Exploring the Transition to Working Life of Entrepreneurship Education Graduates: A Longitudinal Study

publishedVersio

Entrepreneurial networks in localized embedding practices: a case study from the Norwegian micro wool industry

Research Council of Norway [Grant number 244618/E50]acceptedVersio

Informal social learning dynamics and entrepreneurial knowledge acquisition in a micro food learning network

his paper expands and contextualises social perspectives on entrepreneurial learning by considering the informal learning dynamics and outcomes in a facilitated learning network (FLN) targeting micro-entrepreneurs within the local food sector. This research builds new theoretical and empirical knowledge on the contributions of FLN as a community of inquiry (CoI) to support entrepreneurial knowledge acquisition. Our research strategy was a single embedded case study with the units of analysis consisting of 12 micro-firms within the local meat industry in Norway. In retrospective in-depth interviews, founder-managers reflected on their learning from others from participation in a local-food learning network. Three main themes emerged from our analysis, reflecting the informal regulating mechanisms for knowledge sharing and how entrepreneurs acquired new entrepreneurial knowledge: (1) cultural norms stabilising the community of inquiry, (2) engagement in the practices of others regulates access to community knowledge and (3) from community inquiry to individual entrepreneurial knowledge. Based on these themes, we built a conceptual framework showing informal knowledge-sharing mechanisms and the individual micro-entrepreneurs’ entrepreneurial knowledge acquisition in a CoI. Our study contributes to the research stream on social entrepreneurial learning and how learning from others in a CoI enhances entrepreneurial learning.acceptedVersio

Learning to Not Belong: Entrepreneurial Learning Experiences of Women High-Tech Entrepreneurs

Purpose – The influence of gender on high-tech entrepreneurship is of growing interest worldwide, as scholars argue that women face gendered barriers specific to this field. Although some gender-focused research exists on the interplay of context and entrepreneurial learning, these issues have yet to be intensively studied and the research addresses this gap. Design/methodology/approach – The research draws upon empirical evidence from the entrepreneurial learning of nine women opportunity entrepreneurs in the high-technology sector in Norway. It employs a qualitative phenomenological approach, with retrospective and in-depth interviews to capture and analyze the entrepreneurs’ lived experiences and learning histories. Findings – The entrepreneurs in this study highlight gendered learning experiences, leading them to make conscious and strategic decisions of both alignment and resistance to negotiate their enterprise in a highly masculine sector. Their prior learning histories of not belonging seem to underpin their preparedness for entrepreneurship in the sector. Counter to prevailing theorizing, not belonging is an enabling condition, allowing women entrepreneurs to subvert and challenge a highly masculinized context. This condition empowers them to mobilize their “otherness” to create change within their own ventures and make the rules on their own terms. Originality/value – This interdisciplinary research deepens the understanding of the interplay between gender, entrepreneurial learning and context through the concept of belonging and extends theorization of the gendered dynamics in entrepreneurial learning histories. The paper proposes a framework of gendered entrepreneurial learning in a masculinized industry context, which highlights important implications for future gender and entrepreneurial learning research

Students’ entrepreneurial learning through an internship abroad: A cross-cultural experience

Background: Cross-cultural learning provides students with the opportunity for improved self-awareness when they are placed in unfamiliar situations where their understanding of who they are and what they can do is challenged or expanded. This paper built on the concepts of experiential learning in rich contexts and self-image shocks and explored the research question on how cross-cultural learning in entrepreneurship exchange programmes offered students unique personal learning possibilities and outcomes. Aim: The aim was to build new theoretical and empirical knowledge on the influence and importance of cross-cultural learning in entrepreneurship education (EE). Setting: The study involved South African (SA) students taking part in an internship programme in the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem of Bergen, Norway. Methods: Adopting a longitudinal design and purposive sampling, four SA students were included in the study. Data were acquired from two reflective group sessions, on two separate instances, and a final student reflection report. The interviews were transcribed and coded along with the written reflection reports and these data sources were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: Four themes were uncovered: Learning about the entrepreneurial culture triggers comparison with own culture, Embracing uncertainty and developing entrepreneurial capabilities, Transformational learning through self-image shocks, Can I become a future entrepreneur? Where am I going? Conclusion: The research highlighted the importance of cross-cultural experience and foreignness as powerful triggers in stimulating students’ introspection and development of self-image. Contribution: The research combines two research streams, hence advancing our theoretical conceptualisation of cross-cultural learning in EE

