IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/intemj/v15y2019i3d10.1007_s11365-018-0554-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Emergent learning and change in strategy: empirical study of Chinese serial entrepreneurs with failure experience

Author

Listed:
  • Song Lin

    (Central University of Finance and Economics)

  • Yasuhiro Yamakawa

    (Babson College)

  • Jing Li

    (Central University of Finance and Economics)

Abstract

The risk and uncertainty of entrepreneurial activity is high, and failures are common. The existing literature has emphasized that serial entrepreneurs can learn from failures, but studies on how learning affects strategic actions in subsequent entrepreneurship activities are rare. This paper uses the strategic incrementalism perspective to focus on emergent learning and changes in strategy for serial entrepreneurs with failure experience. The empirical results demonstrate that with more intensive emergent learning, serial entrepreneurs make more substantial strategic changes in subsequent entrepreneurship endeavors, and entrepreneurial performance can moderate such relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Song Lin & Yasuhiro Yamakawa & Jing Li, 2019. "Emergent learning and change in strategy: empirical study of Chinese serial entrepreneurs with failure experience," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 773-792, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:15:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11365-018-0554-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11365-018-0554-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11365-018-0554-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11365-018-0554-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lee, Seung-Hyun & Yamakawa, Yasuhiro & Peng, Mike W. & Barney, Jay B., 2011. "How do bankruptcy laws affect entrepreneurship development around the world?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 505-520, September.
    2. Marco Gelderen & Lidewey Sluis & Paul Jansen, 2005. "Learning Opportunities and Learning Behaviours of Small Business Starters: Relations with Goal Achievement, Skill Development and Satisfaction," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 97-108, August.
    3. Jenkins, Anna S. & Wiklund, Johan & Brundin, Ethel, 2014. "Individual responses to firm failure: Appraisals, grief, and the influence of prior failure experience," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 17-33.
    4. Kim, Kyung Hoon & Ko, Eunju & Xu, Bing & Han, Yoosun, 2012. "Increasing customer equity of luxury fashion brands through nurturing consumer attitude," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(10), pages 1495-1499.
    5. Gerald Yong Gao & Janet Y Murray & Masaaki Kotabe & Jiangyong Lu, 2010. "A “strategy tripod” perspective on export behaviors: Evidence from domestic and foreign firms based in an emerging economy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(6), pages 1090-1091, August.
    6. Singh, Smita & Corner, Patricia & Pavlovich, Kathryn, 2007. "Coping with entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 331-344, November.
    7. Gerald Yong Gao & Janet Y Murray & Masaaki Kotabe & Jiangyong Lu, 2010. "A “strategy tripod” perspective on export behaviors: Evidence from domestic and foreign firms based in an emerging economy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(3), pages 377-396, April.
    8. Maria Minniti & William Bygrave, 2001. "A Dynamic Model of Entrepreneurial Learning," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(3), pages 5-16, April.
    9. Ucbasaran, Deniz & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike & Flores, Manuel, 2010. "The nature of entrepreneurial experience, business failure and comparative optimism," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 541-555, November.
    10. Ari Ginsberg, 1988. "Measuring and modelling changes in strategy: Theoretical foundations and empirical directions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(6), pages 559-575, November.
    11. Raphael Amit & Lawrence Glosten & Eitan Muller, 1993. "Challenges To Theory Development In Entrepreneurship Research," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 815-834, September.
    12. Cardon, Melissa S. & Stevens, Christopher E. & Potter, D. Ryland, 2011. "Misfortunes or mistakes?: Cultural sensemaking of entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 79-92, January.
    13. Ucbasaran, Deniz & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike, 2009. "The extent and nature of opportunity identification by experienced entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 99-115, March.
    14. Danny Miller & Jean-Marie Toulouse, 1986. "Chief Executive Personality and Corporate Strategy and Structure in Small Firms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(11), pages 1389-1409, November.
    15. Gregory G. Dess & G. T. Lumpkin & J. G. Covin, 1997. "Entrepreneurial strategy making and firm performance: tests of contingency and configurational models," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(9), pages 677-695, October.
