Comprised of a cover story and five separate but interrelated articles, this dissertation explores entrepreneurial learning. By connecting multiple theoretical perspectives, reviewing extant literature, using four qualitative datasets, and building theory inductively, the articles explain components to and mechanisms of entrepreneurial learning. This dissertation is one of the first to explore the essence of entrepreneurial learning by incorporating non-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs simultaneously, cognitive processes, and contextual variables.  Learning lies at the core of entrepreneurship, and scholars have even argued that a theory of entrepreneurship requires a theory of learning. The literature suggests that experiences in the context of entrepreneurship triggers entrepreneurial learning, and that such learning relates to achieving ambitious goals, the discovery of new opportunities and better overall performance. Entrepreneurial learning has also been highlighted in contexts outside entrepreneurship and as a mean to fostering future entrepreneurs and developing people’s entrepreneurial attributes and characteristics. The idea is that entrepreneurship is a way of thinking and acting and that entrepreneurial learning can be of use to anyone, even to those lacking entrepreneurial experience. Entrepreneurial learning literature, both inside and outside the context of entrepreneurship, emphasizes triggers of entrepreneurial learning, but does not recognize components that enable those triggers to be recognized and acted on and the underlying mechanisms that distinguish entrepreneurial learning from other types of learning. This gap makes it difficult to assess what entrepreneurial learning is and how it can be enhanced for both entrepreneurs and people preparing for entrepreneurship. This dissertation explains how and why entrepreneurial learning can be understood as a simultaneous and active regulation of cognition, motivation, and emotions to achieve goals. This elaboration captures core components and the mechanism of entrepreneurial learning, and illustrates how it can be understood and enhanced in various contexts.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (School of Business and Finance) / Entrepreneurial firms, entrepreneurial capital, entrepreneurial ecosystem and entrepreneurial economy are a few terminologies that have emerged since the resurgence of entrepreneurship, arising from the 1990's entrepreneurial revolution in the United States of America. Entrepreneurship education, a paradigm shift from the conventional, has been identifies as being critical to fostering entrepreneurship, building entrepreneurial capital, growing entrepreneurial economy and ultimately delivering sustainable economic growth and developmend for any nation - emerging or developed. From America to Africa, entrepreneurship modules with varies objectives and designs have multiplied in the last decade.

Paper title: Transition towards entrepreneurship Purpose: This paper explores and creates understanding regarding the identity transition of West Africa immigrants towards entrepreneurship. Methodology: This study applied a qualitative research method that was exploratory and descriptive in nature. Primary and secondary data were collected and used as sources of information. Primary data were obtained through multiple in-depth interviews strategy; the interviews were designed in a semi-structured format. In total, seven African immigrant entrepreneurs were respondents in this study. Secondary data utilized in this study comprised of information obtained via scientific materials and organizational websites. A convenience sampling method was determined as the appropriate method for selection of entrepreneurs’ sample that was utilized in this study. Key findings: This study found immigrant entrepreneurs to have a tendency to expose themselves to new practices and knowledge within their new environments. West Africa immigrants’ entrepreneurs are tenacious about valuable information in their new environment, they have a tendency to integrate new information to align with their previous work experiences. In the quest for channels to test business ideas acquired or perceived, immigrant entrepreneurs often try out their new ideas on a smaller scale. This study uncovered that a successful trial process tends to persuade immigrants towards entrepreneurship once an opportunity is well established. Immigrant entrepreneurs construct latent attitudes regarding potential new business prospects in order to solidify an entrepreneurial identity. Implication for practice: This study challenges the assertion made in past literatures which expressly concluded that people considered entrepreneurship as a highly professionalized occupation and stated that only few percentage of persons devotedly take the necessary steps to start a business. This study rejects the above argument by offering guidelines to anyone who may have entrepreneurial ideas or objectives but hesitates to make the identity change that is substantial to help create a transition.  Furthermore, revelations in this research showed that setting up a new business venture from scratch is conceivable, this study highlighted some extensive development processes that are essential in generating entrepreneurial identity.  Future research direction: Adequate attention and recognition have not been awarded to West African entrepreneurs in western society, and as well as in previous academic research. In western societies, people still view West African entrepreneurs as second-hand business minded traders. Hence, this study encourages upcoming academia to explore and create emphasis regarding the impact businesses owned by West Africa immigrants’ entrepreneurs produce in our today’s society. In conjunction to the above suggestion, it should be important to highlight useful channels through which our society (especially non-migrants) can support in encouraging and empowering various immigrant entrepreneurs towards growing their businesses in their various communities.

This study explores the internal and external views of entrepreneurship among students from various fields of study, including medicine, law, business, engineering and humanities. It investigates the likelihood of students engaging in entrepreneurial activities within their respective fields and identifies target groups with less positive perceptions and lower inclinations towards entrepreneurship. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, including a literature review and an interview with an entrepreneur from the medical field, we found that students in medicine show the least interest in entrepreneurship, while students in business show the highest, with other fields of study falling in between. These insights highlight the need for comprehensive entrepreneurship education and courses tailored to the specific fields of study to foster an entrepreneurial mindset among students by exposing them to its possibilities. By promoting innovation and entrepreneurial thinking, such initiatives hold significant potential for creating valuable opportunities within different academic domains.

