Entrepreneurial Learning in Critical Conditions: A Literature Review with Bibliometric Approach

Alavi, Seyyed Ahmad; Momayez, Ayatolllah; Bagheri, Afsaneh

doi:10.22034/jer.2024.714446

Entrepreneurial Learning in Critical Conditions: A Literature Review with Bibliometric Approach

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Seyyed Ahmad Alavi ¹

Ayatolllah Momayez ¹

Afsaneh Bagheri ²

¹ Department of technology Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

² Department of Entrepreneurship Development, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/jer.2024.714446

Abstract

Introduction: A research stream in the field of entrepreneurial learning claims that transformative learning is often created in critical situations. Critical conditions lead to stimuli by which an entrepreneur can learn in these conditions with extensive effects on their performance and mental assumptions, commonly called transformational learning. The widespread COVID crisis drew researchers’ attention to the phenomenon of the crisis once again. The articles published during the post-COVID crisis period outnumber all the articles published in this field before. So, entrepreneurial learning in crisis has been a topic of interest in recent years. The purpose of this research was to examine the scope of research in the field of entrepreneurial learning in critical conditions using bibliometric analysis. It is concluded by explaining research fields for researchers and those interested in this field.
Methodology: The research was conducted with the bibliometric method and analysis techniques of co-authorship, co-citation, and co-occurrence of keywords. The research employed Publish or Perish software, which allows for searching and checking data obtained from citation databases, and VOSviewer software, which is used in preparing and creating visual maps including co-authorship, co-citation, and co-occurrence networks of keywords.
Findings: Based on the clusters identified in the co-citation network, the roots of entrepreneurial learning literature in crisis can be categorized into five research areas. Transformational learning, crisis, and small and medium-sized businesses, dynamic capabilities, mathematical methods to analyze the behavior of entrepreneurs, and finally the development of individual skills in order to be flexible and resilient are the key research areas in the literature. Similarly, based on the co-occurrence analysis of keywords, the current literature focuses on issues such as key concepts of entrepreneurial learning in crisis, education and especially digital education, business management, and concepts and case studies that have expanded greatly as a result of the widespread COVID-19 crisis.
Conclusion/ Implication: By examining 459 unique articles extracted from WOS and Scopus and conducting bibliometric analysis, this article provides researchers with an overview of the map of scientific activities in this field of study. In this research, the main currents and roots of this field of study can be investigated. It helps researchers and research organizations to have a deeper view of this new current but with strong roots in the literature. The main streams of the literature have been formed around the issues of the essence and case studies to understand the consequences of entrepreneurial learning in critical conditions. The literature is not developed enough regarding the resources and how to learn entrepreneurially in critical conditions, and there is a suitable scope for future research.

Keywords

Learning in Critical

Entrepreneurial Learning

Systematic Literature Review

Bibliometrics

Subjects

Entrepreneurship teaching and promotion

Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T

Argyris, Ch., & Schön, D. A. (1997). Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective. Reis, 77/78, 345. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40183951

Baker, T., & Nelson, R. E. (2005). Creating something from nothing: Resource construction through entrepreneurial bricolage. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(3), 329–366. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.2005.50.3.329

Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. https://josephmahoney.web.illinois.edu/BA545_Fall%202022/Barney%20(1991).pdf

Bota-Avram, C. (2023). Bibliometrics Research Methodology. In C. Bota-Avram, Science Mapping of Digital Transformation in Business (pp. 9–13). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26765-9_2

Chen, J., Tang, L., Tian, H., Ou, R., Wang, J., & Chen, Q. (2022). The effect of mobile business simulation games in entrepreneurship education: A quasi-experiment. Library Hi Tech. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-12-2021-0509

Cope, J. (2003). Entrepreneurial learning and critical reflection: Discontinuous events as triggers for ‘higher-level’learning. Management Learning, 34(4), 429–450. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507603039067

Cope, J., & Watts, G. (2000). Learning by doing–an exploration of experience, critical incidents and reflection in entrepreneurial learning. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 6(3), 104–124. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550010346208

Covin, J. G., & Slevin, D. P. (1989). Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments. Strategic Management Journal, 10(1), 75–87. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250100107

Doern, R., Williams, N., & Vorley, T. (2019). Special issue on entrepreneurship and crises: Business as usual? An introduction and review of the literature. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 31(5–6), 400–412. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2018.1541590

Ductor, L. (2015). Does Co‐authorship Lead to Higher Academic Productivity? Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 77(3), 385–407. https://doi.org/10.1111/obes.12070

Eggers, F. (2020). Masters of disasters? Challenges and opportunities for SMEs in times of crisis. Journal of Business Research, 116, 199–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.025

Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. The Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532. https://doi.org/10.2307/258557

Eisenhardt, K. M., & Graebner, M. E. (2007). Theory building from cases: Opportunities and challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.24160888

Eisenhardt, K. M., & Martin, J. A. (2000). Dynamic capabilities: What are they? Strategic Management Journal, 21(10‐11), 1105–1121. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0266(200010/11)21:10/11%3C1105::AID-SMJ133%3E3.0.CO;2-E

Gaffar, V., Tjahjono, B., Abdullah, T., Sari, M., & Rofaida, R. (2022). Unfolding the Impacts of a Prolonged COVID-19 Pandemic on the Sustainability of Culinary Tourism: Some Insights from Micro and Small Street Food Vendors. Sustainability, 14(1), 497. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010497

Greiner, L. E. (1997). Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow: A company’s past has clues for management that are critical to future success. Family Business Review, 10(4), 397–409. https://hbr.org/1998/05/evolution-and-revolution-as-organizations-grow

Haneberg, D. H. (2021). SME managers’ learning from crisis and effectual behaviour. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 28(6), 873–887. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-01-2021-0009

Herbane, B. (2010). Small business research: Time for a crisis-based view. International small business journal, 28(1), 43-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242609350804

Isaac, O., Aldholay, A., Abdullah, Z., & Ramayah, T. (2019). Online learning usage within Yemeni higher education: The role of compatibility and task-technology fit as mediating variables in the IS success model. Computers & Education, 136, 113–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.02.012

Islam, T., & Munir, S. (2022). How important strategic learning capabilities are during COVID-19? A model for innovation ambidexterity. Journal of Workplace Learning, 35(1), 35–56. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-11-2021-0144.

Jeong, S. J., Choi, S. J., & Hawley, J. D. (2022). How can urban middle-aged participants increase their agricultural entrepreneurship volition during COVID-19? Evidence from South Korea. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2022.2153886

Juergensen, J., Guimón, J., & Narula, R. (2020). European SMEs amidst the COVID-19 crisis: Assessing impact and policy responses. Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, 47, 499–510. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40812-020-00169-4

Karamti, C., & Abd-Mouleh, N. W. (2023). Finding Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Times of Crisis: Evidence from Tunisia. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 14(3), 3519–3548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-021-00888-6

Khurana, I., & Dutta, D. K. (2021). From latent to emergent entrepreneurship in innovation ecosystems: The role of entrepreneurial learning. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 167, 120694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120694

Khurana, I., Dutta, D. K., & Schenkel, M. T. (2022). Crisis and arbitrage opportunities: The role of causation, effectuation and entrepreneurial learning. International Small Business Journal, 40(2), 236–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/02662426211061679

Kottika, E., Özsomer, A., Rydén, P., Theodorakis, I. G., Kaminakis, K., Kottikas, K. G., & Stathakopoulos, V. (2020). We survived this! What managers could learn from SMEs who successfully navigated the Greek economic crisis. Industrial Marketing Management, 88, 352–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.05.021

Kumar, S. (2015). Co-authorship networks: A review of the literature. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 67(1), 55–73. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-09-2014-0116

Lattacher, W., & Wdowiak, M. A. (2020). Entrepreneurial learning from failure. A systematic review. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 26(5), 1093–1131. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-02-2019-0085

Lengnick-Hall, C. A., Beck, T. E., & Lengnick-Hall, M. L. (2011). Developing a capacity for organizational resilience through strategic human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 21(3), 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2010.07.001

Linnenluecke, M. K. (2017). Resilience in business and management research: A review of influential publications and a research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 4–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12076

Manfield, R. C., & Newey, L. R. (2018). Resilience as an entrepreneurial capability: Integrating insights from a cross-disciplinary comparison. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 24(7), 1155–1180. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-11-2016-0368

Markowska, M., & Wiklund, J. (2020). Entrepreneurial learning under uncertainty: Exploring the role of self-efficacy and perceived complexity. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 32(7–8), 606–628. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2020.1713222

Meyer, A. D. (1982). Adapting to environmental jolts. Administrative Science Quarterly, 515–537. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2392528

Mohammadian, B. (2022). Entrepreneurial Humility and Learning from Serious Games (2516–2314). EasyChair. https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3153/paper15.pdf

Ninkov, A., Frank, J. R., & Maggio, L. A. (2021). Bibliometrics: Methods for studying academic publishing. Perspectives on Medical Education, 11(3), 173–176. https://doi.org/10.1007/S40037-021-00695-4

North, D. C. (1991). Institutions. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1), 97–112.

