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The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the articles presented in the special issue “Entrepreneurial learning dynamics in knowledge-intensive enterprises.” The special issue is inspired by recent research on entrepreneurial learning dynamics in knowledge-intensive enterprises literature. The aim is to extend and consolidate this emerging research area exploring entrepreneurship as a never-ending dynamic learning process, as well as, to cross-fertilize entrepreneurship and organizational learning studies.

The paper is based on a literature and published document review, experiential reflections and argument.

The paper reveals an integrative framework to highlight the breath of entrepreneurial learning research according to different level of analysis: the context where learning happen, the different typologies of entrepreneurial learning processes, the ontological levels at which learning can occur and the different typologies of entrepreneurial learners. Continuous learning processes allow entrepreneurs to develop and grow, as well as, enable knowledge-intensive enterprises to engage in strategic renewal processes.

Although, entrepreneurial learning research so far has focused on applying existing theories in the entrepreneurial context, more research is needed to broaden the perspective and understanding how entrepreneurial learning can help to face key entrepreneurship’s challenges in different context.

The paper presents an holistic approach of current entrepreneurial learning research and encourages researchers to explore how different learning types come into play in different entrepreneurial contexts (start-up initiatives, strategic renewal in incumbent enterprises, ventures development and growth).

The purpose of this paper is to explore how collaborative entrepreneurial learning (EL) processes between entrepreneurs and university students can enhance the entrepreneurial practices in the context of knowledge-intensive enterprises. These learning processes represent a valuable source for entrepreneurship development in incumbent enterprises in the forms of innovative products, services, processes or organizational renewal.

An extreme case study is the project “Mimprendo” (www.mimprendo.it), an initiative promoted by the Italian Conference of the University Colleges and the Italian Association of Young Entrepreneurs in collaboration with Italian universities. This is analyzed in the period 2009-2015, during which seven editions were developed.

A framework is presented based on collaborative EL processes to perform relevant entrepreneurial projects in knowledge-intensive enterprises. The framework provides a coherent and systematic approach to generate, select and implement entrepreneurial practices in incumbent companies starting from a project competition involving creative students and innovative entrepreneurs. EL processes in the community composed of entrepreneurs, experts and university students are grouped into the entrepreneurial phases of inspiration, exploration, exploitation, acceleration and growth, and include the learning processes of “intuition and sensing,” “contamination,” “experiential and contextual learning,” “experimenting and acting” and finally “thinking and reflecting.”

Implications for research can be identified according to many perspectives to deepen the centrality of the learning process in the research on knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship.

The framework results to be a promising approach to diffuse an entrepreneurial culture both in incumbent enterprises and in university students through a synergic collaboration among industry, university and institution. Practical implications could be derived for enterprise, students and educators involved in the design of innovative learning initiatives to sustain the development of an entrepreneurial mind-set.

The framework contributes to extending an emerging research area exploring entrepreneurship as a never-ending dynamic learning process. The involvement of brilliant university students in activating EL process with entrepreneurs in incumbent enterprises represents a novel aspect in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation.

With the fierce competition in a knowledge economy, knowledge-intensive enterprises (KIEs) make technological progress in their catching-up processes through implementing product innovation and process innovation. In this study, the aim is to understand the determinants of enterprise innovation type in China's catch-up environment. Further, this paper intends to deal with two related questions. First, what effect does the internal knowledge base have on KIEs' technology innovation activities? Second, considering the technology gap and technology development speed, what are the different impacts of the knowledge base on the type of technology innovation activities?

This paper collected data from 212 KIEs in China through a two-stage questionnaire survey, combined with statistical data for research. The hypothesis was tested by regression analysis. Specifically, descriptive statistics and regression analysis are introduced to test the hypothetical relationship between the knowledge base and technology innovation. Meanwhile, multiple regression is used to test whether there is any difference in the influence of technology gap and technology development speed on enterprise knowledge base and technology innovation. Finally, the corresponding robustness tests are done.

This study finds that in a sample of Yangtze River Delta KIEs, firms' knowledge base influences innovation types. Specifically, the knowledge base width (KBW) and knowledge base depth (KBD) positively influence process innovation, and KBD positively affects product innovation. Regarding the effects of catch-up context factors on KIEs’ innovation choice, a wide technology gap tends to positively influence product innovation in industries with high levels of KBW. Moreover, when technology development speed is high, its potential positive influence on process innovation will be more significant for industries with deeper knowledge bases.

This paper fills the research gap that existing studies ignore the relationship between types of technology innovation and knowledge base dimensions, especially for KIEs. First, this paper deepens the understanding of the impact mechanism of KIEs' existing knowledge base on innovation activities; the unique use of resources by enterprises is the basis of enterprises' competitive advantage and will become enterprises' competitive advantage. Second, this study indicates that against different backdrops of technology gap and technology development speed, enterprises with different knowledge bases will adopt different types of technology innovation activities. Third, this paper shows that a wider technology gap provides broader innovation space, so the technology gap plays a pulling role in KBW and product innovation, thus pushing forward enterprises' technological catch-up.

