Article

Conflict Issues in Start-up Co-founders: Typology and Measurement

Authors: Malgorzata W. Kozusznik (Ghent University) , Martin Euwema (KU Leuven)

Abstract

This work develops and validates the Conflicts among Co-founders (COCO) scale, expanding the existing typology of conflicts. In the first study, qualitative results suggest the existence of three types of conflict issues: money, norms, and vision. In the second study, analyses yield four analogical dimensions of the COCO scale. In the third study, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and reliability analyses show psychometric robustness of the COCO scale. This work addresses a gap in the currently available measures of conflict tailored to the specific context of start-ups. Implications for entrepreneurial practice are discussed.

Keywords: conflict, start-ups, co-founders, scale development, scale validation

How to Cite: Kozusznik, M. W. & Euwema, M. (2025) “Conflict Issues in Start-up Co-founders: Typology and Measurement”, Negotiation and Conflict Management Research. 18(3). doi: https://doi.org/10.34891/mvb8-sm62