O’Reilly, D., Leitch, C. M., Harrison, R. T., & Lamprou, E. (2015). Leadership, authority and crisis: Reflections and future directions. Leadership, 11(4), 489–499. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715015596641

Pal, R., Torstensson, H., & Mattila, H. (2014). Antecedents of organizational resilience in economic crises—An empirical study of Swedish textile and clothing SMEs. International Journal of Production Economics, 147, 410–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2013.02.031

Pimlott-Wilson, H., & Holloway, S. L. (2021). Supplementary education and the coronavirus pandemic: Economic vitality, business spatiality and societal value in the private tuition industry during the first wave of Covid-19 in England. Geoforum, 127, 71–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.09.009

Pittaway, L., & Cope, J. (2007). Entrepreneurship education: A systematic review of the evidence. International Small Business Journal, 25(5), 479–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242607080656

Pittaway, L., & Thorpe, R. (2012). A framework for entrepreneurial learning: A tribute to Jason Cope. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24(9–10), 837–859. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2012.694268

Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879

Roper, S., & Turner, J. (2020). R&D and innovation after COVID-19: What can we expect? A review of prior research and data trends after the great financial crisis. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 38(6), 504–514. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242620947946

Runyan, R. C. (2006). Small business in the face of crisis: Identifying barriers to recovery from a natural disaster 1. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 14(1), 12–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5973.2006.00477.x

Sarasvathy, S. D. (2001). Causation and effectuation: Toward a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 243–263. https://www.jstor.org/stable/259121

Saunders, M. N., Gray, D. E., & Goregaokar, H. (2014). SME innovation and learning: The role of networks and crisis events. European Journal of Training and Development, 38(1/2), 136-149. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-07-2013-0073

Secundo, G., Schiuma, G., & Passiante, G. (2017). Entrepreneurial learning dynamics in knowledge-intensive enterprises. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 23(3), 366-380. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-01-2017-0020

Shepherd, D. A., Douglas, E. J., & Shanley, M. (2000). New venture survival. Journal of Business Venturing, 15(5–6), 393–410. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12229

Small, H. (1973). Co‐citation in the scientific literature: A new measure of the relationship between two documents. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 24(4), 265–269. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.4630240406

Smallbone, D., Deakins, D., Battisti, M., & Kitching, J. (2012). Small business responses to a major economic downturn: Empirical perspectives from New Zealand and the United Kingdom. International Small Business Journal, 30(7), 754–777. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0266242612448077

Sonnenfeld, J. A., & Ward, A. J. (2007). Firing back: How great leaders rebound after career disasters. Harvard Business Review, 85(1), 76–84, 125. https://hbr.org/2007/01/firing-back-how-great-leaders-rebound-after-career-disasters

Sullivan-Taylor, B., & Branicki, L. (2011). Creating resilient SMEs: Why one size might not fit all. International Journal of Production Research, 49(18), 5565–5579. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2011.563837

Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: The nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1319–1350. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.640

Teece, D. J. (2012). Dynamic capabilities: Routines versus entrepreneurial action. Journal of Management Studies, 49(8), 1395–1401. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2012.01080.x

Van Der Vegt, G. S., Essens, P., Wahlström, M., & George, G. (2015). Managing risk and resilience. Academy of Management Journal, 58(4), 971–980. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amj.2015.4004

Walker, B., Holling, C. S., Carpenter, S. R., & Kinzig, A. (2004). Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social–ecological systems. Ecology and Society, 9(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-00650-090205

Williams, T. A., Gruber, D. A., Sutcliffe, K. M., Shepherd, D. A., & Zhao, E. Y. (2017). Organizational response to adversity: Fusing crisis management and resilience research streams. Academy of Management Annals, 11(2), 733–769. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/annals.2015.0134

Wolff, J. A., Pett, T. L., & Ring, J. K. (2015). Small firm growth as a function of both learning orientation and entrepreneurial orientation: An empirical analysis. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 21(5), 709–730. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-12-2014-0221

Wu, B., & Chen, X. (2017). Continuance intention to use MOOCs: Integrating the technology acceptance model (TAM) and task technology fit (TTF) model. Computers in Human Behavior, 67, 221–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.028

Zahra, S. A., & George, G. (2002). Absorptive Capacity: A Review, Reconceptualization, and Extension. The Academy of Management Review, 27(2), 185. https://doi.org/10.2307/4134351

Zahra, S. A., Sapienza, H. J., & Davidsson, P. (2006). Entrepreneurship and dynamic capabilities: A review, model and research agenda. Journal of Management Studies, 43(4), 917–955. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00616.x

Zollo, M., & Winter, S. G. (2002). Deliberate learning and the evolution of dynamic capabilities. Organization Science, 13(3), 339–351. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.13.3.339.2780