Entrepreneurial knowledge spurs innovation and, in turn, generates a competitive advantage. This paper aims to explore if entrepreneurial knowledge combined with the attitude to innovate can overcome the key “imperfections” of the innovation process generated by dynamic, current technological progress in the knowledge-intensive sector. The “imperfections” identified in risk management, asymmetric information in the knowledge management process and hold-up problems can all disrupt collaborative partnerships and limit opportunities for innovation.

A theory-building approach is applied which offers a case study analysis of two small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These two SMEs operate in Europe but in two different territories: the UK and Italy. The study explores three key imperfections, risk management, asymmetric information in the knowledge management process and hold-up problems, which occur in the innovation process.

The entrepreneurs face these imperfections by adopting an open innovation model. Notwithstanding, both entrepreneurs had to deal with all “imperfections”, and their skills, attributes, attitude and aptitude allowed them to grow their business and continually develop new products. Therefore, the imperfections do not limit the innovative capacity of an entrepreneur but rather enhance their challengeable attitude. In this regard, the case studies induce a further analysis on entrepreneurial knowledge intertwined with entrepreneurial risk management and networking skills.

The empirical significance of the two cases does not allow theorisation. However, this research offers interesting results which can be strengthened by a comparative case study with other countries or deeper investigation by applying a quantitative approach.

By leveraging entrepreneurial knowledge, the imperfections noted in the innovation process can be overcome. Entrepreneurial knowledge is recognised as the main asset of an enterprise if it is combined with external talent or human resources. Entrepreneurs aim to develop innovative approaches and ideas through establishing both formal and informal collaborative partnership relationships which are used thanks to the entrepreneurs’ networking skills, knowledge and abilities.

To address management issues in the development of flexible production systems in the enterprises of knowledge-intensive industries, this chapter considers four basic approaches to planning production processes. Based on these approaches, the methodology of the agent-based approach, which satisfies the fundamental requirements of today's production systems, is formulated, with much attention paid to the rules of dispatching as a key tool of operational control over the production plan and its implementation. The advantage of simulation-based approaches is that they can dynamically adjust the ongoing integration of planning, depending on the state of flexible production systems, in the use of combined approaches and methods of management of production processes.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an intelligent infrastructure for the reconciliation of knowledge management and e‐collaboration systems.

Literature on e‐collaboration, information management, knowledge management, learning process, and intellectual capital is mobilised in order to build the conceptual framework.

This paper presents a conceptual framework including a set of concepts and guidelines that can be used to specify an efficient knowledge infrastructure for networked enterprises.

Results from this study uphold the emerging research area of knowledge management in e‐collaboration systems. The proposed framework derived purely from theory and conceptual analysis; more work needs to be done in order to validate and experiment with the framework. Future research remains be carried out to apply the framework on a broader scale, and in particular to determine its applicability relative to various collaboration patterns and current technology development.

Results from this study are important for networked enterprises, especially knowledge‐intensive enterprises, who intend to build e‐collaboration systems to organize their knowledge base and to share it with their partners.

This paper is one of the first to address collaborative knowledge management in e‐collaboration systems with a focus on the promotion of learning process and the creation of intellectual capital.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an original six-phase model describing entrepreneurial learning in the transition of place-based enterprises toward a sustainable exploitation of natural common resources (commons).

The six-phase model proposed by this study explains the learning processes involving place-based enterprises through two important existing theories: adaptive co-management and Lachmann’s evolutionary, embedded theory of entrepreneurship. The proposed model integrates these two theories on the basis of a longitudinal case study on the fishing enterprises in an Italian marine protected area (MPA).

In the case study, the success factors identified by the adaptive co-management literature proved important in enabling an embedded entrepreneurial learning process consistent with Lachmann’s view. The case analysis allowed the authors to cluster these learning processes around six phases. Further, even if traditional fishing is not knowledge-intensive, this case shows the transition to a sustainable business model required intense efforts of educated institutional work and scientific research. Interestingly, the key learning processes were enabled by the emergence of a larger, networked social entity (a network form of organization) including the community of fishermen, the MPA management and a network of scientists studying the marine area ecosystem.

This study is explorative and relies on a single case study. Despite this limitation, it opens up new research paths in the fields of entrepreneurship, institutional work, network organizations and adaptive management of the commons.

This study is strongly interdisciplinary; it proposes an original model based on a theoretical view that is highly innovative for organization and management studies; and addresses a relevant but overlooked issue with important societal implications.

This study empirically examines the relationship between human capital ecosystems and entrepreneurial ecosystems. The study also investigates the mediating roles of digital knowledge capability and innovation capability and the moderating role of technology turbulence in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The study takes inputs from existing literature and resource-based view (RBV) and absorptive capacity theories and develops a theoretical model. Later, the model is validated using the structural equation modeling technique with data collected from India-based startup enterprises.

