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

Abstract

This 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.