Entrepreneurial Learning in Family Business, Dissertation – Literature Example

Entrepreneurial learning represents a number of important opportunities to expand knowledge and experience in business development and idea generation. Strong and dedicated entrepreneurs consistently demonstrate powerful leadership, creativity, commitment, and knowledge in their areas of interest, which are further advanced through teamwork and conceptual growth. Entrepreneurs must utilize economic, political, educational, and business frameworks to expand learning within their areas of focus (Rae, 2000). The ability to learn within this capacity requires an entrepreneur and his or her organization to accommodate flexibility and the ability to adapt under a variety of circumstances (Harrison and Leitch, 2005). Several case studies have demonstrated that change is not always the driving force in learning, but rather, the potential for change is just is relevant (Cope and Watts, 2000).

Although entrepreneurial learning continues to unfold, its purpose and content remain perplexing to many (Rae, 2005). Therefore, additional research is required in this subject area (Rae, 2005). This learning process is comprised of a number of areas; however, many assumptions are made because the practice is relatively unexplored (Pittaway and Cope, 2007). Developing an entrepreneurial learning process is supported by such characteristics as “personality traits, social networks, and prior knowledge” to further learning (Ardichvili et.al, 2003). The “entrepreneurial personality” is critical in establishing an effective approach at the startup phase, including a strong innovative nature (Littunen, 2000). It is known that “individuals must possess prior knowledge and the cognitive properties necessary to value such knowledge in order to identify new means-ends relationships” (Corbett, 2005, p. 473). This practice is important because it provides a basis for further understanding how entrepreneurship operates in real life settings (Corbett, 2005).

Personality characteristics are instrumental in supporting entrepreneurial growth and development, and the proactive personality scale provides further evidence that specific characteristics are critical for entrepreneurial success (Crant, 1996). Furthermore, the mentoring process plays an important role in how entrepreneurs learn, so it is important to recognize mentoring and its capacity to be effective in this process (Sullivan, 2000). Business across many different industries are represented by entrepreneurial ideas, utilizing common and unique theories to adapt to the needs of the business (Rae, 2002). These developments demonstrate the capacity to be effective and creative, in spite of difficulties in understanding the nature of these events (Rae, 2004). Establishing new models of understanding for entrepreneurial learning is essential to ongoing development and comprehension within this subject area (Rae, 2004).

Regardless of their experience level, entrepreneurs demonstrate a breadth of knowledge and characteristics that may lead to favorable growth and development outcomes (Deakins et.al, 2000). This process may occur at any age or point within an individual’s career; however, those seeking to become entrepreneurs after they have established themselves in other careers may serve as the most important entrepreneurial group: “there is a need for an increasing proportion of the existing working population, from a broad social and demographic background, to develop entrepreneurial skills in mid-career in order to find new opportunities for economic activity and to extend their working lives” (Rae, 2005). Therefore, it is important to recognize some of these concerns and how they translate to real-life examples of successful entrepreneurs in the middle of their careers (Rae, 2005).

There is a necessity to develop an entrepreneurial approach that is based upon the evaluation of both successes and failures in supporting professional growth and development (Huovinen and Tihula, 2008). In this context, it is important to recognize the different challenges that exist in support of the creation of new ideas and concepts which capture the true entrepreneurial spirit of an individual (Huovinen and Tihula, 2008). Making mistakes in entrepreneurship is a natural occurrence, one which reflects the ability to recognize errors and to make adjustments to improve future events (Huovinen and Tihula, 2008).This practice also supports the development of new forms of knowledge and learning that are based upon experience to promote success within a given focus area (Politis and Gabrielsson, 2005). This practice enables entrepreneurs to develop new skills and attributes which influence outcomes and measurable success in a favorable manner (Politis and Gabrielsson, 2005). Entrepreneurs must be prepared to handle a variety of different situations by building upon their existing knowledge and learning framework to improve results (Politis and Gabrielsson, 2005). Each of these tools is important because it reflects the opportunity to engage a specific learning style and to support the development of new methods to expand professional growth in new and interesting ways that might not have been considered in the past (Politis and Gabrielsson, 2005).

References

Ardichvili, A., Cardozo, R., and Ray, S. (2003). A theory of entrepreneurial opportunity identification and development. Journal of Business Venturing, 18(1): 105-123.

Cope, J., and Watts, G. (2000). Learning by doing: an exploration of the experience, critical incidents and reflection in entrepreneurial learning. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 6(3): 104- 124.

Corbett, A.C. (2005). Experiential learning within the process of opportunity identification and exploitation. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, July 2005: 473-491.

Crant, J.M. (1996). The proactive personality scale as a predictor of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Small Business Management, 34(3): 42-49.

Deakins, D., O’Neill, E., and Mileham, P. (2000). Executive learning in entrepreneurial firms and the role of external directors. Education +Training, 42(4-5): 317-325.

Harrison, R.T., and Leitch, C.M. (2005). Entrepreneurial learning: researching the interface between learning and the entrepreneurial context. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, July 2005: 351-371.

Huovinen, J., and Tihula, S. (2008). Entrepreneurial learning in the context of portfolio entrepreneurship. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 14(3): 152-171.

Littunen, H. (2000). Entrepreneurship and the characteristics of the entrepreneurial personality. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 6(6): 295-309.

Pittaway, L., and Cope, J. (2007). Simulating entrepreneurial learning: integrating experiential and collaborative approaches to learning. Management Learning, 38: 211-233.

Politis, D., and Gabrielsson, J. (2005). Exploring the roles of experience in the process of entrepreneurial learning. Lund Institute of Economic Research: Working Paper Series, 1-29.

Rae, D. (2002). Entrepreneurial emergence: a narrative study of entrepreneurial learning in independently owned media businesses. Entrepreneurship and Innovation, February 2002: 53-59.

Rae, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial learning: a narrative-based conceptual model. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 12(3): 323-335.

Rae, D. (2004). Entrepreneurial learning: a practical model from the creative industries. Education + Training, 46(8-9): 492-500.

Rae, D. (2005). Mid-career entrepreneurial learning. Education + Training, 47(8-9): 562-574.

Rae, D. (2000). Understanding entrepreneurial learning: a question of how? International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 6(3): 145-159.

Sullivan, R. (2000). Entrepreneurial learning and mentoring. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 6(3): 160-175.