Why do nascent entrepreneurial teams anthropomorphize their emerging focal technologies? Although anthropomorphism is well documented across psychology and human–technology interaction research, its role in entrepreneurial team processes remains poorly understood. Drawing on an abductive analysis of interview and follow-up data from teams participating in the 2004–2007 DARPA Grand Challenges, this paper examines how team members attribute humanlike qualities to autonomous vehicles while working under conditions of extreme technical uncertainty. It shows that anthropomorphism functions as a collective meaning-making practice through which teams cope with unpredictability, coordinate specialized work, sustain persistence, and attach social and emotional significance to technical performance. Rather than treating anthropomorphism as an individual cognitive bias or rhetorical device, the findings position it as an intra-team microprocess that emerges in response to ambiguity, embodied interaction, and resultant performance. It further identifies technical expertise as a boundary condition, showing that anthropomorphizing wanes as uncertainty is reduced and system-related understanding increases. By theorizing anthropomorphism as a team-level mechanism for organizing action and meaning, this study contributes to entrepreneurship research on early-stage team and venture development, and advances understanding of how focal technologies shape collective dynamics. • Anthropomorphism emerged as a shared team practice in early-stage technology ventures. • Teams humanize focal technologies to cope with uncertainty and sustain persistence. • Anthropomorphic framing supports coordination and shared meaning under ambiguity. • Embodied technologies become material anchors for collective identity and legitimacy. • Anthropomorphism declines as technical expertise and system understanding increase.
Christopher S. Hayter (Sat,) studied this question.