Entrepreneurial learning among practices: aesthetic and sensible knowledge in the life trajectory of entrepreneurs

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sérgio Vogt ◽  
Yara Lucia Mazziotti Bulgacov ◽  
Sara R.S.T.A. Elias
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
Entrepreneurial Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Life Trajectory ◽  
Entrepreneurial Action ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Sensory Processes

PurposeUsing the concept of knowing-in-practice (KinP), and drawing from current understandings of aesthetic and sensible knowledge within organization studies, this study explores how the entrepreneurial learning (EL) process unfolds over time, throughout the lives of startup founders, well before entrepreneurial action takes place.Design/methodology/approachUsing a life histories approach, 25 interviews were conducted with the founders of 18 startups. Additional 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted with other startups' founders, focusing on thematic stories. Data were analyzed using abduction and narrative analysis.FindingsAlthough each entrepreneur's history is unique, the authors show that entrepreneurs' lives are generally a texture of practices, resulting in aesthetic–sensible knowledge that is developed as entrepreneurs participate in various social practices. This includes KinP episodes where perceptive-sensorial faculties are fundamental for entrepreneurs to perceive the world, recognize/create opportunities and launch a business.Research limitations/implicationsThe historical approach did not allow the authors to witness firsthand the practices and KinP episodes that participants verbalized. Regardless, the results show that aesthetic and sensible knowledge provide a fruitful lens for investigating EL while highlighting the indissoluble relationship between practice and learning.Originality/valueAlthough the senses have been recognized as fundamental for learning in organizations, entrepreneurship scholars have yet to explore the aesthetic and sensory processes involved in EL. The primary contribution of this paper is to develop a new understanding of the situated nature of EL as a process that starts well before entrepreneurial action occurs, stemming from entrepreneurs' experiencing of certain practices and the aesthetic and sensible knowledge they build over their life trajectory.

Exploring perceptions of pracademics in an Arab context

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Youmen Chaaban ◽  
Abdellatif Sellami ◽  
Rania Sawalhi ◽  
Elkhouly Marwa
Keyword(s):  
Identity Construction ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
University Supervisors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Identity Renegotiation ◽  
Insight Into

PurposeThis study explored the perceptions of Arab professionals toward pracademia and the ways they position themselves as professionals in this field.Design/methodology/approachNarrative data were elicited through semi-structured interviews with a total of eighteen pracademics identified for their work in teacher education. Participants included ten professional development (PD) specialists, three university supervisors and five specialists working at the Ministry of Education in Qatar.FindingsNarrative analysis of the interviews revealed variations in their identity renegotiations, with one group experiencing an emerging pracademic identity and the other group “holding on” to their previous practitioner identities. The narratives further provided insight into Arab pracademics relating to three themes: (1) definitions and roles, (2) knowledge and skills and (3) relationships with others, all of which pertain to pracademic identity construction.Originality/valueThe study contributes to understanding the identity renegotiation of pracademics working in multiple contexts in an Arab setting. Several recommendations are offered to support pracademics' identity renegotiation as a social activity.

The transracial aesthetic labour of an international teaching assistant

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay A. Ramjattan
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Teaching Assistant ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Teaching Assistant ◽  
International Teaching ◽  
Good For ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper introduces the concept of transracial aesthetic labour to understand why and how an international teaching assistant (ITA) vocally changes meanings of his racial identity.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a narrative analysis to detail instances of transracial aesthetic labour.FindingsFor the ITA, this labour involved orally distancing from or aligning with particular Indian stereotypes for specific contexts.Research limitations/implicationsTransracial aesthetic labour may occur in other industries that deem race an integral part of sounding right or looking good for the job.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight the need for ITAs and universities to rethink the meaning of transracial to combat racist perceptions of ITAs' speech.Originality/valueThe paper advances the aesthetic labour literature by exploring how race is vocally performed for this labour and introducing ITAs as aesthetic labourers.

