This dissertation, comprised of the cover story and the four separate but interrelated articles, focuses on exploring the development of entrepreneurial competence. Building on the assumption that purposeful engagement in entrepreneurial action potentially leads to the acquisition of specific entrepreneurial competencies, this thesis investigates the mechanisms facilitating and enabling entrepreneurs’ acquisition of entrepreneurial expertise, and the consequences of this process. As such, it unpacks the entrepreneurial learning process. In particular, building on Bandura’s (1986) social  cognitive theory (SCT), this study explores the role of deeply held beliefs, goal orientation and social networks (role models) in shaping entrepreneurs’ behavior, specifically their ability to create new means-ends frameworks (cf. Sarasvathy, 2001). The research included in this dissertation provides insight into the complexity of entrepreneurial competence development by connecting multiple theoretical perspectives, utilizing two different qualitative datasets situated in the context of gourmet restaurateurs and abductively building theory by developing explanations of the phenomenon of interest. This is one of the first attempts to open the ‘black box’ of entrepreneurial learning by simultaneously incorporating the contextual variables and the cognitive properties and practices of entrepreneurs in exploring their learning process. By combining SCT with entrepreneurship theory, the thesis develops an integrating model of entrepreneurial competence development that explains the relation between the preferred learning mode, action-control beliefs, the perceived role identity and role models. The findings suggest that attainment of entrepreneurial competence, and ultimately expertise, is facilitated by changes in action-control beliefs; and by the development of entrepreneurial identity. The findings also suggest that the role model’s perceived function changes depending on the entrepreneur’s goal orientation. Thus, one of the most important implications of the study is the idea that entrepreneurs need to become agents of their own development. Overall, this dissertation provides an explanation of the mechanisms of entrepreneurial competence development by suggesting that changing action-control beliefs and the formation of entrepreneurial identity are crucial in the development of entrepreneurial competence. In addition, access to role models and learning goal orientation facilitate this process.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-16T14:49:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 985931 bytes, checksum: ab834ce365fb9e1b93db4b3f86f6ecf2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The main objective in this study is to analyze the links between the learning process and the competence development of entrepreneur women. We tried to understand the role of context in the professional carrer of the entrepreneur women; to characterize the learning process; and to identify the entrepreneurial competences of BWSP winners. The theoretical base comprises four sections, in order to (a) present the different theoretical perspectives on the phenomenon of entrepreneurship; (b) to characterize entrepreneurial learning based on the construtivist-sociological approach and, therefore, experiential, including the RAE model (2004) and POLITIS (2005); (c) to address the entrepreneurial competence in a dynamic view, ie, as a result of professional action, taking into consideration the context and social experiences; and (d) to describe the links between learning and entrepreneurial competence from the learning process and the elements of the context which act as mediators on the development of competences. To facilitate the achievement of objectives, we used the method of oral history. The research was conducted with five BWSP winners, between the years of 2004 and 2012, in the small business category in the state of Paraiba. Data collection was made using a semi-structured interview which was transcribed and analyzed using narration analysis. Results show there are links between the learning process and the development of entrepreneurial competence by means of the context and its variables, which include economic and social conditions; family relationships; gender; and stereotypes. These variables affect the trajectory of entrepreneurs working lives. Besides, entrepreneurs highlighted that the process of entrepreneurial learning occurs in daily routine, through direct experiences, work practices, success and failure, and it is built from experiences. About entrepreneurial competence, entrepreneurs find it very important knowing how to identify business opportunities; knowing the activities and related business processes; moving resources in unforeseen situations; besides turning experiences into learning and willing to learn. Competence comes from some knowledge which is produced by experience and mediated by some context. The findings reveal that the development of entrepreneurial competence involves a continuous process of