The entrepreneurial learning literature remains underdeveloped and lacks a clear understanding of the learning process. Building on an in-depth case study of four Scandinavian gourmet restauranteurs, we argue that learning to act on entrepreneurial tasks involves opening-up and focusing processes. We propose a process model that specifies how changing perceptions of complexity and self-efficacy influence an individual's preference for experimentation (opening up) and modelling (focusing) when acquiring new experience. Specifically, in situations perceived as complex, individuals will likely opt for modelling; however, individuals who feel highly self-efficacious will likely rely more on experimentation.

Entrepreneurial judgment is crucial for entrepreneurial success. Extant literature argues that prior experience influences entrepreneurial decisions and the identification of attractive decision spaces for entrepreneurial activity is impacted by subjective risk perception and response to this risk. We posit that entrepreneurs develop different preferences for risk and prediction and their decisions reflect these preferences. To understand the strategic orientations of nascent entrepreneurs, using a sample of 262 nascent entrepreneurs, we study the impact of prior experience and the environmental context on the development of two strategic orientations of nascent entrepreneurs: risk orientation, i.e., the extent to which an individual perceives risk as downside loss or an upside opportunity and the prediction orientation, i.e., the extent to which an individual focuses on prediction. In doing so, our study contributes to a better understanding of the strategy formation process among nascent entrepreneurs.

Using data on all businesses started by mothers of young children in Sweden between 2000 and 2014, we explore which factors are associated with entrepreneurship among mothers. We find that being unemployed or being an immigrant is positively associated with business start-up by mothers; however, our findings show that what matters more is the paternity leave taken by the mothers' partners. These findings suggest that in institutional contexts such as Sweden, gender inequality is not a persistent feature of most households and that women can make career choices by negotiating with their partners who will make use of the parental benefits offered by the government.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to theorize on the mechanisms underlying the development of entrepreneurial expertise. While prior studies have identified differences between the behavior of novice and expert entrepreneurs, the mechanisms that cause these differences have not received sufficient attention. Design/methodology/approach This paper systematically reviews the extant literature on entrepreneurial expertise and builds the conceptual framework by employing an action-control belief framework to propose mechanisms underlying the development of expert behavior. Findings This paper argues that differences in behavior between novice and expert entrepreneurs stem from self-perceptions of their ability to act. More specifically, stronger action-control beliefs encourage entrepreneurs to create new interpretations of the world over time; develop and use strategies that allow them to rely on perceived control over means and ends, their perceived capacity, and their agency; and hence behave more like experts. Practical implications This paper suggests that strategy, capacity, and control beliefs are key in individuals’ decisions of whether to engage in entrepreneurial action and that expert entrepreneurs hold stronger beliefs than novices. Positive experiences, particularly those associated with deliberate practice, contribute to developing these beliefs and, more broadly, to entrepreneurial expertise. Originality/value This paper proposes that the mechanism of transformation from novice to expert behavior can be attributed to positive changes in deeply held beliefs about strategy (i.e. possible means-ends frameworks), capacity (i.e. access to means), and control (i.e. perceived efficacy). Each of the beliefs can develop separately from others and at different pace. In other words, this work explains why novice and expert entrepreneurs behave differently.

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