Abstract This study explores how heterogeneity of entrepreneurial teams influences the establishment of legitimacy and resources acquisition in new ventures. Based on 165 new ventures from Xi’an high tech Industrial Development Zone, the reuslts show that entrepreneurial teams heterogeneity has an inverted U-shaped relationship with cognitive legitimacy; and industrial environment uncertainty moderates this relationship. Further, heterogeneity of entrepreneurial teams is more attractive to stakeholders when environmental uncertainty is high. Entrepreneurial team needs stronger heterogeneity to achieve the same level of cognitive legitimacy. Cognitive legitimacy will mediate the interactive effects of team heterogeneity and environmental uncertainty on resource acquisition. In practice, to improve the ability of obtaining resources, start-ups managers can adjust the composition of team members appropriately according to industry environment, and keep a moderate heterogeneity. However, they can increase heterogeneity of their team when the industrial environment uncertainty is enhanced.
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