Entrepreneurs' attitudes towards failure: An experiential learning approach

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research

Volumn 15, Issue 4, 2009, Pages 364-383

  Politis, Diamanto ^a   Gabrielsson, Jonas ^a  

^a LUND UNIVERSITY   (Sweden)

Author keywords

Business failures; Careers; Enterpreneurs; Experience; Experiential learning; Sweden

Indexed keywords

EID: 67749095685     PISSN: 13552554     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/13552550910967921     Document Type: Article

References (77)

1. Aldrich, H.E. and Fiol, C.M. (1994), Fools rush in? The institutional context of industry creation, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 645-70.
2. Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1978), Organisational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective, Addison Wesley, Reading, MA.
3. Bandura, A. (1977), Social Learning Theory, General Learning Press, New York, NY.
4. Bates, T. (2005), Analysis of young, small firms that have closed: delineating successful from unsuccessful closures, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 343-58.
5. Begley, T.M. and Boyd, D.P. (1987b), Psychological characteristics associated with performance in entrepreneurial firms and smaller businesses, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 79-93.
6. Birley, S. and Norburn, D. (1987), Owners and managers: the venture 100 vs the Fortune 500, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 2 No. 4, pp. 351-63.
7. Boud, D., Keogh, R. and Walker, W. (1985), Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning, Kogan Page, London.
8. Brewer, M.B. and Hewstone, M. (2003), Social Cognition: Perspectives on Social Psychology, Blackwell, Oxford.
9. Bruno, A.V., Mcquarrie, E.F. and Torgrimson, C.G. (1992), The evolution of new technology ventures over 20 years: patterns of failure, merger and survival, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 7, pp. 291-302.
10. Cannon, M.D. and Edmondson, A.C. (2001), Confronting failure: antecedents and consequences of shared belief about failure in organizational work groups, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 22, pp. 161-77.
11. Cannon, M.D. and Edmondson, A.C. (2005), Failing to learn and learning to fail (intelligently): how great organizations put failure to work to innovate and improve, Long Range Planning, Vol. 38, pp. 299-319.
12. Cardon, M.S. and McGrath, R.G. (1999), When the going gets tough ... towards a psychology of entrepreneurial failure and re-motivation, in Reynolds, P. et al. (Eds), Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, Babson College, Wellesley, MA, pp. 58-72.
13. Carland, J.W., Hoy, F., Boulton, W.R. and Carland, J.C. (1984), Differentiating entrepreneurs from small business owners: a conceptualization, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 354-9.
14. Cave, F., Eccles, S. and Rundle, M. (2001), An exploration of attitudes to entrepreneurial failure: A learning experience or an indelible stigma?, paper presented at the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference, Jönköping, 14-16 June.
15. Cope, J. (2003), Entrepreneurial learning and critical reflection: discontinuous events as triggers for 'higher-level' learning, Management Learning, Vol. 34 No. 4, pp. 429-50.
16. Cope, J. and Watts, G. (2000), Learning by doing. An exploration of experience, critical incidents and reflection in entrepreneurial learning, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 104-24.
17. Cope, J., Cave, F. and Eccles, S. (2008), The impact and outcomes of venture failure: an entrepreneurial learning perspective, paper presented at the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference, Chapel Hill, NC, 5-7 June.
18. Corbett, A.C. (2005), Experiential learning within the process of opportunity identification and exploitation, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 473-91.
19. Cromie, S. (1991), The problems experienced by young firms, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 43-61.
20. Cyert, R.M. and March, J.G. (1963), A Behavioral Theory of the Firm, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
21. Dyke, L.S., Fischer, E.M. and Reuber, A.R. (1992), An inter-industry examination of the impact of owner experience on firm performance, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 30 No. 4, pp. 72-87.
22. Ensley, M.D., Carland, J.W. and Carland, J.C. (2000), Investigating the existence of the lead entrepreneur, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp. 59-77.
23. Fiet, J. (2001), The theoretical side of teaching entrepreneurship, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 1-24.
24. Fiol, C.M. and Lyles, M.A. (1985), Organizational learning, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 803-13.
