Commitment to an entrepreneurship training programme for self-employed entrepreneurs, and learning from participation

Abstract

<p><b>Purpose</b> To explore how self-employed entrepreneurs commit themselves to an entrepreneurship training programme and how such commitment relates to their perceptions of learning.<br></p><p><b>Methodology</b> The data were collected through qualitative, inductive methods by interviewing and observing six entrepreneurs who took part in an entrepreneurship training programme.<br></p><p><b>Findings</b> The study reveals that entrepreneurial activities and a strong attachment to entrepreneurship may detach entrepreneurs from an entrepreneurship community. Generally, participants appreciated the social aspect of learning, peer support and confidence-building provided by the programme and the learning community. Nevertheless, the participation was a double-edged sword: it allowed those who were not active in entrepreneurship to explore entrepreneurship, but for those who were active in entrepreneurship and in professional communities, their participation represented a potential liability and a threat to their image as a credible entrepreneur.<br></p><p><b>Research implications</b> More research is needed on the social aspect related to training programmes, particularly focusing on potential adverse outcomes, such as over-embeddedness in the community.<br></p><p><b>Practical implications</b> Training programme organizers could benefit from understanding the social aspects of learning in emphasizing the role of peer support but also of the potential negative aspects of socializing.<br></p><p><b>Originality/value</b> Our study offers insight into the relationship between commitment and learning in micro firms, and it contributes to a deeper understanding of the way community and social relationships facilitate or impede learning by self-employed entrepreneurs. There is a risk that the social aspect of peer support and the community replaces entrepreneurs’ need to ‘go out there’ and expose themselves to learning from experience.<br></p><p><b>Keywords</b>: commitment, community of practice, learning, participation, self-employed<br></p>