Negative Emotions To Entrepreneurial Mindset

r Academy of Management Learning & Education
2024, Vol. 23, No. 1, 88–127.

https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2022.0260
FROM NEGATIVE EMOTIONS TO ENTREPRENEURIAL

MINDSET: A MODEL OF LEARNING THROUGH
EXPERIENTIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
ELIANA CROSINA
Babson College
ERIN FREY
University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business
ANDREW CORBETT
DANNA GREENBERG
Babson College
Negative experiences are pervasive and consequential in entrepreneurship: on the one

hand, they have the potential to unlock higher-order learning; on the other, they can lead
an entrepreneur to retreat. This presents a tension for experiential entrepreneurship
education: how to expose students to negative experiences to promote their learning
while mitigating the risks of this exposure. We investigate this puzzle through a longitu-
dinal, inductive field study of undergraduate students in a yearlong experiential entre-
preneurship course. We find that students experienced an array of circumstances that
triggered negative emotions—or critical incidents—related to developing their venture
idea and to the interpersonal dynamics associated with this process. Planned elements
of the course pedagogy—planned pedagogical scaffolds—as well as elements that
emerged from students’ engagement in the learning process—emergent individual buf-
fers—facilitated students’ ongoing sensemaking of critical incidents. In the moment,
such sensemaking contributed to the de-escalation of negative emotions and to the cogni-
tive reframing of given critical incidents. Over time, ongoing sensemaking promoted the
development of an entrepreneurial mindset and of resilient behaviors. By explaining
how students learn from critical incidents in an experiential entrepreneurship course,
we contribute to research on experiential learning, experiential entrepreneurship educa-
tion, and entrepreneurial mindset.
Entrepreneurship education researchers have Fayolle, Krueger, & Walmsley, 2017; Padilla-Angulo,
frequently espoused the economic benefits of en- Garcia-Cabrera, & Lucia-Casademunt, 2022). Decades
trepreneurship as justification for the explosive of research at the nexus of economics, management,
nan,
interest in entrepreneurship education (Nabi, Li~ and public policy has suggested that entrepreneurship
spurs innovation (Acs & Audretsch, 1988; Baumol,
2002) and creates jobs (Davidsson, Delmar, &
We would like to thank our editor, Paul Hibbert, and Wiklund, 2006) and in doing so drives economic
our three anonymous reviewers for their developmental growth (Malecki, 2018). Today, more than 5,000 entre-
feedback on our paper. We would also like to thank Kathy preneurship courses are offered around the globe,
Lund Dean and Einar Rasmussen for their helpful com- with universities providing majors and minors, along
ments on earlier drafts of this manuscript, as well as Scott with affiliated centers, institutes, and co-curricular
Taylor, Bill LaPoint, and Rachel Zelcer for their support of activities, all focused on entrepreneurship (Gabriels-
this work. Finally, a special thank you to our informants—
son, H€agg, Landstr€om, Politis, & Sørheim, 2020).
without them, this work would simply not have been pos-
sible. The first two authors contributed equally to the man-
Yet, in emphasizing the positive impact of entrepre-
uscript, and appear alphabetically. The second two neurship, some scholars may have inadvertently dis-
authors contributed equally to the manuscript, and appear regarded the challenges and failures that are equally
alphabetically. prevalent throughout the entrepreneurial process.
Accepted by Paul Hibbert Indeed, in the United States alone, approximately
88
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2024 Crosina, Frey, Corbett, and Greenberg 89
20% of businesses fail in their first year, and only half Our longitudinal, inductive field study probes
survive past the five-year mark (Carter, 2021). The rate into this tension between, on the one hand, the need
of first-year failure globally is even higher, ranging to expose students to critical incidents, and, on the
between 20% and 40% (OECD, 2020). Even busi- other, the host of possible pedagogical challenges
nesses that do survive face significant challenges, and risks associated with such exposure (Cope,
ranging from product failures to crushing market feed- 2005, 2011; Mandel & Noyes, 2016; Matlay, 2009). In
back to conflicts among founding team members. particular, we followed 40 undergraduate students
Such situations trigger negative emotions for entrepre- enrolled in a yearlong experiential entrepreneurship
neurs and can lead them to question, and in some course (“EntX”), whereby students developed and
cases even revisit, their prior worldviews and self- launched new ventures.
understandings. Cope and Watts (2000) defined these As is often the case with inductive research (Pratt,
situations as “critical incidents.” 2023; Pratt, Kaplan & Whittington, 2020), we entered
Within the broader field of entrepreneurship, how this study with a broader research question, namely
entrepreneurs experience, learn, and recover from what, how, and why do students learn from experi-
failure, and from critical incidents more broadly, has ential entrepreneurship education? However, criti-
received growing attention (e.g., Cope & Watts, 2000; cal incidents quickly emerged as a central theme to
Lack eus, 2014; Shepherd, 2003). This focus may be student learning. We thus narrowed our focus to
attributed to the pervasiveness of critical incidents what and how do students learn from critical inci-
and to the growing recognition that how entrepre- dents in an experiential entrepreneurship course?
neurs process and learn from critical incidents is Our longitudinal data address this question, theoriz-
consequential for their own development, for the ing both the process and content of learning from
development of their ventures, and even for that of critical incidents.
the economy (Pollack, Rutherford, & Nagy, 2012; We found that, in an experiential entrepreneur-
Wiklund, Nikolaev, Shir, Foo, & Bradley, 2019). ship course, students’ learning from critical inci-
Indeed, as Byrne & Shepherd (2015: 376) noted, “as dents comprises a cyclical process and emerges over
entrepreneurs … learn from failure, and act on new time. Specifically, the experience of given critical
knowledge, economies advance.” incidents, generally related to venture idea develop-
Despite the prevalence and importance of learning ment or to the interpersonal dynamics associated
from critical incidents throughout the entrepreneur- with it, triggered the activation, and in many cases,
ial process, entrepreneurship education is lagging in the intensification of negative emotions. Planned
this area (Lackeus, 2014). As a result, scholars have elements of the course pedagogy, particularly faculty
called for research that investigates learning from coaching and conceptual framing, or planned peda-
critical incidents within the entrepreneurship class- gogical scaffolds, facilitated students’ ongoing sense-
room (Nabi et al., 2017). Indeed, to prepare students making of critical incidents. Such sensemaking was
for entrepreneurship, it would seem important to also aided by students’ own engagement in the learn-
find ways of exposing them to critical incidents ing process, and especially by the experience of
while helping them develop the skills and knowl- small wins and by the development of a provisional
edge to navigate the negative emotions that imbue entrepreneurial identity, which we clustered together
critical incidents and the entrepreneurial process under emergent individual buffers. Importantly, as
more broadly (Dobson, Castro Nieto, Dobson, & students continued to experience and make sense of
Moros Ochoa, 2021). critical incidents, taking cues from their pedagogical
It is especially unclear how pedagogy might sup- environment, they developed an entrepreneurial
port learning from critical incidents (Shepherd, mindset—that is, they developed an adaptable
2003). Negative emotions associated with critical way of thinking and decision-making under uncer-
incidents can inadvertently erode students’ confi- tainty (Ireland, Hitt, & Sermon, 2003; Lynch &
dence and self-efficacy, and in doing so obstruct Corbett, 2023; Naumann, 2017). Such a mindset
their learning (Clancy & Vince, 2019; Edelson, Lo, was associated with the enactment of resilient
Nelson, Stark, Stratton, & van Esch, 2019; Elmes, behaviors1 that transcended course completion.
2019; Lund Dean & Jolly, 2012). As a result, cur-
rent theorizing pertaining to how students learn
from critical incidents that permeate the entre- 1
We follow Masten and Coatsworth’s (1998: 206) defi-
preneurial process remains underdeveloped nition of resilient behaviors as, “the manifest[ation] of
(Lack eus, 2014). competence in the context of significant challenges.”
