The successful foundation of entrepreneurial firms comprises a multitude of complementary human tasks. Within entrepreneurial teams, the effect of founders' human capital on firm success hinges on the information structure that prevails when nascent entrepreneurs are matched in partnerships....

The O-Ring theory provides a framework for analyzing the effects of team production on the emergence of firms in the New Economy. Given risk-aversion of the potential team members, the productive advantage of perfect ability matching in teams suffices to establish an equilibrium which separates...