This article develops a deeper conceptualisation of the process and content dimensions of learning from venture failure. I propose that recovery and re-emergence from failure is a function of distinctive learning processes that foster a range of higher-level learning outcomes. This qualitative research demonstrates that entrepreneurs learn much not only about themselves and the demise of their ventures but also about the nature of networks and relationships and the "pressure points" of venture management. This article also provides evidence that these powerful learning outcomes are future-oriented, increasing the entrepreneur's level of entrepreneurial preparedness for further enterprising activities.There has never been a more apposite time to develop a deeper understanding of venture failure. Whilst consistently lauded as a fundamental learning experience, theorists acknowledge that this view of failure is often espoused in popular management literature that is based on anecdotal evidence. There remains a conspicuous paucity of academic studies that seek to articulate failure at the level of lived experience and ground theoretical discussions in rich qualitative accounts. This study seeks to address this imbalance by providing a novel interpretative phenomenological analysis of failure, thereby adding empirical weight to predominant conceptual discussions.This article develops a deeper understanding of the process and content dimensions of learning from venture failure. I propose that recovery and re-emergence from failure is a function of distinctive learning processes that facilitate a range of higher-level learning outcomes. The research demonstrates that entrepreneurs learn much not only about themselves and the demise of their ventures, but also about the nature of networks and relationships and the "pressure points" of venture management. This article also provides evidence that these powerful learning outcomes are future-oriented, increasing the entrepreneur's level of entrepreneurial preparedness for further enterprising activities.The article has a number of significant implications. First, the research complements and builds upon theories of grief recovery, by illustrating that moving on from failure involves not only overcoming the financial and emotional costs of failure but also the interwoven relational costs. I argue that recovering from failure has much to do with repairing the damage caused to personal and professional relationships, providing a more socialised view of failure than has hitherto been articulated. I maintain that the social process associated with failure is one of regression and gradual re-emergence, in which consequent social affirmation may support rehabilitation.Second, I engage closely with different orientations to grief recovery, adding a temporal dimension to restoration-and lossorientations. Of significance, the study highlights that prolonged critical self-reflection and introspection characteristic of a lossorientation can be unhelpful. Rather, it is posed that a "high...

373This conceptual article introduces a dynamic learning perspective of entrepreneurship that builds upon existing "dominant" theoretical approaches to understanding entrepreneurial activity. As many aspects of entrepreneurial learning remain poorly understood, this article maps out and extends current boundaries of thinking regarding how entrepreneurs learn. It presents key conclusions from emergent empirical and conceptual work on the subject and synthesizes a broad range of contributory adult, management, and individual learning literature to develop a robust and integrated thematic conceptualization of entrepreneurial learning. Three distinctive, interrelated elements of entrepreneurial learning are proposeddynamic temporal phases, interrelated processes, and overarching characteristics. The article concludes by demonstrating how a "learning lens" can be applied to create further avenues for research in entrepreneurship from a learning perspective.

This research explores the learning process of entrepreneurs in relation to the parallel processes of personal and business development. Building on theories of individual learning and of the business life-cycle, this paper discusses the impact of critical incidents from an individual perspective and, in particular, their role within entrepreneurial learning. A phenomenological case study approach was employed, with the sample consisting of six small business owners. The interviews concentrated on the developmental history of the business, focusing on critical incidents as they arose in the general conversation. The findings emphasise the complexity of the concept of`c ritical incident'' and demonstrate that entrepreneurs often face prolonged and traumatic critical periods or episodes, illustrating the emotionally-laden nature of these events. Furthermore, the critical incidents described here resulted in fundamental, higher-level learning, and highlight the need for mentoring support programmes designed to help entrepreneurs to interpret critical incidents as learning experiences, in order to increase the power of the learning outcomes. The authors conclude by stressing the need for further theory development that conceptualises the complex and dynamic interactivity between the individual and the business.This article is part of a special issue of papers entitled``Policy and support for entrepreneurial behaviour'', edited by David Deakins.

The purpose of this article is to explore different themes within entrepreneurship education via the use of a systematic literature review (SLR). Systematic literature reviews are recognized methods for conducting evidence-based policy. The particular approach to the SLR used in this study is explained and the article explores the findings outlining a thematic framework drawn from narrative coding. The findings support the conclusion that entrepreneurship education has had an impact on student propensity and intentionality. What is unclear is the extent to which such education impacts on the level of graduate entrepreneurship or whether it enables graduates to become more effective entrepreneurs. The findings also highlight a lack of consensus on what entrepreneurship or enterprise education actually `is' when implemented in practice.

In recent years, the study of entrepreneurship and small business has witnessed an emerging body of research that operates within an interpretive paradigm. In contributing to this research tradition, this article explicates an interpretive, phenomenological form of inquiry, described by Thompson et al. (1989) as the ‘phenomenological interview’. Particular attention is paid to the ontological and epistemological foundations of this qualitative approach, illustrating the evolution from philosophy to methodology. The article demonstrates how a phenomenological commitment to research translates into a set of issues that provide the methodological context for these in-depth, unstructured interviews. The application of this method is then demonstrated with reference to case study research conducted with six practising entrepreneurs, which utilized phenomenological interviews as the primary research tool. The article concludes with a discussion of some important caveats that surround the use of the phenomenological interview.