Not just a Matter of Taste – Disgust in the Food Domain

Higher competition in the market arena is forcing marketers and product developers to monitor and adjust the impact of their product in the marketplace more rapidly. Furthermore, in rapidly changing markets it is not sufficient to only consider utilitarian aspects of consumption, but also to examine the more hedonic or aesthetic aspects. Marketing success is largely determined to the extent that consumers are having a positive emotional experience, and when unappealing attributes and cues that can motivate negative feelings such as disgust are minimised. Being the ultimate consumable products, food and eating represent a highly relevant arena for subjectivity and emotional response during consumption. Meat and meat products are particularly vulnerable products with respect to negative product emotions, in as much as food from animal origin and negative product emotions like disgust seem to be closely related. This thesis focuses on the negative product emotion of disgust generated by meat and meat consumption experiences. This research intends to increase the knowledge about the antecedents of disgust, in order for managers in the meat industries to be able to tailor the presentation, communication and product development of animal derived foods for critical and sensitive consumer segments. The overall research objective of this dissertation has been to gain insight into the negative product emotion of disgust targeted to meat, with emphasis on the nature of the stimuli attributes, the personal influences and individual differences in emotional response. The approach resulted in four cross sectional studies in the Norwegian population. Hypothesis has been developed and overall, we have found general support for the proposed hypotheses

Exploring students' entrepreneurial identity matching through cross-cultural learning :

Entrepreneurship education programs have shown to be powerful identity workspaces, where students, through real-life practice, make sense of who they can be as entrepreneurs. Through identity matching, they personalize their observations, experiment with new entrepreneurial behaviors, and make judgements about concrete role model behaviors in the practice and whether or not these match with their own personal identity. This phenomenological in-depth study explores how students’ identity matching process unfolds through an international internship in the United States. We conducted qualitative research using the focus group method on student cohorts from two university master’s programmes. Our findings show that all students were confronted with new ways of doing entrepreneurial tasks. The cross-cultural learning experience contributed to developing a higher level of self-awareness. The cultural contrasts and comparative learning made their own values more explicit and additionally served to define and protect the students’ own personal integrity and identity. Moreover, the cross-cultural learning experience added a richer repertoire of entrepreneurial behaviors that may be internalized in a future possible self. The study highlights the value of cross-cultural learning in entrepreneurship courses. We additionally develop a conceptual model of identity matching process through transformational cross-cultural learning

Innvandrergründere og mobilisering av ressurser under bedriftsetablering i Norge

Innvandregründere står ovenfor unike utfordringer når de etablerer bedrift. Det eksisterer lite kunnskap om hvordan innvandrergründere mobiliserer sine ressurser som gjør at bedriften overlever og vokser. Basert på dybdeintervjuer undersøker denne studien hvordan suksessfulle innvandrergründere mobiliserer ressurser i en situasjon der de opplever usikkerhet knyttet til den norske konteksten. Funnene indikerer at ressursdrevet mobilisering er hensiktsmessig under etablering av ukjente markedskonsepter, uavhengig av gründerens ressursutgangspunkt. Studien antyder at gründerne bør legge vekt på hvilke ressurser de allerede besitter i nye markedsetableringer. Studien illustrerer dynamikken i ressursmobiliseringen som en relasjon mellom kontekst, ressursbase og ulike mobiliseringsstrategier

Innvandrergründere og mobilisering av ressurser under bedriftsetablering i Norge

Innvandregründere står ovenfor unike utfordringer når de etablerer bedrift. Det eksisterer lite kunnskap om hvordan innvandrergründere mobiliserer sine ressurser som gjør at bedriften overlever og vokser. Basert på dybdeintervjuer undersøker denne studien hvordan suksessfulle innvandrergründere mobiliserer ressurser i en situasjon der de opplever usikkerhet knyttet til den norske konteksten. Funnene indikerer at ressursdrevet mobilisering er hensiktsmessig under etablering av ukjente markedskonsepter, uavhengig av gründerens ressursutgangspunkt. Studien antyder at gründerne bør legge vekt på hvilke ressurser de allerede besitter i nye markedsetableringer. Studien illustrerer dynamikken i ressursmobiliseringen som en relasjon mellom kontekst, ressursbase og ulike mobiliseringsstrategier