Developing entrepreneurial learning triggered by factory tours

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 574-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Bonfanti ◽  
Paola Castellani ◽  
Elena Giaretta ◽  
Federico Brunetti
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Organisational Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Entrepreneurial Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industrial Manufacturing ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Organisational Values ◽  
External Sources ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to examine the content dimensions and methods of accelerating the entrepreneurial learning (EL) triggered by participating in learning events, such as factory tours. It particularly focuses on the Italian case of Open Factory – an open-doors event of industrial manufacturing culture. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a qualitative approach using the “Gioia” methodology. Data were mainly collected through semi-structured interviews with firms participating in and organising Open Factory. Findings The dimensions of EL are learning from critical reflection, experience and external sources, while the enablers of EL (factors that accelerate learning) are varied and connected to organisational learning in the form of individual-, team- and institutional-level learning. Based on these results, this paper proposes a model for developing EL triggered by participating in learning events. Practical implications This research suggests developing appropriate organisational conditions inside firms, especially by entrepreneurs. These conditions are connected to sharing organisational values to foster learning, such as trust, commitment, involvement, awareness, sharing of experiences, exchange, autonomy and freedom. In addition, this study suggests ways that the EL model proposed in this research can be adapted to other learning events. Originality/value This is the first study to connect factory tours to learning events and EL. It highlights the ways that participating in the Open Factory event created the chance to develop learning across organisational levels inside firms.

Developing knowledge from entrepreneurial actions – toward a taxonomy

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 793-813
Author(s):  
Sihem Ben Mahmoud-Jouini ◽  
Thomas Paris ◽  
Sylvain Bureau
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Logical Necessity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Entrepreneurial Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Daily Experience ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Archival Documentation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to enrich our understanding of entrepreneurs’ daily deeds, tasks and activities. The research investigates the ways in which entrepreneurs seize opportunities and gain knowledge from the start to the expansion of their ventures. Design/methodology/approach Two case studies were developed based on a longitudinal fine-grained analysis of two ventures over two years. Entrepreneurs’ success and learning were modeled in line with grounded theory methodology. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources in the form of semi-structured interviews and archival documentation. Findings The authors develop an original conceptual framework that consists of ten entrepreneurial learning opportunities and four knowledge development modes. There are ten generic types of actions that entrepreneurs take. There are then four distinctive ways to transform these experiences into knowledge. The model is assessed in absolute terms and relatively to existing taxonomies. Research limitations/implications The findings question the premises on which entrepreneurial learning research traditionally relies. Opportunities can be open-ended rather than purely instrumental. Similarly, knowledge can be emerging as much as it can be espoused. This opens-up space for further research. Practical implications For practitioners, the findings suggest new ways for making sense of the daily experience of their entrepreneurial endeavor. The learning modes suggested can be used by coaches and mentors when helping entrepreneurs in their venture. Originality/value The research provides empirical evidence of what entrepreneurs do. This may help cast traditional debates about what there is to do (logical necessity) and what there is to know (a priori knowledge) in a new light.

From individuals to the organization

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 617-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziad El-Awad
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
Organizational Routines ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Entrepreneurial Learning ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Knowledge Domains ◽  
Dynamic View ◽  
Study Methodology

Purpose This study aims to develop a process model that details the mechanisms and learning processes by which entrepreneurial learning transpires at multiple levels in the organization. Using the transactive memory system (TMS) framework as a reference, the model specifies how individual streams of knowledge are routinized in nonhuman elements and, over time, become embedded in organizational routines and procedures. Design/methodology/approach The research uses a case-study methodology building on 18 in-depth semi-structured interviews, 20 h of non-participative observations and internal company documents. Findings The study demonstrates that knowledge is channeled from individuals to the organization via mechanisms that operate at the venture-team level – principally externalizing distinctions; rotating task work; co-constructing the task; and routinizing behavior. These mechanisms are fundamental for creating knowledge repertoires on which team members can build and for channeling different knowledge domains into the organization. Originality/value The study offers a dynamic view of entrepreneurial learning, underlining the structural and transactive components of TMS as being foundational for embedding knowledge in organizational routines and procedures.