25. Fishbein, M. and Ajzen, I. (1975), Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behaviour: An Introduction to Theory and Research, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
26. Friedman, S. (2004), Learning to make more effective decisions: changing beliefs as a prelude to action, The Learning Organization, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 110-28.
27. Gartner, W.B. (1985), A conceptual framework for describing the phenomenon of new venture creation, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 696-706.
28. Hair, J.F., Anderson, R.E., Tatham, R.L. and Black, W.C. (1998), Multivariate Data Analysis, 5th ed., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
29. Headd, B. (2003), Redefining business success: distinguishing between closure and failure, Small Business Economics, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 51-61.
30. Hedberg, B. (1981), How organizations learn and unlearn, in Nystrom, P.C. and Starbuck, W.H. (Eds), Handbook of Organizational Design, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 3-27.
31. Hill, R.M. and Hlavacek, J.D. (1977), Learning from failure: ten guidelines for venture management, California Management Review, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 5-16.
32. Hugo, O. and Garnsey, E. (2005), Problem-solving and competence creation in the early development of new firms, Managerial and Decision Economics, Vol. 26, pp. 139-48.
33. Huovinen, J. and Tihula, S. (2008), Entrepreneurial learning in the context of portfolio entrepreneurship, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 152-71.
34. Kaulio, M.A. (2003), Initial conditions or process of development? Critical incidents in the early stages of new ventures, R&D Management, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 165-75.
35. Kautonen, T., Down, S. and South, L. (2008), Enterprise support for older entrepreneurs: the case of PRIME in the UK, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 85-101.
36. Klofsten, M. (2005), New venture ideas: an analysis of their origin and early development, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 105-19.
37. Kolb, A.Y. and Kolb, D.A. (2005), The Kolb Learning Style Inventory - Version 3.1, 2005 Technical Specifications, available at: www.learningfromexperience.com
38. Kolb, D.A. (1984), Experiential Learning: Experience As the Source of Learning and Development, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
39. Kolb, D.A., Boyatzis, R.E. and Mainemelis, C. (2001), Experiential learning theory: previous research and new directions, in Sternberg, R.J. and Zhang, L.F. (Eds), Perspectives on Cognitive, Learning, and Thinking Styles, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 227-47.
40. Kolvereid, L. and Åmo, B.W. (2007), Entrepreneurship among graduates from business schools: a Norwegian case, in Fayolle, A. (Ed.), Handbook of Research in Entrepreneurship Education, Vol. 2, Edvard Elgar, Cheltenham.
41. Lichtenstein, B.B., Dooley, K.J. and Lumpkin, G.T. (2006), Measuring emergence in the dynamics of new venture creation, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 153-75.
42. Littunen, H. (2002), Entrepreneurship and the characteristics of the entrepreneurial personality, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 6 No. 6, pp. 295-309.
43. McGrath, R.G. (1999), Falling forward: real options reasoning and entrepreneurial failure, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 13-30.
44. McGrath, R.G. and MacMillan, I. (2000), The Entrepreneurial Mindset, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.
45. Minniti, M. and Bygrave, W. (2001), A dynamic model of entrepreneurial learning, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 5-16.
46. Mueller, S.L. and Thomas, A.S. (2000), Culture and entrepreneurial potential: a nine-country study of locus of control and innovativeness, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 51-75.
47. Politis, D. (2005), The process of entrepreneurial learning: a conceptual framework, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 399-424.
48. Politis, D. (2008), Does prior start-up experience matter for entrepreneurs' learning? A comparison between novice and habitual entrepreneurs, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 472-89.
49. Politis, D. and Landström, H. (2002), Informal investors as entrepreneurs - the development of an entrepreneurial career, Venture Capital, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 78-101.
50. Preseindorfer, P. and Voss, T. (1990), Organizational mortality of small firms: the effects of entrepreneurial age and human capital, Organization Studies, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 107-29.