learning, while that learning reflects the competences, creating a virtuous circle. The learning process therefore underpins the development of competence. The survey results highlighted that the practices or experiences, social and family interactions, as well as self-development and contact with other people contribute to entrepreneurial identity and thus promote the links between learning and entrepreneurial competence / Este estudo tem como objetivo central analisar os vínculos entre o processo de aprendizagem e o desenvolvimento de competência de mulheres-empreendedoras. Buscou-se compreender o papel do contexto na trajetória profissional das empreendedoras; caracterizar o processo de aprendizagem; e identificar as competências empreendedoras das ganhadoras do Prêmio Sebrae Mulher de Negócio (PSMN). O embasamento teórico compreende quatro seções, com a finalidade de (a) apresentar as diferentes perspectivas teóricas sobre o fenômeno do empreendedorismo; (b) caracterizar a aprendizagem empreendedora com base na abordagem construtivista-sociológica, e, portanto, experiencial, incluindo o modelo de RAE (2004) e POLITIS (2005); (c) abordar a competência empreendedora, sob uma visão dinâmica, ou seja, como resultante da ação profissional, considerando o contexto e as experiências sociais; e (d) descrever os vínculos entre aprendizagem e competência empreendedora a partir do processo de aprendizagem e dos elementos do contexto que atuam como mediadores do desenvolvimento de competências. Para viabilizar a consecução dos objetivos, utilizou-se o método da história oral temática. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com cinco mulheres ganhadoras do PSMN, entre os anos de 2004 a 2012, na categoria pequenos negócios, no Estado da Paraíba. A coleta dos dados foi realizada por meio de uma entrevista semi-estruturada que foi transcrita e analisada utilizando a análise de narrativas. Os resultados apontam que existem vínculos entre o processo de aprendizagem e o desenvolvimento de competência empreendedora por intermédio do contexto e suas variáveis que envolvem condições econômicas e sociais; relações familiares; gênero; e estereótipos. Essas variáveis afetam a trajetória de vida profissional das empresárias. Além disso, as empresárias destacaram que o processo de aprendizagem empreendedora ocorre no dia-a-dia, por meio das experiências diretas, das práticas de trabalho, sucessos e insucessos, sendo algo construído a partir das experiências. Com relação à competência empreendedora, as empresárias consideram que é muito importante saber identificar oportunidades de negócio; conhecer as atividades e processos relacionados ao negócio; mobilizar recursos nas situações imprevistas; além de saber transformar experiências em aprendizado e ter disposição para aprender. A competência surge de um saber produzido pela experiência e mediado por um contexto. Os achados revelam, portanto, que o desenvolvimento de competência empreendedora envolve um processo contínuo de aprendizagem, ao mesmo tempo em que a aprendizagem reflete as competências, gerando um círculo virtuoso. O processo de aprendizagem é, portanto, subjacente ao desenvolvimento de competência. Os resultados da pesquisa destacaram que as práticas ou experiências vividas, as interações sociais e familiares, bem como o autodesenvolvimento e contatos com outras pessoas contribuem para a identidade empreendedora e, portanto, promovem os vínculos entre aprendizagem e competência empreendedora

nÃo hà / Objetivou analisar a aprendizagem empreendedora e sua influÃncia nas competÃncias empreendedoras desenvolvidas pelos gestores da Tecnologia da InformaÃÃo da regiÃo metropolitana de Fortaleza â CE. Foram adotadas como modelos conceituais de pesquisa o modelo de Politis (2005), no aspecto da aprendizagem empreendedora, e o de Man e Lau (2000), concernente à competÃncia empreendedora. A pesquisa adotou o mÃtodo qualitativo de natureza descritiva. Para sua execuÃÃo, foi realizada entrevista com dez gestores da Tecnologia da InformaÃÃo, com apoio de um questionÃrio semiestruturado. Para tratamento dos dados, utilizou-se o mÃtodo de AnÃlise de ConteÃdo de natureza temÃtica. Os resultados da pesquisa mostraram que Aprendizagem Empreendedora tem papel de meio, contÃnuo e experiencial no aprimoramento das competÃncias empreendedoras do gestor de TI. Isto porque as experiÃncias prÃvias em negÃcios influenciam no desenvolvimento das competÃncias empreendedoras iniciais: administrativa, oportunidade, comprometimento e relacionamento do gestor de TI. E foram sendo aprimoradas no modo contÃnuo de novas experiÃncias com negÃcios, tanto nos seus primeiros empreendimentos, como trabalhando, em seguida, nos de terceiros. Os dois modos de transformaÃÃo de experiÃncias de carreira empreendedora, tanto o exploitation (conhecimentos preexistentes) como o exploration (novas possibilidades) influenciam e aprimoram o desenvolvimento das competÃncias empreendedoras. Identificou-se tambÃm a influÃncia contÃnua e recÃproca no desenvolvimento e aprimoramento entre as competÃncias empreendedoras. Em se tratando