This thesis contributes to our knowledge on the emergence of environmental entrepreneurs. The study is guided by the research question, “how do UK environmental entrepreneurs start to form their distinctive environmental entrepreneurial thinking” and analyses the development of the environmental entrepreneurial mindset in the UK, through a theory of practice perspective. Based on a three-stage data collection process (preliminary focus group, semi-structured interviews and life stories), the study (1) conceptualises the construction of the environmental entrepreneurial mindset, (2) investigates the experiences of constraints for practice and (3) analyses differences in habitus and constraints on the basis of the sampling dimensions, type (social environmental and commercial) and gender (male and female). The study was undertaken under a social constructivist perspective and follows the naturalistic paradigm (Guba, 1978). The rigour (or trustworthiness) of the qualitative approach has been established according to perspectives by Mason (2001) and Guba and Lincoln (1985). The empirical basis of the study is comprised of a three stage design of discursive interviews, involving overlapping collective (focus group) and individual (life stories, in-depth interviews) data collection techniques, with a partly gathering structure (through semi-structured questions). A preliminary focus group identified key themes relevant to the study’s objectives and the concepts of the theory of practice (field, capital, and habitus). Three life stories refined the themes and analysed them within the context of entrepreneurs’ lives. The two stages enabled the development of questions targeting themes for the in-depth interviews and the cross case content analysis. For sampling purposes, the Maximum Variation Sampling (MVS) strategy was employed, which enabled identification and analysis of common and divergent themes (Miller & Crabtree, 1999) and by over-coming the limitations of the sample size, it provided a conditional representativeness. The findings show that environmental entrepreneurs accumulate divergent forms of cultural, social and economic capital, which shapes their entrepreneurial and environmental mindsets, triggering the creation of a disposition (habitus) towards setting up an environmental enterprise. Studying the formation of the environmental entrepreneurial mindset addresses a relevant knowledge gap and offers theoretical and methodological contributions. It also confers implications for practice, with a particular reference to entrepreneurial education and policymaking.

The digital age has unleashed limitless opportunities and transformed how we work, play and live. As a result, more people embrace the digital nomad lifestyle to fulfill both personal and professional goals. This research assesses the advantages and disadvantages that are associated with this lifestyle. In addition, I examine the digital nomad characteristics in Bali and how the digital nomad community in Bali supports professional development. Data were collected during a two-month field study in Bali, which is one of the world’s most popular digital nomad hubs. The findings suggest that digital nomads are predominantly millennials from advanced economies who have different academic backgrounds. Freedom is the primary advantage, while overall job satisfaction and productivity dramatically differ. Overall, members of Bali’s digital nomad community feel supported in their professional development. “Spend your days on a nine to five You waste your time on a central line What do you love? Work two jobs tryin' stay alive You spend your money on a Friday night Tell me, what do you love?” – Jacob Banks / Digitaliseringen har skapat oändligt många möjligheter och förändrat hur vi arbetar, umgås och lever i dagens samhälle. Det har resulterat i att allt fler provar på en livsstil som digital nomad för att uppnå både personliga och professionella mål. Den här uppsatsen analyserar fördelar och nackdelar som är förknippade med en livsstil som digital nomad. Dessutom undersöker jag vad som karaktäriserar digitala nomader på Bali och hur gemenskapen bland digitala nomader på Bali kan gynna professionell utveckling. Insamling av data skedde under en två månaders fältstudie på Bali, vilket är en av världens mest populära digital nomad hubbar. Resultatet visar att digitala nomader är främst millenials från i-länder med olika akademisk bakgrund. Frihet är den främsta fördelen, medan generell arbetstillfredsställelse och produktivitet varierar dramatiskt. Medlemmar av Balis digitala nomadgemenskap känner att de utvecklas professionellt. “Spend your days on a nine to five You waste your time on a central line What do you love? Work two jobs tryin' stay alive You spend your money on a Friday night Tell me, what do you love?” – Jacob Banks

The digital age has unleashed limitless opportunities and transformed how we work, play and live. As a result, more people embrace the digital nomad lifestyle to fulfill both personal and professional goals. This research assesses the advantages and disadvantages that are associated with this lifestyle. In addition, I examine the digital nomad characteristics in Bali and how the digital nomad community in Bali supports professional development. Data were collected during a two-month field study in Bali, which is one of the world’s most popular digital nomad hubs. The findings suggest that digital nomads are predominantly millennials from advanced economies who have different academic backgrounds. Freedom is the primary advantage, while overall job satisfaction and productivity dramatically differ. Overall, members of Bali’s digital nomad community feel supported in their professional development. “Spend your days on a nine to five You waste your time on a central line What do you love? Work two jobs tryin' stay alive You spend your money on a Friday night Tell me, what do you love?” – Jacob Banks / Digitaliseringen har skapat oändligt många möjligheter och förändrat hur vi arbetar, umgås och lever i dagens samhälle. Det har resulterat i att allt fler provar på en livsstil som digital nomad för att uppnå både personliga och professionella mål. Den här uppsatsen analyserar fördelar och nackdelar som är förknippade med en livsstil som digital nomad. Dessutom undersöker jag vad som karaktäriserar digitala nomader på Bali och hur gemenskapen bland digitala nomader på Bali kan gynna professionell utveckling. Insamling av data skedde under en två månaders fältstudie på Bali, vilket är en av världens mest populära digital nomad hubbar. Resultatet visar att digitala nomader är främst millenials från i-länder med olika akademisk bakgrund. Frihet är den främsta fördelen, medan generell arbetstillfredsställelse och produktivitet varierar dramatiskt. Medlemmar av Balis digitala nomadgemenskap känner att de utvecklas professionellt. “Spend your days on a nine to five You waste your time on a central line What do you love? Work two jobs tryin' stay alive You spend your money on a Friday night Tell me, what do you love?” – Jacob Banks