    16. Kibler, Ewald & Mandl, Christoph & Kautonen, Teemu & Berger, Elisabeth S.C., 2017. "Attributes of legitimate venture failure impressions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 145-161.
    17. Gerry Johnson, 1988. "Rethinking incrementalism," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 75-91, January.
    18. Sabrina Artinger & Thomas C. Powell, 2016. "Entrepreneurial failure: Statistical and psychological explanations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(6), pages 1047-1064, June.
    19. Christoph Zott & Raphael Amit, 2008. "The fit between product market strategy and business model: implications for firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 1-26, January.
    20. Yasuhiro Yamakawa & Melissa Cardon, 2015. "Causal ascriptions and perceived learning from entrepreneurial failure," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 797-820, April.
    21. Rajesh K. Singh & Suresh K. Garg & S.G. Deshmukh, 2009. "The competitiveness of SMEs in a globalized economy: Observations from China and India," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 33(1), pages 54-65, December.
    22. Patricia McDougall & Richard B. Robinson, 1990. "New venture strategies: An empirical identification of eight ‘archetypes’ of competitive strategies for entry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(6), pages 447-467, October.
    23. Parker, Simon C., 2013. "Do serial entrepreneurs run successively better-performing businesses?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 652-666.
    24. Jeffrey E. McGee & Michael J. Dowling & William L. Megginson, 1995. "Cooperative strategy and new venture performance: The role of business strategy and management experience," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(7), pages 565-580.
    25. Chihmao Hsieh & Jack A. Nickerson & Todd R. Zenger, 2007. "Opportunity Discovery, Problem Solving and a Theory of the Entrepreneurial Firm," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(7), pages 1255-1277, November.
    26. Lin Song & Darline Augustine & Jing Yu Yang, 2016. "Environmental uncertainty, prospector strategy, and new venture performance: the moderating role of network capabilities," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 1103-1126, December.
    27. Jeffrey G. Covin & Dennis P. Slevin, 1989. "Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 75-87, January.
    28. Cope, Jason, 2011. "Entrepreneurial learning from failure: An interpretative phenomenological analysis," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 604-623.
    29. Pierre–André Julien & Charles Ramangalahy, 2003. "Competitive Strategy and Performance of Exporting SMEs: An Empirical Investigation of the Impact of Their Export Information Search and Competencies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 27(3), pages 227-245, July.
    30. Dean A. Shepherd & Holger Patzelt, 2015. "Harsh Evaluations of Entrepreneurs Who Fail: The Role of Sexual Orientation, Use of Environmentally Friendly Technologies, and Observers' Perspective Taking," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 253-284, March.
    31. Amason, Allen C. & Shrader, Rodney C. & Tompson, George H., 2006. "Newness and novelty: Relating top management team composition to new venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 125-148, January.
    32. Massimo Baù & Philipp Sieger & Kimberly A. Eddleston & Francesco Chirico, 2017. "Fail but Try Again? The Effects of Age, Gender, and Multiple–Owner Experience on Failed Entrepreneurs’ Reentry," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(6), pages 909-941, November.
    33. Singh, Smita & Corner, Patricia Doyle & Pavlovich, Kathryn, 2015. "Failed, not finished: A narrative approach to understanding venture failure stigmatization," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 150-166.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huatao Peng & Yuming Chang & Yang Liu, 2023. "Risk preference, prior experience, and serial entrepreneurship performance: evidence from China," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(3), pages 613-631, May.
    2. Ayamga, Matthew & Annosi, Maria Carmela & Kassahun, Ayalew & Dolfsma, Wilfred & Tekinerdogan, Bedir, 2024. "Adaptive organizational responses to varied types of failures: Empirical insights from technology providers in Ghana," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    3. Hui Zhang & Yuan Mo & Dong Wang, 2021. "Why do some academic entrepreneurs experience less role conflict? The impact of prior academic experience and prior entrepreneurial experience," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1521-1539, December.
    4. Nizar Mtibaa & Sami Boudabbous, 2023. "The Realities of Learning through Failure in Entrepreneurship: Results of Qualitative Research," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 13(2), pages 19-27, March.
    5. Zhuang Xiong & Pengju Wang & Chengxia Wu, 2022. "How to encourage innovation failure knowledge sharing in virtual research organization: an incentive mechanism based on game theory," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 193-213, September.
    6. Yuying Wu & Zhiqiang Wang & Yuan Lu, 2023. "Mapping the evolution of entrepreneurial research themes in China: A combination analysis of co-word and critical event," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 1133-1167, September.