scholarly journals Entrepreneurial learning in extra-curricular start-up programs for students

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasna Pocek ◽  
Diamanto Politis ◽  
Jonas Gabrielsson
Keyword(s):  
Situated Learning ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Entrepreneurial Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Start Up ◽  
The Social

PurposeThis study focuses on extra-curricular start-up programs for students at higher educational institutions. It explores the social and situated learning experiences of students who participate in start-up programs, as well as how the processes and outcomes of entrepreneurial learning are potentially shaped by this context.Design/methodology/approachThe study follows multiple cohorts of students who have participated in an extra-curricular start-up program managed by three collaborating universities in Greater Copenhagen. The data have been inductively analyzed using semi-structured interviews with students and project managers during and after the start-up program, complemented with project progress reports, observation notes and survey data.FindingsThe analysis generates a grounded, theoretically informed process model of entrepreneurial learning situated in extra-curricular start-up programs. The model depicts how the immersion, comprehension and co-participation in entrepreneurship as social practice subsequently enables students to expand knowledge structures and develop greater self-confidence in performing entrepreneurship. The model identifies three interconnected components that trigger entrepreneurial learning among students, which allow them to acquire two set of competencies: venture creation competencies and enterprising competencies.Originality/valueThe findings offer unique insights into how the social and relational environment influence and shape the learning experience of students, hence filling the research void on entrepreneurial learning in the situated context of extra-curricular enterprise activities. The findings also elucidate how individual learning experiences of students are potentially shaped by the immersion, comprehension and co-participation in entrepreneurship as social practice.

scholarly journals What entrepreneurs do? Entrepreneurial action guided by entrepreneurial opportunities and entrepreneurial learning in early internationalising firms

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1083-1119
Author(s):  
Shingairai Grace Masango ◽  
Paul Lassalle
Keyword(s):  
International Marketing ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
New Venture ◽  
Entrepreneurial Opportunity ◽  
Entrepreneurial Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Opportunities ◽  
Software Firms ◽  
Marketing Activities ◽  
Entrepreneurial Action

PurposeThere is a growing interest in exploring the interface between international marketing and entrepreneurial opportunities. This paper contributes by defining and elucidating entrepreneurial action in early internationalising software firms and the corresponding emergent international marketing activities. Entrepreneurial action in early internationalising software firms is explored through the operationalisation of a reconceptualised entrepreneurial opportunity construct and the associated entrepreneurial learning processes.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts an inductive approach, which traces the evolution of five early internationalising propriety software South African firms; from the new venture idea to the establishment of the international entrepreneurial opportunity.FindingsThe findings provide support for entrepreneurial action guided by: prior industry experience, entrepreneurial alertness, opportunity confidence and two levels of entrepreneurial learning; experiential and double-loop learning. Learning by doing allows for the continuous evaluation of the new venture idea leading to the international entrepreneurial opportunity. Market responsiveness and continuous product development resulting in the emergence of the firm's inward international marketing activities constitute the key outcomes of entrepreneurial action.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to a specific technology context, which is young software firms whose inward directed internationalisation activities coalesce around the development of their proprietary software technology.Originality/valueBased on an original dataset of early internationalising software firms from South Africa, this paper inductively operationalises and conceptualises entrepreneurial action as the combined interaction of four key constructs: contingent effects, attitudes to opportunities, learning by doing and entrepreneurial activities leading to the firm's inward international marketing activities and a diversified international client and end-user base.

