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How do entrepreneurs learn from critical events or significant entrepreneurial experience? It is an important field in entrepreneurship cognition and learning studies. Previous studies have given interpretations from many perspectives, such as effectuation, scenario change of entrepreneurial behaviors, cognitive development, situated learning, etc. These studies provide important clues for exploring the dynamic mechanism of entrepreneurship learning; the problems, such as narrow study angle, fragmentation of knowledge and lack of systematic explanation, however, have also been exposed. For this reason, this study aims to reveal the deep structure and the effectiveness mechanism of entrepreneurs’ learning from critical events, based on existing theoretical progress and specific cases, through the abstract method of retrospective analysis. A conceptual model of entrepreneurial critical events learning is built on this basis, thus deepening the understanding of entrepreneurial learning mechanism.

This study combines retrospection of critical realism with a single case study. On the one hand, data are collected through many channels, such as semi-structured interview, field observation and collection of secondhand information to describe events as detailed as possible. On the other hand, strict coding principles and processes are followed to ensure the validity and reliability of the research.

Entrepreneurial critical event learning reflects the legitimacy, competency and dominancy of entrepreneurial behavior script and leaves a positive influence on the quality improvement of entrepreneurial behavior script. Entrepreneurial critical event learning is an effectual process of decision-making and a process of situated learning and cognitive development. Thus, critical event learning plays an important role in enhancing the influence capacity of stakeholders.

Single case study is used in this paper and, thus, lacks comparison and verification of multi-case study. In addition, selection biases might have occurred during the process of retrospection.

This study broadens research on new enterprise generation process from the aspect of interaction between entrepreneurs and environment. This study reveals the deep structure and effectiveness mechanisms that restrain entrepreneurial behaviors. The study overcomes the problem of over-emphasis on institutional restriction and insufficient understanding on the subjective initiative of entrepreneurs in the research on institutional legitimacy. This study addresses over-emphasis on individual initiative and insufficient focus on behavior legitimacy in effectuation theory.

Marketing persuasive materials are often displayed on a curved surface (e.g. a curved hallway). This study aims to investigate how the curvature (concave vs convex) of a display surface influences the persuasion of the marketing appeals presented on it.

The conceptual framework was tested in a field experiment, a lab experiment and two online experiments on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Analyses of variance and mediation analysis were used to test the hypotheses.

This research demonstrates that a concave (vs convex) display surface may increase persuasion for marketing materials with social appeals. This occurs because a concave surface enhances consumers’ perception of self–other overlap, which is matched with the content of the social appeal presented on it, thereby enhancing the appeal’s persuasiveness. It further identifies the appeal content as an important moderator of the effect; a convex (vs concave) display would enhance persuasion when the marketing materials contain personal appeals.

Future research could investigate how a time delay (e.g. hours, days) and the curvature of a display board or wall would play a role in the effect of display curvature.

The findings offer a novel, simple and cost-effective approach to enhance persuasion for both nonprofit and for-profit marketing materials.

This research contributes to the persuasion literature by investigating the impact of one ubiquitous but overlooked aspect of the message setting (i.e. the curvature of the message’s display surface) on persuasion while holding the message source and content constant. It also advances knowledge on consumer shape perception by examining an underexplored shape (i.e. the curved shape of a display surface) that is nondiagnostic in message persuasion.

This study aims to compare rapid‐growth companies with slow‐growth ones in order to provide fresh insights into the attributes of Chinese rapid‐growth companies through an integrated research framework, which was adapted from the framework proposed by Wiklund and by Barringer.

To obtain data for analysis, the research selected the top 30 rapid‐growth firms and the bottom 30 slow‐growth firms from a data bank which contains complete financial data of 533 firms from 2001 to 2003. All data concerning rapid‐growth were coded either one or zero, and were analyzed by Fisher's Exact Test to find out the frequency of important growth variables.

It is found that the major differences between rapid‐growth and slow‐growth firms lie in different favorite firm resources and capacities, task environment, and entrepreneurial strategies. They can create greater value for success with certain entrepreneurs, and might spur those entrepreneurs to push their firms onto a rapid growth road. In addition, the variable of creating unique value emerges as a strong predictor of rapid growth. Entrepreneur orientation strategy is not found to be significantly facilitating rapid growth. This illustrates that all growth companies value highly entrepreneurship‐oriented strategy.

These research findings confirm that growth is not a random event and that entrepreneurs are not necessarily natural. These research findings will promote entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship in China.

There are two originalities in this research. First, the authors developed a new integrated framework based on previous research achievements. Second, it is the first empirical study concerning company growth variables in China.

