirical evidence that early equity decisions without clarity often lead to resentment and founder breakdown.

Team diversity, decision-making and conflict

Cognitive diversity and team innovation
Aggarwal & Woolley, 2019 – Organization Science
Diverse teams innovate more, but experience more conflict without proper facilitation.

Team decision-making under stress
Driskell, Salas & Hughes, 2010 – Human Factors
Stress pushes people into rigid thinking and blame patterns.

Trauma, patterns and systemic dynamics

Childhood trauma and leadership behaviour
Harms, 2012 – Leadership Quarterly
Shows how unresolved trauma shapes leadership patterns, communication and conflict reactions.

Family systems theory and leadership
Bowen, Kerr & Bowen, 1988 – Family Process
Explains how unresolved family dynamics replay in professional relationships.

Trauma in the workplace: how it shows up
Kusserow & Ashford, 2020 – Academy of Management Review
Trauma-driven patterns can mimic “business problems,” such as defensiveness, avoidance of responsibility, and mistrust.