Workplace behaviors and norms are gaining increased prominence in the literature on start-up
enterprises. Research attention has focused on the critical role that these behaviors and norms play in
influencing start-up effectiveness but our understanding of their role in influencing trust in a start-up
environment is underdeveloped. The present article investigates the role that workplace social sexual
behaviors play in shaping co-worker trust within start-ups. Using data from the GUESSS (2018)
international study of entrepreneurial attitudes and experiences, we find that certain social sexual
behaviors undermine trust, and related outcomes such as the willingness to delegate and the sense that
co-workers are honest. In particular, experiencing inappropriate looks, flirtation, or sexual gossip
predict lower levels of co-worker trust. Our findings also indicate that characteristics of the source of
the behavior are important in terms of gender and hierarchical relationship. In our discussion section,
we consider the mechanisms underlying these relationships and in particular how social sexual behavior
may influence trustworthiness. Taken together, our results point to a significant efficiency cost to new
enterprises that take a permissive view of social sexual behavior in the workplace.
Metadata
Item Type:
Article (Published)
Refereed:
Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Social sexual behavior; start-up employee; co-worker trust; entrepreneurship; harassing behaviors; start-up workplace