Characteristics and Processes of Top Management Teams in High-Tech Firms

This chapter reports the results of two exploratory, interview-based studies of the top management teams (TMTs) of entrepreneurial firms in Chinese high-tech industries. Results indicated that the formal team leaders (firm presidents) were typically young and had versatile backgrounds and many of the major characteristics previously identified for effective leaders. Members of the TMTs that had been successful tended to share the leader’s values and goals, hold complementary skills, and have compatible personality traits. Leader quality and team capacity to make decisions independently were decisive for team effectiveness. We present a revised model with additional antecedents that were not in the preliminary model based on the existing literature.