Formal entrepreneurial networks as communities of practice: a longitudinal case study

Vincent Lefebvre (1) , Miruna Radu Lefebvre (1) , Eric Pierre Simon (2)

1 Audencia Recherche
2 ISC Paris - Institut Supérieur du Commerce de Paris

This article argues that entrepreneurial learning is genuinely connected to entrepreneurial networking activities, within a co-evolving dynamics. We take a longitudinal network approach to study the combined development of network dynamics and learning in a French formal entrepreneurial network over a period of four years (2005-2009). Our aim is to extend our knowledge of entrepreneurial learning emphasised both as a process and an outcome of social interaction, by focussing on the interplay between network evolution and the changing learning needs of participants over time. Building on a situated social perspective of entrepreneurial learning, we demonstrate that network learning processes and outcomes are contingent on the progressive network transformation from a social network to a community of practice.

Keywords: Formal entrepreneurial network; Learning; Community of practice

Domains: Humanities and Social Sciences; Business administration

Vincent Lefebvre, Miruna Radu Lefebvre, Eric Pierre Simon. Formal entrepreneurial networks as communities of practice: a longitudinal case study. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 2015, 27 (7-8), pp.500-525. ⟨10.1080/08985626.2015.1070539⟩. ⟨hal-01217308⟩