51. Ravasi, D. and Turati, C. (2005), Exploring entrepreneurial learning: a comparative study of technology development projects, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 20, pp. 137-64.
52. Russo, J.E. and Schoemaker, P.J.H. (1992), Managing overconfidence, Sloan Management Review, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 7-17.
53. Sarasvathy, S.D. (2001), Causation and effectuation: towards a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 243-63.
54. Scherer, R.F., Adams, J.S., Carley, S.S. and Wiebe, F.A. (1989), Role model performance effects on development of entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 53-73.
55. Schindelhutte, M., Morris, M. and Allen, J. (2005), Beyond achievement: entrepreneurship as extreme experience, Small Business Economics, Vol. 27, pp. 349-68.
56. Schön, D. (1983), The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Basic Books, New York, NY.
57. Shepherd, D.A. (2003), Learning from business failure: propositions about the grief recovery process for the self-employed, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 28, pp. 318-29.
58. Shepherd, D.A. (2004), Educating entrepreneurship students about emotion and learning from failure, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 274-87.
59. Shepherd, D.A., Douglas, E.J. and Shanley, M. (2000), New venture survival: ignorance, external shocks, and risk reduction strategies, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 15, pp. 393-410.
60. Simon, M., Houghton, S.M. and Aquino, K. (2000), Cognitive biases, risk perception, and venture formation: how individuals decide to start companies, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 113-34.
61. Sims, R.R. (1983), Kolb's experiential learning theory: a framework for assessing person-job interaction, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 501-9.
62. Singh, S., Corner, P. and Pavlovich, K. (2007), Coping with entrepreneurial failure, Journal of Management and Organization, Vol. 13, pp. 331-44.
63. Singh, J.V., Tucker, D.J. and House, R.J. (1986), Organizational legitimacy and the liability of newness, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 171-93.
64. Sitkin, S.B. (1992), Learning through failure: the strategy of small losses, in Staw, B.M. and Cummings, L.L. (Eds), Research in Organizational Behavior, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 231-66.
65. Slovic, P., Finucane, M.L., Peters, E. and MacGregor, D.G. (2002), Rational actors or rational fools? Implications of the affect heuristic for behavioural economics, Journal of Socio-Economics, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 329-42.
66. Starr, J.A. and Bygrave, W.D. (1992), The second time around: the outcomes, assets, and liabilities of prior start-up experience, in Birley, S. and MacMillan, I.C. (Eds), International Perspectives on Entrepreneurship Research, North Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 340-63.
67. Stinchcombe, A. (1965), Social structure and organizations, in March, J. (Ed.), Handbook of Organizations, Rand McNally, Chicago, IL, pp. 142-93.
68. Stokes, D. and Blackburn, R. (2002), Learning the hard way: the lessons of owner-managers who have closed their businesses, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 17-27.
69. Thornhill, S. and Amit, R. (2003), Learning about failure: bankruptcy, firm age, and the resource-based view, Organization Science, Vol. 14 No. 5, pp. 497-509.
70. Tversky, A. and Kahneman, D. (1981), The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice, Science, Vol. 211, pp. 453-8.
71. Van Gelderen, M., van de Sluis, L. and Jensen, P. (2005), Learning opportunities and learning behaviours of small business starters: relations with goal achievement, skill development and satisfaction, Small Business Economics, Vol. 25, pp. 97-108.
72. Wagner, J. (2007), What a difference a y makes: female and male nascent entrepreneurs in Germany, Small Business Economics, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 1-21.
73. Watson, J. and Everett, J. (1993), Defining small business failure, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 35-48.
74. Westhead, P. and Wright, M. (1998), Novice, portfolio, and serial founders: are they different?, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 173-204.
75. Westhead, P., Ucbasaran, D. and Wright, M. (2005), Decisions, actions, and performance: do novice, serial, portfolio entrepreneurs differ?, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 43 No. 4, pp. 393-417.
76. Wolfe, D.M. and Kolb, D.A. (1991), Career development, personal growth and experiential learning, in Kolb, D.A., Rubin, I.M. and Osland, J.S. (Eds), The Organizational Behaviour Reader, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, pp. 145-74
77. Aldrich, H.E. (1999), Organizations Evolving, Sage, London.