Using Communities of Practice for Entrepreneurial Learning

Using Communities of Practice for Entrepreneurial Learning

Gosteva, N.

Den Hartigh, E. (mentor)
De Vries, P. (mentor)
Hennis, T. (mentor)

Technology, Policy and Management

TSE

Management of Technology

2013-06-20

Start-ups engage in entrepreneurial learning throughout their existence. Although the process is highly complex and difficult, they benefit from support offered by incubator. Elements of incubator support are able to create a positive environment with certain requirements that contribute to interorganisational learning and acquisition of knowledge. However, incubators need a tool that is able to embed the learning mechanisms that make learning more effective. Communities of Practice can be used as such tool. Therefore incubator should initiate a CoP. Yet that is not as simple as we wish for. Communities of Practice evolve and disband out of necessity of the members rather than being formed and started (Liedka, 1999). Therefore initiating a community of practice is a process of understanding the members and their needs. Incubator not only influences this process, they also define the rules and the boundaries for the CoP. This research investigates the elements that are important for Entrepreneurial Learning of ICT start-ups. These elements serve as a base for the components of CoPs that should be introduced during the design by the incubator.

Entrepreneurship
Communities of Practice
Incubator Community
Entrepreneurial Learning
Growth of ICT start-ups
Incubator Support

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:08a82140-ced9-4bec-9706-af75ca421c37

2013-06-20

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2013 Gosteva, N.