90 Academy of Management Learning & Education March
By explaining how and what students learn from stock of their behaviors (e.g., Cope, 2011; Cope &
critical incidents in an experiential entrepreneur- Down, 2010; Corbett, 2005; Holcomb, Ireland, Holmes
ship course, we show that when the appropriate ped- & Hitt, 2009; Politis & Gabrielsson, 2009). Thus, entre-
agogical structures are in place, critical incidents preneurs’ experiences serve as central “building
can foster students’ development and learning. More blocks” for their learning (e.g., Cope, 2005; Fayolle &
specifically, we contribute to research on experien- Gailly, 2008; Holcomb et al., 2009; Politis, 2005).
tial entrepreneurship education by theorizing how Experiences that trigger emotional activation tend
experiential pedagogy design and content support to catalyze learning, especially for entrepreneurs. To
students’ learning from critical incidents. An addi- illustrate, in the context of business failure, Byrne
tional contribution of our work is articulating the and Shepherd (2015) found that negative emotions
process by which the experience of repeated or mul- motivated founders to make sense of their loss, and
tiple critical incidents over time shapes the develop- that positive emotions unlocked the necessary cog-
ment of an entrepreneurial mindset. In doing so, we nitive resources to revisit, and eventually learn from,
move from a metacognitive conceptualization of the failure event. Learning occurred over time as
entrepreneurial mindset toward one that emphasizes founders continued to revisit their failure experi-
process. Finally, we contribute to the literature on ences (Byrne & Shepherd, 2015).
learning from negative experiences in entrepreneur- As this example suggests, although both positive
ship by shedding light on the granular interplay of and negative experiences are associated with learn-
action, cognition, and negative emotions that yields ing (Pittaway & Cope, 2007), negative experiences
learning from loss and failure. serve as pivotal learning moments for entrepreneurs
(Byrne & Shepherd, 2015; Corbett, 2005; Fang He,
THEORETICAL OVERVIEW Siren, Singh, Solomon, & von Krogh, 2018; Shepherd,
2003, 2004). Cope and Watts (2000) defined these
To orient the reader toward our findings, and to entrepreneurial experiences as “critical incidents”—
establish a conceptual basis for our study, we inte- negative, emotionally charged, circumstances that
grate entrepreneurial learning, entrepreneurship edu- range from discrete events to lingering unresolved
cation, and experiential learning research. Because issues to more consequential crises. Critical incidents
extant research on how entrepreneurship pedagogy may thus span from the closing of a business to the
supports student learning from negative experiences loss of a key partnership to a problem with product
and failure is still limited (see Shepherd, 2004), we development to an open conflict within an entrepre-
begin by drawing from broader research on entrepreneurial team (Cope, 2003).
neurial learning. Specifically, we leverage research Entrepreneurs tend to have immediate, emotional,
on learning from loss and failure in entrepreneurship and negative reactions to critical incidents, including
as it offers pervasive examples of critical incidents, as anger, fear, and frustration. Yet, over time, critical
well as of entrepreneurs’ responses. We then high- incidents can result in positive outcomes, including
light opportunities and challenges associated with accelerating entrepreneurs’ self-awareness and devel-
exposing students to critical incidents drawing from opment (Cope & Watts, 2000; Shepherd, 2004; Snell,
research on experiential teaching and learning. 1992). How critical incidents are experienced and
processed plays an important role in shaping these
Entrepreneurship as a Process of Learning outcomes (Byrne & Shepherd, 2015).
Because entrepreneurship research on learning
Scholars have long described entrepreneurship as a from critical incidents focused primarily on learning
process of learning2 (Cope, 2011; Minniti & Bygrave, from failure and loss, we turn to this body of work as
2001), noting that “how learning takes place … is fun- it can sensitize us toward mechanisms and influ-
damental to our understanding of the entrepreneurial ences that may extend beyond learning from just fail-
process” (Wang & Chugh, 2015: 11). Entrepreneurs ure and loss events.
tend to learn predominantly by doing (Cope & Watts,
2000; Marsick & Watkins, 1990: 15), acting and taking Learning from Critical Incidents: Insights
from Research on Failure and Loss
2
Borrowing language coined by others, in this paper we in Entrepreneurship
define learning as encapsulating an individual’s shift in
potential behaviors or changes in their cognitions because Learning from failure and loss is foundational to
of experience (Marsick & Watkins, 1990). entrepreneurs’ growth and development due to both
the frequency and the consequential implications of Shepherd, 2016). Knowledge of, and experiences
failure and loss in the entrepreneurial process with, failure tend to mitigate negative emotional
(McGrath, 1999; Shepherd, Patzelt, Williams, & reactions, thus facilitating recovery and learning
Warnecke, 2014; Ucbasaran, Shepherd, Lockett & (Cope, 2011; Politis & Gabrielsson, 2009). Further-
Lyon, 2013; Wolfe & Shepherd, 2015). The term more, an entrepreneur’s context can also enhance
“failure” generally describes what happens to the their recovery from failure (Shepherd, Patzelt &
business (Sitkin, 1992), while “loss” denotes how an Wolfe, 2011). The normalization of failure on the
entrepreneur experiences the demise of their organi- part of valued others can help alleviate the stigma
zation (Shepherd, 2003). Because there tends to generally associated with failure (Shepherd et al.,
be an emotional connection between an entrepre- 2011), thereby reducing the severity of one’s nega-
neur and their venture (Cova & Svanfeldt, 1993; tive emotional reactions (Ashforth & Kreiner, 2002).
Wagenschwanz & Grimes, 2021), business failure Entrepreneurs’ experiences of failure have been
triggers negative emotional reactions (Shepherd, associated with varied outcomes (Ucbasaran et al.,
2004), often akin to how individuals feel when they 2013), both positive (McGrath, 1999) and negative
lose a loved one (Crosina & Pratt, 2019). (Cope, 2011; Shepherd, 2003). With respect to the
Under these circumstances, learning involves sen- former, the oscillation between negative and posi-
semaking (Byrne & Shepherd, 2015). Sensemaking tive emotional states, and the accompanying sense-
helps individuals understand events and issues that making, can spark higher-order learning (Byrne &
are surprising, confusing, or that in some ways violate Shepherd, 2015). This type of learning is also
their assumptions and expectations (Weick, 1995). referred to as double-loop learning (Argyris & Sch€ on,
Specifically, individuals seek new understandings, 1978; Greiner, 1972) and tends to yield substantive
taking cues from their respective environments, changes in one’s mind and behavior (Cope, 2003;
and, in doing so, develop plausible explanations for Pittaway & Thorpe, 2012). In addition, knowledge
what might have happened that helps them find gained through failure may facilitate successful
order or “make sense” of what occurred. This process entrepreneurial reemergence (Hessels, Grilo, Thurik,
enables them to enact their environment (Maitlis & & van der Zwan, 2011; Lattacher & Wdowiak, 2020;
Christianson, 2014), develop new knowledge and Stam & Schutjens, 2006).
skills (Spreitzer, Sutcliffe, Dutton, Sonenshein, & Failure can, however, also bear negative conse-
Grant, 2005), and in some cases even develop new quences for entrepreneurs. Indeed, following a fail-
schemas, or new ways of understanding the world ure experience, entrepreneurs may develop anxiety,
(Bingham & Kahl, 2013). panic attacks, phobias, and in some cases, even phys-
As straightforward as this may sound, this sense- iological symptoms such as high blood pressure and
making process can be complex (Stroebe & Schut, weight loss (Cope, 2011; Singh, Corner, & Pavlovich,
1999). This is especially true in the context of failure 2007). The loss of a business can spawn such
or loss. To start, recovering from failure requires that heightened negative emotional states that entrepre-
entrepreneurs process their loss. Entrepreneurs gen- neurs may struggle to move forward (Shepherd,
erally oscillate between two primary mental states as 2003). More specifically, negative emotions can be
they do so: between loss and restoration orientations so cognitively taxing that they may interfere with
(Shepherd, 2003; Stroebe & Schut, 1999). The former one’s ability to focus and process information
emphasizes what no longer is or can be, while the (Mogg, Mathews, Bird, & Macgregor-Morris, 1990;
latter focuses on possibilities, or on what could be. It Shepherd, Covin, & Kuratko, 2009), thus inhibiting
is by moving between these two emotional states sensemaking (Maitlis & Sonenshein, 2010) and
that entrepreneurs generally find continuity, and ultimately one’s capacity to learn (Bower, 1992).
eventually they move forward (Shepherd, 2003). Repeated failures without any successes can also
These emotional states also influence how entrepre- result in “a loss of faith and to the inability of con-
neurs make sense of their experiences (Byrne & quering adversity (Brunstein & Gollwitzer, 1996)”
Shepherd, 2015), which is the foundation for acquir- (Ucbasaran et al., 2013: 179). Taken together, fol-
ing and applying new knowledge and skills (Spreitzer lowing business failure or loss, negative emotions
et al., 2005). tend to serve a dual and antithetical function: on
Learning from failure or loss can be enhanced or the one hand, they motivate learning behaviors,
hindered by what an entrepreneur does, those to and on the other they take up cognitive resources,
whom one turns to for support (Shepherd, 2004), as thus potentially inhibiting learning (Byrne &
well as by one’s prior set of experiences (Mueller & Shepherd, 2015; Fang He et al., 2018).