    7. Patel, Pankaj C. & Tsionas, Mike & Oghazi, Pejvak & Izquierdo, Vanessa, 2022. "No entrepreneur steps in the same river twice: Limited learning advantage for serial entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 1038-1052.
    8. Fernando Zambrano Farias & María del Carmen Valls Martínez & Pedro Antonio Martín-Cervantes, 2021. "Explanatory Factors of Business Failure: Literature Review and Global Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-26, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Costa, Paula L. & Ferreira, João J. & Torres de Oliveira, Rui, 2023. "From entrepreneurial failure to re-entry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Maribel Guerrero & Jorge Espinoza-Benavides, 2021. "Do emerging ecosystems and individual capitals matter in entrepreneurial re-entry’ quality and speed?," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 1131-1158, September.
    3. Adesuwa Omorede, 2021. "Managing crisis: a qualitative lens on the aftermath of entrepreneurial failure," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 1441-1468, September.
    4. Adesuwa Omorede, 0. "Managing crisis: a qualitative lens on the aftermath of entrepreneurial failure," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-28.
    5. Yasuhiro Yamakawa & Melissa Cardon, 2015. "Causal ascriptions and perceived learning from entrepreneurial failure," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 797-820, April.
    6. Vivianna Fang He & Charlotta Sirén & Sheetal Singh & George Solomon & Georg von Krogh, 2018. "Keep Calm and Carry On: Emotion Regulation in Entrepreneurs’ Learning from Failure," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(4), pages 605-630, July.
    7. Fisch, Christian & Block, Jörn H., 2021. "How does entrepreneurial failure change an entrepreneur's digital identity? Evidence from Twitter data," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    8. Luca Pistilli & Alessia Paccagnini & Stefano Breschi & Franco Malerba, 2023. "Gender Bias in Entrepreneurship: What is the Role of the Founders’ Entrepreneurial Background?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(2), pages 325-346, October.
    9. Khelil, Nabil, 2016. "The many faces of entrepreneurial failure: Insights from an empirical taxonomy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 72-94.
    10. Maribel Guerrero & Jorge Espinoza-Benavides, 2021. "Does entrepreneurship ecosystem influence business re-entries after failure?," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 211-227, March.
    11. Castelló, Itziar & Barberá-Tomás, David & Vaara, Eero, 2023. "Moving on: Narrative identity reconstruction after entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4).
    12. Jenkins, Anna & McKelvie, Alexander, 2017. "Is this the end? Investigating firm and individual level outcomes post-failure," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 8(C), pages 138-143.
    13. Rohny Saylors & Amrita Lahiri & Benjamin Warnick & Chandresh Baid, 2023. "Looking Back To Venture Forward: Exploring Idea and Identity Work in Public Failure Narratives," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(2), pages 398-429, March.
    14. Liu, Yiran & Li, Yong & Hao, Xiling & Zhang, Yuli, 2019. "Narcissism and learning from entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 496-512.
    15. Chong Kyoon Lee & Johan Wiklund & Alejandro Amezcua & Tae Jun Bae & Almantas Palubinskas, 2022. "Business failure and institutions in entrepreneurship: a systematic review and research agenda," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1997-2023, April.
    16. Yamakawa, Yasuhiro & Cardon, Melissa S., 2017. "How prior investments of time, money, and employee hires influence time to exit a distressed venture, and the extent to which contingency planning helps," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 1-17.
    17. Lattacher, Wolfgang & Wdowiak, Malgorzata, 2018. "Entrepreneurial Learning From Exit: How Entrepreneurs Learn and Re-emerge Stronger," 6th International OFEL Conference on Governance, Management and Entrepreneurship. New Business Models and Institutional Entrepreneurs: Leading Disruptive Change (Dubrovnik, 2018), in: 6th International OFEL Conference on Governance, Management and Entrepreneurship. New Business Models and Institutional Entrepreneurs: Leading Disrupt, pages 303-331, Governance Research and Development Centre (CIRU), Zagreb.
    18. Song Lin & Shihui Wang, 2019. "How does the age of serial entrepreneurs influence their re-venture speed after a business failure?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 651-666, March.
    19. Parker, Simon C., 2013. "Do serial entrepreneurs run successively better-performing businesses?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 652-666.
    20. Gottschalk, Sandra & Greene, Francis J. & Höwer, Daniel & Müller, Bettina, 2014. "If you don't succeed, should you try again? The role of entrepreneurial experience in venture survival," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-009, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:15:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11365-018-0554-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.