do exercÃcio da competÃncia empreendedora de comprometimento, este influencia no desenvolvimento da competÃncia empreendedora de estratÃgia. Entrementes, a aÃÃo da competÃncia empreendedora conceitual influencia no desenvolvimento das competÃncias empreendedoras: estratÃgica e oportunidade. E, no exercÃcio da competÃncia empreendedora estratÃgica, observou-se a influÃncia no desenvolvimento das competÃncias empreendedoras: administrativa, comprometimento e relacionamento. / Aimed to analyze the entrepreneurial learning and its influence on skills entrepreneurial developed by managers of information technology in the region Metropolitan of Fortaleza - CE. Were adopted as conceptual research models the model of Politis (2005), in the aspect of entrepreneurial learning, and the Man and Lau (2000), concerning the entrepreneurial competence. The research adopted the qualitative method of descriptive nature. For its implementation, she was interviewed with ten managers of information technology, supported by a semi-structured questionnaire. For processing the data, we used the content analysis method of thematic nature. The survey results showed that Entrepreneurial Learning has paper medium, continuous and experiential in the improvement of entrepreneurial skills of the IT manager. This is because the business prior experiences influence the development of early entrepreneurial skills: administrative, opportunity, commitment and relationship of the IT manager. And they were being improved continuously in further experiments on business, both in their early ventures such as working, then the third. The two ways of transforming entrepreneurial career experiences, both the exploitation (foreground) as the exploration (new opportunities) influence and improve the development of entrepreneurial skills. It also identified continuous and reciprocal influence on the development and enhancement of entrepreneurial skills. In the case of the exercise of entrepreneurial competence commitment, this influences the development of entrepreneurial competence strategy. Meanwhile, the action of conceptual entrepreneurial competence influences the development of entrepreneurial skills: Strategic and opportunity. And, in the exercise of strategic entrepreneurial competence, there was the influence in the development of entrepreneurial skills: administrative, commitment and relationship

Magistro baigiamajame darbe nustatyti brandžios asmenybės kriterijai, įvertinta brandžios asmenybės savybių įtaka verslumo kompetencijos plėtotei ir ištirtas brandžios asmenybės ir verslaus žmogaus savybių sąryšingumas. Pirmoje ir antroje dalyje atliekama verslumo kompetencijos teorinė analizė: pateikiamos kompetencijos ir verslumo sampratos, jų suvokimo raida istoriniame kontekste, išskiriamos versliam žmogui būdingos savybės bei apibrėžiama verslumo kompetencijos svarba Europos Sąjungoje ir Lietuvoje. Trečioje dalyje apibrėžiama brandžios asmenybės charakteristika: pateikiama asmenybės samprata, asmenybės psichologijos teorijos ir jose apibrėžiamos brandžios asmenybės savybės bei išskiriami pagrindiniai brandžios asmenybės kriterijai. Ketvirtoje dalyje aprašomos tyrimo metodologinės nuostatos: pagrindžiamas tyrimo imties, strategijos ir metodo pasirinkimas, apibrėžiami pagrindiniai metodologiniai principai bei jų taikymas magistro baigiamajame darbe. Pristatomi tyrimo objektų - Motinos Teresės ir Muhammad Yunus, vertintų iš brandžios asmenybės ir verslaus žmogaus perspektyvų, analizės rezultatai. Apibendrinus tyrimo rezultatus pateikiamos išvados apie brandžios asmenybės savybes skatinančias verslumo kompetencijos vystymąsi. / -. / Ce mémoire de maîtrise traite des critères de maturité de la personnalité en vue du développement de la compétence entrepreneuriale et analyse le rapport entre les qualités inhérentes à la personne mûre et à l’entrepreneur. La première et la deuxième partie du mémoire présentent une analyse théorique de compétence entrepreneuriale: les concepts de la compétence et d’entrepreneuriat ainsi que leur évolution au cours des siècles ; la définition des qualités inhérentes à l’entrepreneur et l’importance de la compétence entrepreneuriale au sein de l’Union européenne et la Lituanie. La troisième partie dégage la caractéristique de la personnalité mûre: la notion de personnalité, les qualités inhérentes à la personnalité mûre à travers différentes théories psychologiques, la définition des qualités principales inhérentes à la personnalité mûre. La quatrième partie décrit en premier lieu la méthodologie de recherche scientifique: justification du choix de l’échantillon, de la stratégie et de la méthode appliquées ; principes généraux de la méthodologie et leur application dans ce mémoire. Elle présente en suite les résultats d’analyse des objets de recherche (Mère Teresa et Muhammad Yunus), examinés du point de vue des qualités inhérentes à la personne mûre et à l’entrepreneur. Après avoir résumé les résultats de recherche, la conclusion du mémoire présente les critères de maturité de la personnalité influençant les capacités entrepreneuriales.