Pedagogical Approaches for Learning from operating new ventures as a core learning mecha-
Critical Incidents nism for the duration, or the majority of the duration
of, an entrepreneurship course (Lackeus & Williams
Given how pervasive loss and failure are in the
Middleton, 2015; Ollila & Williams Middleton,
entrepreneurial process, and given that prior experi-
2011; Sadek & Loutfy, 2013; Tosey, Dhaliwal, &
ence with loss or failure, when properly processed,
Hassinen, 2015). Here, as students work through an
can bolster one’s learning and even one’s future
array of evolving situations associated with the
entrepreneurial endeavors, it would seem important
entrepreneurial process, their experiences become
to find ways of exposing students to these central
primary bases for reflection, and over time, they feed
aspects of the entrepreneurial process. More than
the development of entrepreneurial competencies
just failure and loss experiences per se, entrepre-
(Dobson et al., 2021). Thus, experiential pedagogy
neurship educators should find constructive ways of
offers a promising window to explore the relationship
integrating critical incidents into their pedagogy as a
between critical incidents and student learning,
means of helping students develop entrepreneurial
given that such a pedagogy exposes students to the
competencies (Cope & Watts, 2000).
complexities and ambiguities of entrepreneurship
Shepherd (2004) provided recommendations re-
(Dobson et al., 2021; Gaggiotti, Jarvis, & Richards,
garding the pedagogical approaches and tools that
2020; Neck & Corbett, 2018; Taatila, 2010).
educators might deploy to expose their students to
Yet, empirical research that assesses the veracity of
critical incidents. For example, he suggested activi-
these ideas, probing into students’ experiential learn-
ties such as inviting entrepreneurs whose businesses
ing, including how students learn and develop from
recently failed to act as guest speakers and using
critical incidents, is lagging (for a comparable cri-
case studies about failed businesses as conversation
tique, see Fayolle & Gailly, 2008). Indeed, most
starters. He also noted that stimulating reflection
research in this area has been theoretical, and the few
about students’ grief-recovery experiences from con-
empirical studies that do exist have only alluded to a
texts other than the classroom may bolster students’
relationship between critical incidents and entrepre-
beliefs that they can successfully deal with future
neurial learning (e.g., Dobson et al., 2021; Lack eus,
negative experiences (Shepherd, 2004). These ap-
2014). As a result, our understanding of how and
proaches focus on students imagining, vicariously
what students learn from critical incidents—and par-
experiencing, and reflecting on hypothetical or
ticularly the relationship between critical incidents
others’ critical incidents. As such, they approximate
and experiential learning—remains underdeveloped.
and evoke, rather than replicate, how entrepreneurs
experience, process, and potentially learn from criti-
cal incidents.
Critical Incidents in Experiential
An experiential pedagogy holds the promise of
(Entrepreneurship) Education: Opportunities
closer replication as it builds on students’ own
and Risks
engagement with various activities as the primary
basis of their learning (Neck & Corbett, 2018). In par- There are reasons why the relationship between
ticular, a central tenet of such pedagogy is that stu- critical incidents and experiential learning has re-
dents learn from identifying, through their firsthand mained nebulous. These reasons pertain to the com-
experiences, what might and might not work. Gener- plex relationship between experiential learning and
ally, this discovery happens through a nonlinear students’ heightened emotional responses (Finch,
process of acting and experimenting that is filled Peacock, Lazdowski, & Hwang, 2015; Wright,
with emotions (Cope, 2005; Guedes Gondim & Mutti, Hibbert, Strong, & Edwards, 2018). As research has
2011; Thursby, Fuller, & Thursby, 2009). suggested, whether emotional activation enhances
For this reason, entrepreneurship education has learning from experiential activities varies depend-
long embraced experiential pedagogy. Early itera- ing on the valence of the emotions and on the peda-
tions of experiential entrepreneurship pedagogy gogical context (Rowe & Fitness, 2018). Generally,
centered on exposing students to discrete activities the activation of emotions has the potential to
such as business plan development and pitch com- enhance learning beyond cognitive and behavioral
petitions (Berglund & Verduijn, 2018). More re- engagement (Bartunek & Ren, 2022; Pekrun, Elliot, &
cently, experiential entrepreneurship education has Maier, 2009; Pekrun & Linnenbrink-Garcia, 2012).
expanded to include learning activities that engage Yet, negative emotions can also hamper learning
students in the fluid process of creating and (Wright et al., 2018), and in some cases, they can
even lead to student disengagement (Finch et al., complexity by asking: what and how do students
2015). learn from critical incidents in an experiential entre-
Extrapolating from this research (Clancy & Vince, preneurship course? Next, we turn to how we sought
2019; Edelson et al., 2019; Lund Dean, Wright, & to address this question by offering a detailed over-
Forray, 2020), negative emotions that permeate criti- view of our research methods.
cal incidents may not fit students’ expectations and
assumptions around trust and psychological safety METHODS
in the classroom, thus potentially constraining stu-
dents’ learning and development. Other students We conducted a qualitative field study of learners
may not be developmentally ready to confront the who participated in “EntX” (pseudonym)—a year-
negative emotions associated with critical incidents long experiential entrepreneurship course. The need
(Lund Dean & Jolly, 2012), causing burden, espe- for theory elaboration around our research questions
cially for the more vulnerable, at-risk students made qualitative research appropriate (Creswell &
(Wright et al., 2018). These students may require Poth, 2016). In particular, we engaged in grounded
additional faculty support (Elmes, 2019), including theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) and designed a longi-
individualized guidance to properly process their tudinal study (Langley, Smallman, Tsoukas, & Van
emotions (Kearney, Krumm, Hughes, & Satterfield, de Ven, 2013) aimed at capturing learners’ experi-
2013). Thus, for faculty, introducing experiential ences during, and immediately following, EntX.
activities that may trigger negative emotions creates As is often the case with inductive qualitative
a more complex and involved learning environment research (Pratt, 2023; Pratt et al., 2020), we initially
(Kearney et al., 2013; Lund Dean et al., 2020). approached our context with a broader orienting
Educators must become aware of and be attentive research question, namely: what, how, and why do
to these dynamics (Lund Dean et al., 2020; Lundgren, students learn from experiential entrepreneurship
Morrison, & Sung, 2023; Tomkins & Ulus, 2016; education? However, as we continued to analyze
Vince, 2016). This begins with learning to tolerate stu- our data iteratively, following a grounded theory-
dents’ discomfort by letting students navigate chal- building process (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), aspects of
lenging situations while helping them process their this experiential course that elicited negative emo-
feelings (Clancy & Vince, 2019) and engage in ongoing tions for students rose to the fore. We thus became
self-reflection (Rowe & Fitness, 2018). To do so effec- curious to understand these dynamics, and ulti-
tively, educators would benefit from embracing a mately, we narrowed our focus to addressing what
dual role of teacher–learner (Lundgren et al., 2023; and how do students learn from critical incidents in
Vince, 2016). an experiential entrepreneurship course?