Mobile-based value co-creation: contextual factors towards customer experiences

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sut Ieng Lei ◽  
Dan Wang ◽  
Rob Law
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Interaction Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Interaction

Purpose Collecting information from and interacting with customers through mobile platforms for personalization purposes have become a trend. While mobile-based value co-creation has attracted wide research attention, a noticeable gap exists regarding what might potentially affect the firm–customer interaction process through which value is co-created. This paper aims to explore how customers exchange information and communicate with firms through mobile applications for value co-creation purposes in a travel context. Design/methodology/approach Based on a constructivist research paradigm, this study adopted a qualitative research design. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and were analyzed following narrative analysis approach. Findings The findings highlight the contextual factors (individual characteristics, trip characteristics and computer-mediated communication characteristics) that facilitate and inhibit the firm–customer interaction process. Practitioners are suggested to put more efforts on creating stimuli for interactions and managing customer expectation. Research limitations/implications This study goes beyond technology adoption and focuses on customers’ post-adoption stage. The findings shed light on the important role of the service provider in facilitating effective interactions for value co-creation with customers. Originality/value This study focuses on the interaction process, rather than the antecedents and outcomes of mobile-based value co-creation. It contributes empirical evidence on how customers co-create value and why some situations present better opportunities for successful value co-creation.

Imagery makes social media captivating! Aesthetic value in a consumer-as-value-maximizer framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Aljukhadar ◽  
Amélie Bériault Poirier ◽  
Sylvain Senecal
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Social Commerce ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Aesthetic Value ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumption Values ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Aesthetic

Purpose Social media bring about the imagery of people, places and products. Showing particular success in attracting women and millennials, these media (e.g. Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest) are built around imagery consumption. This paper follows a qualitative theory building approach to extend the theory of consumption values and develop a framework based on the values social media deliver to consumers that explain their use outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The framework was analytically developed based on a review of the literature. In contrast to frameworks such as stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R), the framework proposes that people consume social media to maximize relevant values, namely, the aesthetic, social and learning value. Then, a study based on semi-structured interviews is performed to elaborate on the values and their undertakings. Findings The paper defines the consumption’s aesthetic value and underscores it as a focal driver of social media use and a key concept in social commerce. Data analysis suggests that aesthetic value engenders such responses as consumer’s inspiration, infinity sensation and habitual entertainment. Additional drivers of social media users are social and learning values. The social value engenders self-expression and social privacy, whereas the learning value engenders resourcefulness and parallel shopping. Originality/value This paper stipulates that people consume (i.e. use) social media to maximize relevant values, which, in turn, result in two groups of responses (inner and outer responses). The framework indicates that the relevant values mediate the relation between a stimulus (e.g. social media use) and response (e.g. entertainment, inspiration and behavioral intent). It highlights the centrality of aesthetic value in digital marketing and social commerce environments. The framework, thus, contrary to S-O-R, views the consumer as a maximizer of values rather than (a) processor of emotional and cognitive rejoinders.

Tales of challenge and resolution: narratives of women middle managers in the South African public service

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi ◽  
Tinashe Chuchu ◽  
Eugine Tafadzwa Maziriri
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Women Managers ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Management Development ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
The South ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges and resolution tactics of women middle managers in the South African public service. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach using semi-structured interviews was used as a data collection technique. Narrative analysis was used with a sample of 20 women middle managers working within the South African public service. Findings Narratives of challenges faced by women middle managers in the South African public service included relational issues, with a subtle undermining of women managers, challenges rooted within the socio-cultural milieu – perversely undermining the experience of being a manager and challenges stemming from public service in general such as corruption, in turn, questioning the ability of women managers to handle such. In addressing these challenges, the women middle managers exercised three individual performative actions in response to the identified challenges. These include using direct confrontation, relying on networks for guidance and relying on indirect confrontation. Research limitations/implications Sample size challenges feature as a notable limitation including the research being conducted in only one political province of South Africa. Caution should be exercised when seeking to generalise the findings to other contexts. Practical implications Understanding the challenges and resolution tactics of women middle managers can be a useful precursor to management development interventions. Originality/value The study answers call for more processual career and management development studies that help understand not only challenges but also resolution strategies. This study illustrates both the difficulty of this and ensures opportunity for the advancement of women in management.

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