Selling Brownies or Formal Education: A Breakpoint for Entrepreneurial Learning in Family Firms

Abstract

Purpose- The purpose of this study is understanding the entrepreneurial learning in family firms, from a process perspective and focused on next generation family members (NGFM), who were exposed to entrepreneurial learning processes in their family firms. While the relationship between family firms and entrepreneurship has captured a lot of research interest, the processes that entail the transfer of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills between family members have received less attention. This paper contributes to fill this gap by analyzing the learning experiences and relationship with previous generations that originated entrepreneurial learning in next generations. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on 24 Colombian cases of NGFM, who were diverse in terms of ages, entrepreneurial achievements, and connections to the family firms. Findings – Entrepreneurial learning is a continuous and incremental process with multiple mechanisms to learn, which are defined by the previous generation. There is a temporal dimension associated with life stages, which defines the type of mechanisms more useful to learn about entrepreneurship. Early involvement is a key factor for entrepreneurial learning, but it requires further comprehension than what current literature has reached. Originality/Value – By applying the process perspective of entrepreneurial learning to the context of family firms, the study identifies unique dynamics to transfer entrepreneurial knowledge and skills among generations, which help understanding the diversity of entrepreneurial performance of these firms.