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Introduction
Entrepreneurship is a learning process and has received great attention over the past few years (Baroncelli and Landoni, 2019; Wang and Chugh, 2014; Minniti and Bygrave, 2001). Despite the broad agreement between learning and being enterprising, there are currently few studies that investigate the different day-to-day practices in which entrepreneurs take part and learn (Agarwal and Lenka, 2016; Estelami, 2020; Haneberg, 2019; Rae and Carswell, 2001). Despite the advances made by embracing practice theory in the field of entrepreneurial analysis, this field still lacks a strong theory of entrepreneurial learning (EL) (Pittaway and Thorpe, 2012).
Learning is important to entrepreneurship in today’s competitive and dynamic world, as it encourages the growth and sustainability of enterprise growth (Agarwal et al., 2020b; Cosenz and Noto, 2018). In the process of exploration of market opportunities or to create new enterprises, the specific learning processes involved are more important (Baroncelli and Landoni, 2019; Taylor and Thorpe, 2004). The way entrepreneurs learn is diverse, for example, from peers, experience and consumers and suppliers, etc. (Hunter and Lean, 2018; Khurana et al., 2022). Essentially, all of these processes are linked to the informational or interactive ways of learning, being primarily dependent on the entrepreneurs’ own experience. EL is not only limited to the entrepreneur’s personal realm, but it can also be analyzed in social terms. As such, EL can contribute considerably to heightened global economic competitiveness by offering entrepreneurial knowledge (tacit and explicit knowledge) and skills, exploiting entrepreneurial spirit and ambitions, fostering creativity, innovation in entrepreneurial marketing and the emergence of new products and services (Bonfanti et al., 2019; Clinton et al., 2021).
Theoretical foundations
In the 1960’s, Bandura developed social learning theory, which in 1986 became known as social cognitive theory (SCT), wherein it is claimed that learning takes place in a social context having a complex shared relationship between the human being, environment and behavior (Bandura, 1988). The focus on social power and the emphasis on social strengthening of the internal and external environments are distinctive features of SCT. SCT takes into account the unique way individuals acquire and maintain behavior while considering the social environment in which individuals conduct themselves (Bandura, 1988). This theory considers past experiences of a person that influence the...