Yet, when educators are not capable of embracing
this role, experiential activities can unleash anxiety, Research Context
frustration, and even anger in students, and such
feelings can get in the way of learning (Clancy & We invited 40 undergraduate college students en-
Vince, 2019; Lundgren et al., 2023). These chal- rolled in a section of EntX to participate in this
lenges and pedagogical risks draw attention to well- study. BizEd (also a pseudonym) is the higher educa-
documented minefields, including moral and ethical tional institution in which EntX is taught. Similar to
issues that surround experiential pedagogy (Lund other colleges, students must apply to, and be ac-
Dean et al., 2020). Additional empirical scholarship cepted to study at, BizEd. Applicants to BizEd must
is needed to further our understanding of experien- express an interest in business or in entrepreneur-
tial educators’ roles and responsibility, including ship to be accepted. Roughly, 600 BizEd students
how they may best support students’ emotional pro- enroll in EntX each year, across one of 14 sections. A
cessing and engagement (Lund Dean et al., 2020; timeline summarizing EntX’s course flow, along
Vince, 2016). with a schematic description of our data collection
Taken together, learning from critical incidents is and analyses efforts relative to the course flow,
foundational to entrepreneurship and ostensibly to appear in Appendix A.
entrepreneurship education. Thus, it would appear Over their year in EntX, students launch new ven-
important to expose students to critical incidents. tures, which includes pitching ideas, forming teams
Yet, an experiential pedagogy that involves critical with others enrolled in their course section, re-
incidents has the potential to both enhance and questing financing from BizEd, and eventually self-
inhibit students’ learning. We probe into this organizing to operate their businesses. Each team
can apply for up to $3,000 in a forgivable loan to sup- In addition, congruent with the processual nature of
port the development of their venture. At the end of our research question (Langley et al., 2013; Pratt,
the year, all ventures cease operations, and profits in 2009), we engaged our informants longitudinally—
excess of the loan are donated to a non-profit of the multiple times while they were attending EntX, and
team’s choosing. to the extent that it was possible, beyond their partic-
EntX is designed to expose students to an array of ipation in the course as well.
challenges as part of the entrepreneurial process. Our final sample comprised participants between
Notably, early in the program, instructors randomly the ages of 18 and 20, half (50%) of whom were
group students into eight teams. During the weeks female. Forty-eight percent (48%) were from the
that follow, these teams generate business ideas, United States, and the other half comprised students
which are subject to ongoing pitching, evaluation, from Europe, Asia, and South America. At the time
and elimination based on peer and instructor feed- of our first wave of data collection, all participants
back. Five teams proceed to the next round, during had completed high school, but none held a college
which venture ideas are evaluated based on desir- degree. In addition, none of the participants had pre-
ability and feasibility criteria. By the end of the first viously held a full-time job or had expressed clearly
semester, three teams generally emerge that launch “who they wanted to become” as workers. They all
new businesses in the second semester. Students shared an interest in business and in entrepreneur-
whose teams do not move forward must move to new ship, albeit to varying degrees (see Appendix B).
teams. Students can also switch teams if they become
more interested in a different venture idea. The fac- Data Collection and Analyses
ulty are attentive to the dynamics of team (re)forma-
tion and coach students through this process. As a four-person research team, we were attentive
Consistent with experiential teaching practices, to our positionality as researchers and built on it to
EntX provides students with ongoing structured enhance the trustworthiness of our data and analyses
opportunities to reflect upon, discuss, and connect (Pratt, 2023). For instance, the first and fourth
their venture experiences to core concepts from authors had previously served as EntX instructors
entrepreneurship, organizational behavior, and the and were thus well acquainted with both the
broader field of management. In addition, by course research site and the experiential teaching practices
design, instructors engage in both in-class teaching of EntX. Their “insider” status was critical in help-
and out-of-class coaching to provide students with ing our team gain access. By contrast, the third
guidance and feedback on all aspects of developing author was an entrepreneurship professor at BizEd
new ventures, including how to navigate challenges. but had never taught this course. The second author,
who had never taught EntX and was not affiliated
with BizEd, was entirely responsible for data collec-
Sampling
tion. This way, in gathering as well as in analyzing
Our data collection relied primarily on longitudi- our data, we adopted an insider/outsider approach
nal semi-structured interviews with EntX’s partici- (Bartunek & Louis, 1996; Crosina & Pratt, 2019). As a
pants. By offering a window into students’ thoughts team, we included two insiders, an insider/outsider,
and feelings, which may otherwise be difficult to and a full outsider, which enabled us to bring “an
capture (Ibarra, 1999; Pratt, Rockmann, & Kaufmann, array of interpretive lenses and experiences” to this
2006), these interviews helped us gain a close view project (Bartunek & Louis, 1996: 67). In addition, we
of students’ experiences within EntX, including brought varying knowledge associated with our
how students (re)interpreted and felt about various respective tenure, as well as methodological and
aspects of the entrepreneurship process in which discipline-specific research expertise, to the study
they took part. design, data collection, and analyses.
We purposefully sampled participants in the same We completed 133 interviews in five waves over
class section, which we chose randomly from the 14 the course of 16 months. Prior to the COVID-19 out-
sections that were running at the time of data collec- break, we conducted 105 face-to-face interviews
tion. We interviewed individuals from the same sec- with 39 different informants: 39 in September 2019,
tion in an effort to capture participants’ experiences 35 in November 2019, and 30 in February 2020.
in the same learning context, thus minimizing possi- Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the related shift
ble variation that might have originated from expo- to online instruction, we adapted our next round
sure to different instructors or learning materials. of data collection from face-to-face to online
interviews. In April 2020, we conducted 21 addi- segments. The team collaboratively identified criti-
tional (Wave 4) interviews. Finally, to capture stu- cal questions for additional in-depth analyses. For
dent learning following the completion of EntX, we instance, as we realized how pervasive and central
did one final round of interviews (Wave 5) in Decem- negative emotions were to our informants’ descrip-
ber of 2020, in which we managed to connect with tions of their experiences, we went back to our data
eight informants.3 and re-interrogated it to clarify the role of such emo-
Although the second author managed the inter- tions in how and what students were learning in
view process by recruiting informants and conduct- EntX. This analytical process was critical in ensur-
ing the interviews, all authors were involved in ing that our theorizing did justice to students’ experi-
devising the interview protocols. In addition, while ences (Pratt, 2023). In this spirit, we cycled through
collecting the data, the first two authors frequently multiple rounds of data coding, including during
met to discuss central themes that were emerging and shortly after data collection and after having
from the interviews. At this point, they evaluated the sketched a provisional model that encapsulated our
possibility of modifying or integrating interview findings.
questions and also consulted periodically with the In coding our data, we followed the three “stages”
other two authors. proposed by Pratt and associates (2006): open, axial,
During data collection and analyses, the entire and theoretical coding—more recently also defined
research team convened to discuss insights and as open, focused, and selective codes (Pratt, 2023).
surprises that emerged from the data (Gioia, Price, Although we present these stages linearly, in reality
Hamilton, & Thomas, 2010). In these periodic “peer we moved back and forth dynamically between
debrief meetings,” power dynamics in the conversa- stages (Locke, 2001), which, over time, led us to the
tions were balanced between the first two authors, definition of our theoretical model. We describe
who served as project experts, and the last two each stage in detail below.
authors, who had more expertise in entrepreneur- Open coding. Initially, our codes remained very
ship and management education research (Lingard, close to the words of our informants. They focused on
Schryer, Spafford, & Campbell, 2007; Rogers-Dillon, describing longer segments of data, as well as on pre-
2005). The last two authors played the role of devil’s serving the context around these segments (Charmaz,
advocate (Strike & Rerup, 2016), posing questions 2007). We provisionally named our open codes and
and inviting greater focus and clarity of insights subsequently reconsidered them to see if they ac-
based on their own understanding of the data, their curately captured our informants’ experiences. Our
experiences with EntX and BizEd, as well as their open codes included statements concerning the range
theoretical knowledge. of experiences students went through at EntX and
In this way, we deployed a grounded theory- how they interpreted these experiences. In addition,
building approach by traveling between data and we captured how they felt in relation to an array of
existing theory, letting key themes emerge from the unexpected experiences that emerged as part of the
data while looking for how these themes might experiential process of creating new ventures, how
advance existing theory (Locke, 2001). After each they saw themselves over time, as well as how they
interview, the second author identified central interpreted events that occurred within and outside
issues and insights and drafted research memos EntX and BizEd. Finally, we coded what they took
(Charmaz, 2007). The first two authors discussed away from EntX and their emerging views of what
these memos in frequent peer-debrief meetings they could do and “who they could be” given both
(Gioia et al., 2010), which tended to occur after a what they had learned within, and their respective
batch of five to seven interviews were conducted. circumstances outside, EntX and BizEd.