The authors found a nexus between human capital and entrepreneurial ecosystems. The study also highlights that enterprises' digital knowledge capability and innovation capability significantly influence the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The study also found that technology turbulence has a significant moderating impact on the relationship between digital knowledge capability and innovation capability in entrepreneurial ecosystems.

The study shows the importance of developing human capital for improving enterprises' innovation capability and digital knowledge capability, which are also important to develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurs can use the proposed model in their enterprises for appropriately developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The authors propose a theoretical model for entrepreneurial ecosystems, from the human capital perspective, which entrepreneurs could use to improve the overall organizational performance. Moreover, the model uses technology turbulence as a moderator, which is also a novel approach. The study also adds valuable knowledge to the overall body of literature of intellectual capital.

This paper aims to investigate three key factors (i.e. cognitive dimensions, the knowledge-driven approach and absorptive capacity) that are likely to determine the preference for informal inbound open innovation (OI) modes, through the lens of the OI model and knowledge-based view (KBV). The innovation literature has differentiated these collaborations into informal inbound OI entry modes and formal inbound OI modes, offering an advocative and conceptual view. However, empirical studies on these collaborations are still limited.

Building on the above-mentioned theoretical framework, the empirical research was performed in two stages. First, data were collected via a closed-ended questionnaire distributed to all the participants from the sample by e-mail. Second, to assess the hypotheses, structural equation modelling (SEM) via IBM® SPSS® Amos 20 was applied.

The empirical research was conducted on 175 small to medium enterprises in the United Kingdom, suggesting that the knowledge-driven approach is the strongest determinant, leading to a preference for informal inbound OI modes. The findings were obtained using SEM and are discussed in line with the theoretical framework.

Owing to the chosen context and sector of the empirical analysis, the research results may lack generalisability. Hence, new studies are proposed.

The paper includes implications for the development of informal inbound OI led by knowledge-driven approach.

This paper offers an empirical research to investigate knowledge-driven preferences in informal inbound OI modes.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between organisational learning capabilities (OLCs) and innovation performance (IP) in organisational contexts where knowledge creation and exploitation are the business’ main source of competitive advantage.

The study hypotheses are tested on a unique sample of 74 high-performance businesses operating in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) industries and non-knowledge intensive sectors in 2016. The study employs a sequential deductive triangulation analysis (QUAN → qual) based on linear regression models and qualitative interviews.

The results indicate that OLCs positively impact IP. Additionally, the findings reveal that this relationship is stronger in organisations where knowledge creation and exploitation constitute the main source of competitive advantage, namely, KIBS firms.

This paper offers insights into how the innovation outcomes of OLCs are heterogeneous across industries. This study contributes to a better understanding of the conditions under which the effects of developing learning-enhancing strategies occur in businesses operating in different industries.

Both knowledge generation and exploitation processes are critical for business success, and OLCs play a decisive role in this process. In this sense, the results suggest that managers need to turn their attention to the characteristics of business operations when considering the development of strategies aimed at enhancing OLCs.

The paper further explores the influence of OLCs on IP by analysing how organisational learning strategies interact with relevant organisational characteristics – that are linked here to the exploitation of knowledge-based resources – to yield superior IP.

Este trabajo analiza la relación entre capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo y desempeño innovador en contextos organizacionales donde tanto la creación como la explotación de conocimiento constituyen la principal fuente de ventaja competitiva de las empresas.

Para la verificación empírica de las hipótesis planteadas en este trabajo se emplea una base de datos del 2016 que incluye información de 74 empresas ‘gacela’ que operan en sectores de servicios intensivos en conocimiento (KIBS) y en industrias no intensivas en conocimiento. El estudio utiliza un análisis de triangulación secuencial deductiva (QUAN → qual) basado en modelos de regresión lineal y entrevistas en profundidad de corte cualitativo.

Los resultados indican que las capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo impactan positivamente el desempeño innovador. Además, los resultados revelan que esta relación es más pronunciada en empresas – empresas KIBS – donde la creación y la explotación de conocimiento son la principal fuente de ventaja competitiva.

Este trabajo ofrece resultados sobre la heterogeneidad de los rendimientos de las capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo, en términos de innovación. Además, este estudio contribuye a un mejor entendimiento de las condiciones bajo las cuales la implantación de estrategias orientadas a mejorar el aprendizaje organizacional se materializa en un mayor desempeño innovador en empresas que operan en distintos sectores económicos.

Tanto la creación como la explotación de conocimiento son procesos clave para el éxito empresarial, y las capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo juegan un papel fundamental en este proceso. En este sentido, los resultados del estudio sugieren que los directores y gestores de empresas deben tener en consideración las características de los procesos operativos de sus empresas a la hora de diseñar e implementar estrategias que buscan mejorar las capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo al interior de la empresa.

Este trabajo investiga en profundidad el efecto de las capacidades de aprendizaje organizativo sobre el desempeño innovador mediante un análisis que busca explicar cómo las estrategias de aprendizaje organizativo interactúan con importantes características de la empresa – las cuales asociamos a la explotación de recursos basados en conocimiento – para generar mayores niveles de desempeño innovador dentro de la empresa.