La question de la compétence de l’entrepreneur est tout à fait centrale. Cependant la prise en compte de cette notion demeure un problème persistant qui inhibe les performances de l’accompagnement et entrave ainsi le développement du phénomène entrepreneurial. Dans ce travail de recherche, nous avons orienté notre intérêt vers le concept des compétences entrepreneuriales afin de repositionner la relation accompagnateur/créateur au centre du processus d’accompagnement. Nous avons mis en œuvre une recherche axée sur l’analyse de l’auto-perception des compétences entrepreneuriales par les entrepreneurs naissants faisant l’objet d’un accompagnement dans une structure d’appui.Sur la base de l’ensemble des classifications typologiques des compétences des entrepreneurs, nous avons arrêté le choix de l’objet de notre étude sur la typologie proposée par Man et al. (2002). Les auteurs proposent un modèle conceptuel permettant de relier les caractéristiques des entrepreneurs des PME et la performance de leur entreprise. Partant de la conviction selon laquelle la prise en compte des compétences est susceptible de produire des nouveaux outils et pratiques d'accompagnement mieux adaptés à la compréhension et la valorisation des différentes dimensions du phénomène entrepreneurial, la problématique soulevée dans cette recherche est de savoir : dans quelle mesure une structure d’accompagnement en phase post-création contribue-t-elle à l’amélioration de l’auto-perception des entrepreneurs de leurs compétences entrepreneuriales?Pour répondre à cette question, nous avons opté pour une étude empirique quantitative et longitudinale. Dans le but d’accéder au terrain et de collecter le maximum de données, notre étude a été réalisée dans le cadre d’un partenariat entre le centre de recherche en Entrepreneuriat de l’EM Lyon Business School (CRE) et Réseau Entreprendre® (RE®). Nous avons réalisé, parallèlement, trois études longitudinales à travers lesquelles nous avons administré, à deux reprises et avec 8 mois d’intervalle le même questionnaire auprès de trois populations différentes : lauréats de Réseau Entreprendre® (population de base), les accompagnateurs et candidats non retenus (groupe témoin). Les trois premières vagues de questionnaires ont été lancées le 29 février 2012, les secondes, vers la fin du mois d’octobre 2012.Pour réaliser les traitements d’analyse, nous avons utilisé l’approche des régressions linéaires avec le logiciel SPSS.11 pour tester la nature des relations entre les variables clés de notre étude. Dans une deuxième partie d’analyse, nous avons réalisé deux études comparatives. / The issue of entrepreneur’s competence is quite central. However, the taking into account of this concept remains a persistent problem that inhibits the performance of new venture support and/or incubation programs and thereby hinders the development of the entrepreneurial phenomenon. In this research, we focused our interest on the concept of entrepreneurial competencies in order to replace accompanying person/new venture creator relationship at the center of new venture support process. We implemented a research based on nascent entrepreneurs self-perception of entrepreneurial competencies. Based on some typologies of entrepreneurial competencies, we used the typology proposed by Man et al. (2002). The authors proposed a conceptual model that links the SME’ entrepreneurs characteristics with the business performance.We started with the belief that it is very important to consider entrepreneurial competencies because our research is likely to produce new tools and help support’s practices to better understand and enhance the different dimensions of the entrepreneurial phenomenon. The issue raised in this research is as follows: to what extent a post-creation support structure contributes to the improvement of entrepreneurs self- perception of his entrepreneurial competencies? To answer this question, we opted for a quantitative and longitudinal empirical study. In order to access the research field and to collect the maximum of data, our study was conducted as part of a partnership between the Research Center in Entrepreneurship of EM Lyon Business School (CRE) and Réseau Entreprendre® (RE®). We carried out three longitudinal studies through which we administered twice, with 8 months interval between each time, the same questionnaire to three different populations namely: the winners of Réseau Entreprendre® (Lauréats) (baseline population), the accompanying persons and non-selected applicants (control group). The first three waves of questionnaires were launched on February 29, 2012, the second towards the end of October 2012. To achieve the treatment analysis, we used the approach of linear regressions with SPSS.11 software to test the nature of the relationships between key variables in our study. In the second part of analysis, we conducted two comparative studies.