Then, both authors individually coded the tran- Axial coding. Axial coding comprises “a flexible
scripts and met to discuss discrepancies between means to synthesize, analyze, and conceptualize
their coding. The last two authors also reviewed and larger segments of data” (Charmaz, 2007: 138). Thus,
coded the data, albeit more selectively. Their in- at this point, we began moving away from the words
volvement with coding was driven by the need to of our informants, deploying abstract language to cap-
clarify or sharpen emerging theoretical insights, in- ture prevalent patterns in our data (Locke, 2001). In
cluding finding appropriate labels to cluster data practice, this phase entailed reconsidering our open
codes to understand how they related to each other
3
Selected questions from each of our interview waves and then elaborating labels that encapsulated related
appear in Appendix C. first-order codes (see also Strauss & Corbin, 1998).
FIGURE 1
Interplay of Emotional and Cognitive Dynamics Following a Critical Incident
ication of Nega
tensif tive
ion/In Em
at ot
tiv io
Ac
ns
Critical Incident(s) Sensemaking
Through:
• Venture Process Issues • Planned Pedagogical Scaffolds

(e.g., developing the venture idea) (e.g., faculty coaching & conceptual
framing)
• Interpersonal Dynamics Issues • Emergent Individual Buffers

(e.g., developing the team & one’s role) (e.g., small wins & provisional
entrepreneurial identity)
D e-es
ent
cid
ca
In
la
on
ti
al
of ic
Ne C rit
gat of
ive E ng
motions & Reframi
For example, we used “venture process issues” process issues,” and “interpersonal dynamics issues”
and “interpersonal dynamics issues” to subsume dif- were subsumed by “critical incident(s)” (see Figure 1),
ferent types of pervasive challenges that students which evokes both the role that these challenges
faced as part of their EntX experiences. We also used played in students’ learning journeys and that these
“planned pedagogical scaffolds” and “emergent in- challenges were characterized by negative emotions.
dividual buffers” to encapsulate aspects of the ex- In a similar vein, because “planned pedagogical
periential learning context—planned by EntX’s scaffolds” and “emergent individual buffers” served
intructors or emerging from students’ own engage- as “sensemaking” mechanisms, we used sensemak-
ment, respectively—that students referenced as relying to suggest their primary role in students’ proces-
ing upon when they faced challenges. All of our sing of critical incidents. Critical incident(s) and
axial codes appear in bolded italics in Figure 1 (for a sensemaking comprised two of our primary theoreti-
comparable approach to presenting the data struc- cal codes, and thus appear bolded and underlined in
ture, see Crosina & Pratt, 2019). Figure 1.
Delimiting theory. Once we generated our axial With respect to model definition, creating artifacts
codes, we examined if and how they fit together into such as figures and diagrams helped us move from
a theoretical framework (Charmaz, 2007). This pro- coding to theorizing (Locke et al., 2001; Sala & Pratt,
cess involved two primary steps: (a) the articulation 2023). We went through multiple rounds of indepen-
of theoretical labels to encapsulate our various axial dently sketching models and bringing them to our
codes, and (b) the definition and refinement of a meetings for discussion. To draw these models, we
model that brought these codes together. With re- leveraged various reflexive documents that we each
spect to the first step, to avoid construct prolifera- had generated such as contact summary sheets and
tion, when a theoretical code seemed close to an notes. These practices facilitated the cognitive leaps
existing construct, we used terms from existing necessary to build theory (Pratt, 2023). We debated,
research. To illustrate, the axial codes “venture revised, and integrated these models, and we
FIGURE 2
A Process Model of Learning from Critical Incidents in Experiential Entrepreneurship Education
Activation/Intensification of Negative
Emotions
Zone of Disengagement
High
Sensemaking Through Planned Pedagogical Scaffolds & Emergent Individual Buffers Entrepreneurial Mindset
Resilient Behaviors
Critical Incidents
Low
Zone of Disengagement
Start Experiential Entrepreneurship Course End
evaluated a range of alternative conceptual frame- frameworks, as well as from their own experiences
works to see how our codes might relate to one and developing understandings, to make sense of the
another as well as to existing theories. We thus reex- critical incident they faced. In the moment, this pro-
amined any potential data mismatch between our cess helped them de-escalate negative emotions and
emergent theoretical understandings and the data facilitated the cognitive reframing of the incident
(e.g., Locke, 2001). Eventually, we converged on the (see Figure 1).
models (in Figures 1 and 2) which we believe most As students then continued to experience multi-
fully captured our informants’ experiences while ple critical incidents over time, they continued to
offering the strongest contribution to theory. draw from an array of cues from their experiential
learning environment to make sense of ongoing criti-
cal incidents. This process, which involved repeated
FINDINGS
cycles of emotional activation, intensification, and
Our goal was to address what and how students sensemaking, ultimately contributed to the develop-
learn from critical incidents in an experiential entrepre- ment of an entrepreneurial mindset (Ireland et al.,
neurship course. The richness and longitudinal nature 2003; Lynch & Corbett, 2023; Naumann, 2017) on
of our data allowed us to theorize students’ experiences the part of students and to the enactment of resilient
of critical incidents in the moment, up close, as well as behaviors associated with this mindset. Figure 2
learning from critical incidents over time. depicts how repeated cycles of critical incidents,
At the broadest level, critical incidents sparked emotional activation, intensification, and sensemak-
the activation of negative emotions (Cope & Watts, ing fostered these outcomes. In the paragraphs that
2000), and negative emotions triggered the need for follow, we unpack these dynamics, bringing to bear
sensemaking (Maitlis, Vogus, & Lawrence, 2013). evidence from our data. We start by introducing the
Students drew from the experiential learning envi- critical incidents that were most salient in our stu-
ronment, taking cues from the faculty and conceptual dents’ learning journeys.
Critical Incidents comparisons, his venture generally fell short. As he

explained:
Students faced a range of negative experiences—
challenges, losses, and even failures—as part of The other groups in our class were selling products.
EntX that triggered the activation of negative emo- They were making decent money or at least making
tions. As we probed into these experiences, we some money … I knew that it was a bad idea [to hire
noticed that for some students, challenges tended to that developer], but we needed a developer now. So,
relate to the venture process (denoted by “Venture we picked the first one that offered us basically the
cheapest service. He was terrible, wouldn’t respond
Process Issues” in Figure 1), while for others, they
at all. He was in Pakistan and was just so bad: we got
pertained to developing their team or their own role
robbed, it was terrible. (Don, W4)
in it (denoted by “Interpersonal Dynamics Issues” in
Figure 1). As we noted in our methods, because these Pervasive in our data are also descriptions of suppli-
diverse issues similarly triggered the activation— ers not coming through at the last minute and failed
and for some the intensification—of negative emo- marketing efforts, along with mounting feelings of
tions, we grouped them under the broader umbrella dissatisfaction and frustration with one’s venture
of “critical incidents” (Cope & Watts, 2000). idea and execution capabilities.
