This paper builds a deeper understanding of critical experiences during the growth of a small business. Based on qualitative, case study research, it suggests that greater clarity is needed in defining what makes an event 'critical'. The concept of 'critical episodes' is introduced, as the term...

In recent years, the field of entrepreneurship has witnessed an emerging body of research that operates within an interpretive paradigm. In contributing to this research tradition, this article explicates an interpretive, phenomenological form of inquiry, described by Thompson et al (1989) as...

This research explores the learning process of entrepreneurs in relation to the parallel processes of personal and business development. Building on theories of individual learning and of the business life‐cycle, this paper discusses the impact of critical incidents from an individual...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of leadership learning in the entrepreneurial context, by building a dynamic learning perspective of entrepreneurship. It draws on contemporary leadership literature to appreciate entrepreneurial leadership as a social process of...

This paper seeks to explore the relationship between learning, strategy and growth in small food producing firms using Ansoff’s strategy matrix as a framework and explores the usefulness of Greiner’s life cycle model. The complexity of this interaction is examined and it is concluded that...

This article develops a deeper conceptualisation of the process and content dimensions of learning from venture failure. I propose that recovery and re-emergence from failure is a function of distinctive learning processes that foster a range of higher-level learning outcomes. This qualitative...