Tearing the dream apart: how and when task, process and relationship conflicts lead to cofounders’ entrepreneurial exit intentions

Purpose This study aims to explore the antecedents of cofounder entrepreneurs’ exit intentions. Using the affective events theory (AET), the authors examined the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating role of entrepreneurs’ emotional intelligence (EI) in the relationship between different types of conflicts (i.e. task, process and relationship conflicts) and entrepreneurs’ exit intentions. Design/methodology/approach This study used cross-sectional data (n = 178) collected from cofounders in Pakistan. Hypotheses were tested using Hayes’ PROCESS macro (models 4 and 7). Findings Only relationship conflict directly relates to entrepreneurs’ exit intention. Moreover, negative emotions mediate the relationships between task, relationship and process conflicts and entrepreneurs’ exit intention. Furthermore, EI moderates the relationship between different conflict types and entrepreneurs’ negative emotions, such that when entrepreneurs have high EI, the relationship between conflicts and negative emotions becomes weaker, which, in turn, minimizes entrepreneurs’ exit intentions. Originality/value By examining the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating role of entrepreneurs’ EI, this study contributes to the existing body of research on conflict and entrepreneurship by detailing how and when conflicts among cofounder entrepreneurs lead to their exit intention.