Venture process issues. The ongoing process of Interpersonal dynamics issues. In addition, our
having their team or business idea not progress due interviews revealed challenging interpersonal dy-
to elimination triggered an especially pervasive sense namics in one’s team that sparked high negative emo-
of discomfort and negative reactions among students. tions. As student teams worked together to first
As Pablo and Patricia, for example, expressed in design and then to run their ventures, they frequently
reflection on being reassigned to a new team experienced team issues—whether communication
and venture: breakdowns, poor decision-making, unclear norms
Losing it all [referring to his prior business idea] and
and expectations, or disengaged team members. To
starting from zero: we didn’t lose any money, but we illustrate, Don complained about his team members’
lost time … I was ticked off because I wanted to be in lack of attention to detail, which ultimately created
a group with certain people … [and I was not]! more work for him. In his words:
(Pablo, W2)
People are looking at me. They’re like, “where’s the
I felt like it wasn’t my project, like I had no voice. I debit card? Like what’s going on?” I’m like, “I don’t
thought that anything that I said just didn’t matter … know. I don’t have any information.” And then my
it wasn’t my project. I wasn’t there in the early stages, co-CEO says, “Oh, I got this super long email.” And
so I had really no voice, I was just an added-on mem- then she forwarded it to me. I read the whole thing,
ber. (Patricia, W3) and I’m like, “you know, there are written instruc-
tions about how to do this.’” And then she’s like
Mickey went as far as to compare the elimination of “Oh.” And then my CEO was like, “yeah, I didn’t read
his initial venture idea to the emotionally difficult the whole thing” … I just want to set this up now so
process of a romantic breakup. In his words: that we can start this business. (Don, W3)
It’s [referring to his former business] almost like a girl- Selena (W4) also expressed frustration with some of
friend: I broke up with her because of the professors, her team members because they “lost [inventory] …
and the way the class is structured. Now I’m on a new Either the supplier didn’t give it to us or one of our
team, I miss her obviously. (Mickey, W3) teammates lost it somewhere. We still haven’t fig-
Francis (W2) also used language that directly in- ured that out. The operations department is not that
voked feelings of loss and sadness. In her words, “I effective.”
was really confident [referring to her business idea] In addition to being frustrated with others in their
we were going to go through and then, it’s like, oh, teams, several students expressed disappointment
we didn’t go through … It felt like a loss.” with their own role, and specifically with feeling
Students also experienced varying hurdles as that they lacked voice in their ventures, or that their
they continued building and running those busi- ambitions and skills were not used as they had
nesses that did move forward. For instance, Don’s hoped. Such feelings were particularly salient
team struggled with making sales. For Don, this among those who had to switch teams following the
became the source of disappointment and stress elimination of their initial venture idea. Table 1 pro-
because he continued to benchmark his team’s lim- vides additional examples of the various critical
ited progress vis-
a-vis that of other groups. In these incidents that students experienced during EntX.
TABLE 1
Critical Incidents: Venture Process and Interpersonal Dynamics Issues
There have been some rocky moments for sure. Well, my initial group didn’t make it through the rocket pitch so I moved to a new
group … our product idea wasn’t bad, but we went for something that was not feasible … it was hard. (Dill, W2)
The idea, I hate it. I’m having trouble with meshing with the team. I’m like this is horrible … it’s a straight up nightmare and plus
our team, three of the five people, wouldn’t even come at all to the meetings. It was just me and this other girl. We got along fine
but it was a struggle all the way through. (Pablo, W2)
I wasn’t part of the original plan, so I don’t know what happened before, so I was kind of lost. They [referring to her new group
members] weren’t mean, but they just seemed they already had their team together. That’s what I felt ... I kind of gave up a little bit
… it’s just annoying to see people laugh and talk about stuff and you’re just here. (Francis, W3)
The next day, we met and someone was like “Oh, which designs did we pick? Do we have a voting process?” And I was like, “Did
you read the group chat? Did you show up to the meeting?” It annoys me when things like that happen because it’s so clear, and
people are so quick to blame other people when it’s really like due to their own issues. (Hope, W3)
I’m kind of anxious about [the business] for some reason. It’s probably my role. I’m in charge of operations. Right now, what I’m
anxious about is the fact that we don’t communicate, that worries me. (Skye, W3)
But how did students respond to—and ultimately with the unexpectedly difficult process of running a
learn from—critical incidents? To explain this learn- business as the co-CEO.
ing process, we follow the journeys of two students: Sadie too experienced a critical incident early in
Haley and Sadie. For each student, we bring to bear the entrepreneurial process, but in her case, it was
some of the specific critical incidents that they faced, something more interpersonal in nature. She ex-
the negative emotional reactions that ensued, and plained, “I thought I was gonna be CEO. I think
the sensemaking process that followed. Beyond fol- everyone did” (Sadie, W3). As a result, Sadie dedi-
lowing Haley’s and Sadie’s journeys, we also selec- cated considerable time and effort to the venture.
tively present data from other students, either in the However, at a meeting to determine roles, Sadie
main body of the paper or in tables, to elucidate explained that two of her teammates, Karen and Gio-
salient patterns. vanni, also expressed a strong desire to be CEO:
Karen was like, “I want to be CEO,” and I was like,
Activation or Intensification of “I’m not arguing. Not worth it” … It really wasn’t
Negative Emotions worth the fight in my eyes. Then Giovanni was like,
“I’m not going to being CEO.” Is it really worth the
As we alluded hereto, in response to a given criti- fight? Karen, she honestly probably deserves it the
cal incident, students generally described experienc- same as I did … Giovanni doesn’t deserve it … He
ing strong negative emotions. This was true of both was very helpful over winter break, but now in meet-
Haley and Sadie. Haley, for example, took an active ings he’s part of the distraction. (Sadie, W3)
role in her venture as the co-CEO.4 She recounted a Sadie ended up agreeing to serve as HR director,
critical incident she faced several months into the with Karen and Giovanni being co-CEOs. However,
venture as follows: the new CEOs continued to ask Sadie to do things
Two weeks ago, I think that’s when everything just that she felt were beyond her designated role. In her
hit like a truck, out of nowhere. At least for me, it was words:
consuming my life … It’s been a lot, there’s always I’m not taking the responsibility of CEO if I’m not
something to do … it’s taking up a lot more time … CEO. So, when [the CEO] texted me and was like,
It’s like, “you need to answer this.” Someone else is “Are we meeting today?” I was like, “don’t ask me.
calling you. (Haley, W3) That’s not my job anymore.” I’m not doing that …
That part frustrates me. (Sadie, W3)
Figuring out what to do with her venture, and espe-
cially providing clear directions to others, was In the same interview, Sadie also described herself
“chaotic” and “hard,” so much that Haley thought to as being “irritated,” a comment that more directly
herself, “I don’t have time for this” (Haley, W3). This evokes the negative emotions she experienced. As
view is suggestive of her aggravation and annoyance both Haley’s and Sadie’s examples illustrate, critical
incidents triggered negative emotions, which gener-
4
Formal titles and roles within venture teams were ally intensified as such incidents continued to occur.
determined independently by students through a combina- Students’ negative emotions manifested in both
tion of self-selection and peer-election. the words students used to portray the critical
TABLE 2
Activation or Intensification of Negative Emotions
Building the team is really hard because people don’t show up to meetings. They don’t finish what they’re supposed to do on time.
Progress is slow. Yeah. It’s really hard. I feel the struggle. (Selena, W2)
My team is not getting things done. It’s close to the deadline, I just have to do it and finish it myself. I am getting more and more
annoyed. (Selena, W3)
He [referring to a teammate] has his own experience working on a similar start-up on his own, but he doesn’t put that much effort in
our business, and I became very frustrated. (Selena, W4)
——
We were in a huge group, 10 people. Then we made a list of all things that interest us. I think there is a subgroup that split off, two
groups split off … the group completely fell apart. Yeah. It was pretty bad. They just didn’t do anything. It was a mess. (Don, W2)
I wrote all the team aspirations and team goals by myself. I was like, “just look at it to make sure this is like what you want in the
team.” And they’re like, “yeah.” It was pretty shitty. The whole situation was pretty terrible … it was super unfair. (Don, W3)
When we were failing, it was just awful, I hated EntX … I had kind of a negative experience of EntX … It’s not like we did anything
wrong. But I think it definitely took a lot out of me for the whole year. (Don, W4)
——
We had a rocket pitch idea for a gel phone case. We made it through the rocket pitch and then it was time for the quantitative survey.
We did a Google survey. The results were terrible. Nobody wanted to buy the product ... we had no choice but to change our
product ... I was pretty upset at that point and frustrated because we did not have a supplier. (Mickey, W2)
The idea for [venture name] is dumb: I know people aren’t going to purchase a subscription to find a workout partner here because
everybody has friends or they just go workout ... I just didn’t think the idea was very feasible … I don’t like it. I don’t like the idea.
