Exploring the role of learning in growth aspirations and emergence of dynamic capabilities : the case study of female entrepreneurs in creative industries in the UK

• Main Author: Abrar, Ayesha
• Published: University of Essex 2012
• Subjects: 338.040820941
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.573698

This thesis contributes towards understanding the entrepreneurial learning process in relation to dynamic capabilities and growth aspirations of female entrepreneurs in the creative industries by employing an integrated social experiential learning approach. The existing cognitive and social approaches to entrepreneurial learning appeared as "rivals" and "mutually exclusive". These views overlook the complementarities of the two learning processes in dynamic and real life contexts. Entrepreneurial learning is seen as a path towards emergence of dynamic capabilities. Consequently, the dynamic capabilities are explored at micro-level by taking the individual entrepreneur as a source of dynamic capabilities, a deviation from previous approaches which tend to focus at an organisational level. Rooted in interpertivism, this research takes a process-relational stance, to entrepreneurship, which recognises the dynamic processes underlying the realisation of opportunities from social interactions with numerous stakeholders. The study employed a case study strategy with in-depth interviews, complemented with document review and observations. The research finds that social and experiential processes shape the creative women entrepreneurs entrepreneurial learning content. Specifically, creative learning and functional learning were found to shape the content of learning which functions as a knowledge resource for creative women entrepreneurs. These knowledge resources were either reconfigured or new resources, integrated according to entrepreneur's subjective interpretation of the situation in order to respond to the external stimuli that appeared in the form of customers demand, rapidly changing lifestyles and increased competition. This lead to the emergence of dynamic capabilities which, in turn lead to enrichment of learning content and 'consequently meeting of the venture growth objectives. Thus, entrepreneurial learning in the creative industry is elucidated, in this study, as a process of creative growth which is exploited to recognise and act upon opportunities and interact socially to meet growth aspirations. Emergence of dynamic capabilities is an integral part of the entrepreneurial learning process contributing to realisation of venture growth aspirations.