Acquired Knowledge that Support Entrepreneurs: Implications for Entrepreneurial Emotion and Learning

Abstract

In the field of entrepreneurial learning, a major focus has been on understanding learning tasks, i.e., the knowledge required for entrepreneurial activity. However, to date, research has solely focused on opportunity information and concrete know-how related to technology and management, and has not analyzed the mindsets and psychological foundations that guide decision-making as learning objects. To fill this gap, we asked what knowledge entrepreneurs gain and conducted a comprehensive and exploratory analysis of archival interviews of 96 Japanese entrepreneurs. As a result, we discovered a fourth category that could not be classified into the previous three categories: opportunity information, capability, and schema. We named it way of being, meaning the personal ideals of being when working on businesses. This finding suggests that entrepreneurs navigate their emotional journey depending on what they learn from their experiences and the teaching of others. This study is novel as it examines the impact of knowledge and information acquisition activities on entrepreneurs’ emotions. We also showed that entrepreneurs can be categorized into three types: strategic, cognitive, and emotional, based on the learning content they focus on.