I don’t like that it’s a service … It’s tough: I knew it would be tough to go to a new team because I knew all the teams’ leaders
don’t give up any power. It’s not necessarily give me power, but involve me more in the group! (Mickey, W3)
I got put on this other team and I never really got integrated ... It’s like, yeah, I tried out two different colleges and I liked one a lot
more, so I really didn’t like this team … also, people have so much going on in college it’s tough! (Mickey, W4)
incidents they were experiencing, as well through The frequent recurrence of critical incidents, and
their gestures and facial expressions during their the associated activation or intensification of negative
interviews. With respect to the former, students often emotions, triggered the need for ongoing sensemak-
used expressions such as “feeling defeated,” “sad,” ing. EntX’s protracted duration and design promoted
and “sick of it” to capture their struggles at EntX. such sensemaking: students took cues from their
With respect to the latter, it was common to see stu- learning environment to de-escalate emotionally and
dents roll their eyes and shake their heads as they reframe cognitively the critical incidents they faced.
noted some of the frustrating situations with which Salient cues included language, social interactions,
they dealt. The additional quotes in Table 2 illustrate and even students’ own developing experiences and
the pervasiveness of intensifying negative emotions identity (for comparable cues, see also Sandberg &
associated with recurrent critical incidents. Tsoukas, 2015; Weick, 1995). Importantly, by relying
on such cues, students developed new views of the
Sensemaking critical incident they experienced in the moment
and, over time, of how to deal with critical incidents
We found that despite experiencing numerous
more broadly.
critical incidents, most students5 remained largely
As we elaborate in the following sections, students
engaged throughout the course. As we noted, while
heightened negative emotions can trigger students’ relied upon planned elements of the experiential
disengagement (Cope, 2011; Mogg et al., 1990; course (i.e., faculty coaching and conceptual fram-
Shepherd, 2003), heightened negative emotions also ing) as well as more emerging elements (i.e., small
have the capacity to motivate sensemaking (Byrne & wins and a provisional entrepreneurial identity) as
Shepherd, 2015; Maitlis, 2009). We found the latter sensemaking mechanisms. Such sensemaking mech-
to be the case for the students in our sample. anisms helped students not only to de-escalate their
negative emotions but also to promote more positive
5 emotional states, and in doing so aided the genera-
Some students did occasionally disengage from the
work that their ventures required (denoted by the dashed tive reframing of given critical incidents.
lines dipping into “zone of disengagement” in Figure 2). Planned pedagogical scaffolds: Coaching and
However, such disengagement tended to be brief and was conceptual framing. At EntX, the faculty role ex-
generally associated with the execution of specific, often plicitly included a balance between formal in-class
undesired, tasks. teaching and informal out-of-class coaching of
students. As coaches, professors generally gave stu- After meeting with the professors, Sadie stopped
dents space to express and process their feelings, being “as stressed about [roles]” (Sadie, W3) and
reflect on their experiences, and connect those reframed how she saw her contributions by attend-
experiences to the course curriculum (Bolton, 1999; ing more to effort and output than to title.
Neck & Corbett, 2018). Haley, who at times found the Other students relied on faculty coaching to pro-
speed and requirements associated with developing cess team-related critical incidents. Selena, for
her venture overwhelming, noted that such coaching example, expressed, “Prof. X said much of the drama
supported her as follows: within EntX generally happens within the teams …
[So] I started understanding that EntX is a learning
The instructors told us … “we don’t care whether
you make a profit or not … I want you guys to want process [and] … the process of starting a venture”
to work together again.” And so, I really took that to (Selena, W2). Here, faculty coaching helped Selena
heart … and calmed down, keeping my eyes on the focus on her learning through the process of starting
process. (Haley, W3) a venture.
In addition to faculty coaching, various concep-
Thus, Haley explicitly described that consulting
tual frameworks at the heart of EntX’s pedagogy
with the professors helped de-escalate the negative
helped students cognitively reframe critical inci-
feelings she was experiencing. In addition, faculty
dents and de-escalate the associated negative emo-
coaching provided her with a path for reframing the
tions. As research has suggested, language can assist
critical incident: embracing broader success defini-
in labeling and classifying unexpected or undesired
tions that encompassed perseverance, trial and error,
events (Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 2005), and in
and continued problem-solving as additional success
doing so it can help individuals begin to consider
markers beyond sales. By espousing this new view of “what this might mean” in a broader context (Dwyer,
success, Haley was able to remain more engaged in
Hardy, & Maguire, 2021). Prevalent in our interviews
the learning process of building her business.
were references to the “Nimble”6 framework. Stu-
Beyond explicitly directing students’ reframing of
dents defined Nimble as openness to new (even neg-
critical incidents, the questions faculty posed as part
ative) experiences, trying multiple approaches to
of their coaching sessions also helped students’ emo-
solving problems, engaging with others, and iterat-
tional and cognitive processing. As we noted previ-
ing in the face of setbacks as a means to succeed,
ously, Sadie was frustrated because she had not
especially in volatile environments. One student
been selected as the CEO of her venture. Over time, defined Nimble as “doing a lot of iterations … hit-
this frustration resurfaced, as she believed she was
ting a wall or something and then being able to iter-
continuously doing more than the CEOs. During a
ate and then move on to the next step” (Rose, W2).
coaching session, the professors asked her why she
Another student summarized it as follows:
was not the CEO. Her answer:
Everyone here talks about that concept. It’s basically
I said, “because there were three of us that wanted to iterate. Right? That’s the concept that surrounds
be CEO, and we realize you can’t have three CEOs. everything that we do. One step at a time. You start
One of us just decided to step back and take head of with an hypothesis, or what you think is going to hap-
HR.” And they were like, “What?” I think it was pen. Then you go out and you take action on that
almost a compliment … Everyone was like, “why is hypothesis … Test it out. Oh, no, that did not work
she not the CEO?” Everyone. (Sadie, W3) … and you just gotta iterate what you’re doing …
This question on the part of the professors led Sadie That’s where a lot of business success is … Nimble!
to reflect on the work she was doing. She began to (Pablo, W2)
realize that her contributions to the team were very Students would frequently reference the Nimble
important and that her professors had noticed her framework as something that helped them reframe
work. This helped appease Sadie’s frustrations the setbacks and challenges they experienced. As
about her title and contributed to the de-escalation Parker shared:
of the negative emotions she initially felt. As she
I don’t want to be moved to another group because I
explained:
feel like … an outcast … When you build a relation-
I took it as a compliment … And now, it’s just what- ship with each [team] member personally and when
ever … I think people have more respect for me …
And frankly, I don’t care anymore about the title …
everyone knows that I’m kind of keeping us, like, “Nimble” is a pseudonym we use to disguise a trade-
6
sealed. (Sadie, W3) marked BizEd framework.

TABLE 3
Planned Pedagogical Scaffolds
Faculty Coaching
The professors were talking to us [and said] sometimes the experience just tends to be bad for some people once in a while.