Small businesses pay more attention to the ability to maintain the long‐term survival of the company because of the high bankruptcy rate in this sector of the economy. This paper analyses the contribution of the learning function to small business growth. Vinten, Lane and Hayes have reported research providing a Western perspective on this issue, and so this is complementary research providing an insight on the Chinese situation. Based on the findings of the interview survey, it provides suggestions about the learning function for small businesses in China.

This study aims to use the Timmons model to identify the pattern of entrepreneurial activity at micro‐level in China.

The paper employs a self‐administered questionnaire survey approach, involving a sample of MBA students and general public in China.

The analysis suggests that personality characteristics, cultural environment and economic environment are external factors influencing new venture creation.

The findings of this study suggest that supportive cultural environment and economic environment is more important for MBA entrepreneurs than for general public to encourage the former to start new businesses as they bear higher entrepreneurial opportunity cost.

The paper extends the macro approach of the GEM China Report to examine entrepreneurial activity in China at micro‐level.

This paper aims to build a theory model to examine the influencing mechanism of entrepreneurial environment on new firm performance based on network view and resource‐based view, and then carry out empirical research.

Data were obtained from 112 new firms, through the use of questionnaires, in Changchun city, China.

Evidence indicates that the entrepreneurial environment has an impact on new firm performance through entrepreneurial network and resource acquisition. The results show that eight out of ten hypotheses are supported.

In a hostile, dynamic and complex environment, the new firm should enhance its entrepreneurial network to ensure resource acquisition and then promote performance.

The paper shows definitely the significance of entrepreneurial network as a bridge between external environment and resource acquisition and new firm performance. Entrepreneurial network and resource acquisition are identified as important intermediary variables, and resource combination ability as a moderating variable. This paper examines the influence of external environment on new firm performance. The research has some theoretical and managerial implications for new firms' survival and obtaining growth in highly uncertain and turbulent environments.

The purpose of this paper is to locate those entrepreneur human capital elements which significantly influence an enterprise's growth performance, within both high‐tech and traditional enterprises, thereby helping entrepreneurs understand that human capital elements will provide different impacts within different industries.

Under some necessary research assumptions, the statistical analysis described in this paper uses data collected from a questionnaire survey and is performed under the SPSS16.0 Program.

An enterprise growth model is built from the perspectives of entrepreneur human capital. Analysis shows that human capital elements of the same entrepreneur have different impacts on the performance of business growth in different industries. The theoretical model provides a better explanation of the high‐tech enterprises' growth performance. Innovation and business growth performances from a high‐tech enterprise have greater reliance on human capital of entrepreneurs than the traditional industries.

Most current studies of the human capital of entrepreneurs focus on the analysis of background characteristics, but inadequate attention has been given to the relationship between human capital and the enterprises' growth performance, as well as to the comparative analysis of entrepreneurs' human capital in high‐tech enterprises and traditional enterprises. This paper, however, compares and analyzes such relationships between high‐tech enterprises and traditional enterprises.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of entrepreneurial thinking systems on risk‐taking propensity and entrepreneurial behavior.

The research was conducted using an original data set of 231 entrepreneurs in China. The data were analyzed through regressing models.

It is found that, in China, the experiential system has a positive impact on risk‐taking propensity yet a negative impact on entrepreneurial behavior; however, the rational system has a negative impact on risk‐taking propensity yet a positive impact on entrepreneurial behavior.

This paper focuses on entrepreneurs in a specific geographical region, China. Despite the hypothesis, the impact of thinking systems on entrepreneurial behavior highlights the importance of the rational system.

Research of entrepreneurs by foreign scholars has focused on the risk‐perception perspective, and the only national research is based on the authors' subjective experience and lacks an empirical basis. Based on Western theory, this paper empirically studies the impact of entrepreneurial thinking systems on risk‐taking propensity and entrepreneurial behavior in China.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the acquisition of resources and formal organization on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of new ventures.

The research was conducted using an original data set of 199 new ventures in China. The data were analyzed through regressing models.

It was found that new ventures experiencing difficulty in acquiring resources have higher levels of EO; formal organization is associated with the proactiveness dimension of EO significantly and positively.

First, the measures of EO were mainly used to study established firms. The measures of EO may need to be modified to take into account new ventures' uniqueness. Second, this study focused on new ventures operating in a specific geographical region, China.

New ventures should build their formal management systems so that they can integrate as organic organizations to engage in entrepreneurial activities. New ventures lack regulations and their development mainly depends on entrepreneurs. The formal regulations can help new ventures better use and integrate the power of the whole organization systems to identify and explore external opportunities.

Research on EO has focused on established firms while the EO of new ventures is seldom studied. These findings indicate the uniqueness of new ventures and contribute to a better understanding of their behaviors.