(Parker, W2)
We’re now working as a team, which is really awesome. It’s really awesome ... we were able to sit down with Prof X who is the
private equity guy and has a ridiculous amount of experience. He was able to give us some guidance. (Pablo, W3)
We had to conduct a survey and the survey results were really bad: most people said they wouldn’t buy it [the product]. We told the
professors and the professor—Prof. X specifically was like, “yeah … maybe you guys should pivot … .” We struggled to find an
idea. They told us to find the problem that we wanted to help … That helped us. So, we calmed down and came up with this
product. (Francis, W2)
The professor is saying that it doesn’t mean the more profit you make, the more successful business you are. So, it’s not like that
much of a big a thing if we do not make a lot of profit right now. Now, it’s okay. (Selena, W3)
Our professors help us with any issues or anything we have. (Parker, W2)
Conceptual Framing
I feel like the whole structure [of EntX] is really systematic ... At first, they gave us the big picture of Nimble thinking ... that big
picture permeates every little stuff we do in class every day ... I think that’s really helpful. (Skye, W2)
If somebody makes a mistake, it’s like, “okay, don’t make it again.” Everybody here, like we’re all learning. There’s no experts so
mistakes happen. Let’s just make sure this doesn’t happen again, but it’s fine. So, it’s just safe space and that’s why I feel like it’s
easier to have ownership about everything that we do. (Brianna, W3)
A lot of the organizational behavior stuff, definitely some of that is helpful, for example how do you give feedback, and some of the
keys to motivation ... With the entrepreneurship stuff, Prof X definitely did a good job ... I’ll definitely take some of these materials
with me. (Mickey, W4)
you worked for so long and then after that, if you’ve processing the array of critical incidents they faced.
been moved to another group [apprehensive voice] Based on our data, coaching served primarily as a
… but I mean it has to be done. So I guess you could sensegiving mechanism (Gioia & Chittipeddi, 1991)
just adapt to that too. (Parker, W2, emphasis added) as it helped steer students toward preferred cogni-
Students also mentioned various organizational be- tive framings of their experiences, while conceptual
havior frameworks and concepts they had learned frameworks gave students the language to orient
that served as helpful sensemaking devices. For their sensemaking (Weick, 1995). The de-escalation
example, students frequently referenced behavioral of negative emotions that followed, even if just tem-
styles and psychological principles about teams and porary, supported students’ continued engagement.
team conflict, as well as about motivation and Additional quotes that illustrate coaching and con-
engagement. To illustrate, Ellen interpreted the conceptual framing as planned pedagogical scaffolds
flict she was having with another teammate through appear in Table 3.
the lens of different behavioral styles: “we did the Emergent individual buffers: Small wins and
DISC [behavioral style assessment] thing, my biggest provisional entrepreneurial identity. Students also
one is C. I’m a really strong C, and my second one is drew upon their own experiences within EntX to
D. And I think Carter [another student] is a strong make sense of critical incidents. In particular, we
D—that’s why we don’t get along” (Ellen, W2). She found that the achievement of small wins helped
later added that knowing that the conflict may stem de-escalate students’ negative emotions, facilitating
from behavioral style differences made her realize new perspectives about the entrepreneurial process.
that “overall the team is okay” (Ellen, W2). Thus, Small wins comprise “concrete, complete, outcomes
coming to understand conflict with a teammate (a of moderate importance” (Weick, 1984: 40). At EntX,
type of critical incident) through a framework that small wins included experiences such as negotiating
was part of EntX’s pedagogy helped Ellen feel less a price reduction or favorable payment terms with
negative about her overarching team experience. suppliers, securing sales, building momentum
Taken together, faculty coaching and conceptual within the team, breaking even, or making a profit.
frameworks comprise pedagogical tools deliberately To illustrate, as Haley continued building her ven-
built into the design and structure of EntX. We see ture, now being less focused on revenue generation
them as serving the role of pedagogical scaffolds—or and more on collaborating and curating positive rela-
sensemaking devices—which aided students in tionships within her teammates, she saw her venture
team finally coming together, which made her feel facilitated students’ sensemaking of critical inci-
she had “scored a win.” As she elaborated: dents by helping students with the de-escalation of
negative emotions and the cognitive reframing of
We got our new people and it was a good group of
people. I was very happy with the results … [they
critical incidents. Because small wins and a provi-
are] all personable people and having them laughing sional entrepreneurial identity emerged organically
in conversation, which is good, but everyone still as students immersed themselves in the experiential
speaks their mind in a good way. So, I couldn’t have entrepreneurial activities of EntX, we conceptualize
asked for like better people. (Haley, W3) them as prevalent examples of emergent individual
buffers. Table 4 provides additional quotes sugges-
Seeing her team coalesce catalyzed positive emotive of the various small wins our students experi-
tions, which helped fuel Haley’s ongoing sensemak- enced, as well as of the provisional entrepreneurial
ing. Such sensemaking invoked novel schema identities with which they experimented. Table 5
formation (see also Maitlis et al., 2013). Schemas are highlights additional data from which we induced
mental shortcuts that individuals rely upon to guide the de-escalation of negative emotions.
their interpretations and behaviors (Fiske, 1993). In
this way, small wins enabled students to return to an
emotional and cognitive state where they could take Cycling through Critical Incidents
in new information and develop new perspectives Most students experienced multiple or recurrent
on prior issues and challenges (Bower, 1992; Dobson critical incidents as they continued building their
et al., 2021). businesses. For this reason, the model in Figure 1 is
In addition, as students continued engaging in the in the shape of a recursive loop: critical incidents led
experiential learning process of developing their ven- to the activation and intensification of negative emo-
tures, we found that some began experimenting with tions, and these negative emotions triggered the
a provisional entrepreneurial identity—forming self- ongoing need for sensemaking. The experiential
views that they increasingly were, or could be, entre- learning environment aided students’ sensemaking.
preneurs (Ibarra, 1999). As research has suggested, In particular, planned pedagogical scaffolds and
developing an identity facilitates sensemaking and emergent individual buffers contributed to the ongo-
can enable individuals to move forward from ing cognitive reframing of critical incidents, to the
difficulties and hardships (Maitlis, 2009; Walsh & de-escalation of negative emotions, and ultimately
Bartunek, 2011). In our case, seeing themselves as informed students’ responses to critical incidents.
possible entrepreneurs provided students with gen- Thus, in the face of new or reemerging critical
erative ways of reframing the critical incidents they incidents, the activation and intensification of stu-
experienced. Specifically, students could reason that dents’ negative emotions and associated sensemak-
if hardships permeated the entrepreneurial process ing dynamics re-occurred. To illustrate, during our
for “real entrepreneurs,” they needed to learn how to fourth wave of data collection, Haley and Sadie each
overcome hardships if they themselves were to be or shared new critical incidents, along with compara-
become entrepreneurs. ble emotional intensification and sensemaking. For
To illustrate, in reflecting on her frustrations with instance, in Wave 4, Haley recounted:
her role in her venture, Sadie noted, “As an entrepre-
neur, you are the overseer. So, I feel like that fits my My co-CEO said, “I feel like you haven’t been doing
anything.” To hear that is probably the worst thing
personality … I think that’s more of my role here”
when you put so much work, and energy, and effort
(Sadie, W3). Although she was not the formal CEO, into something … The fact that he was saying that
she began to embrace being an entrepreneur because was hard … in that moment it sucked. (Haley, W4)
she was serving as the “overseer” in her own team.
This provisional entrepreneurial identity helped However, remembering an earlier coaching conver-
Sadie rethink her role and deescalated the negative sation with her professor helped Haley temper her
emotions she had been experiencing. As time pro- negative emotions and reinterpret her frustration. As
gressed, Sadie even mentioned “feeling good” about she explained:
her role, which indicates that a provisional entrepre- So, initially, right, you want to be defensive, but I was
neurial identity helped spark positive feelings for like [Professor B] teaches us this stuff for a reason. I
Sadie. was like okay, and I absorbed it … that was a big
Taken together, experiencing small wins and de- thing for me because I realize I tend to avoid things if
veloping a provisional entrepreneurial identity I don’t want to do them. I just kind of keep pushing
TABLE 4
Emergent Individual Buffers
Small Wins
We had to deliver the financials and do the feasibility presentation and the launch presentation and it was like 1 a.m. or 1:30 a.m.
And it was snowing. It was so cold and people were hungry. So, in this moment, you develop a lot of confidence and trust in one
another because they’re there with you … everybody is like, “guys, we’re here. You know, we’re doing this. We’re together in this.”
So, it was very good. (Brianna, W3)
We sold almost 20 T-shirts during the fair. That was not bad. Yeah. We do have a more expensive product so we are okay with selling
just 20 T-shirts at the fair … And we broke even, I think we broke even by not much, like $100. That was a week and a half before
we had to shut down. (Selena, W4)
I liked selling a product more than a service. I mean, first of all, it was something that could be sold. We had a target. We were
running against time, but we had to—we had to make a profit, sell a lot. So, what our CEOs did was they grabbed a bunch of plastic
bags and they put like 20 wristbands and they gave them to us and we had to sell 20 or so, that was our goal ... it was really cool
because everyone in our group sold them. (Patricia, W4)
Our team broke even, so we were pretty happy about that … (Luna, W4)
Provisional Entrepreneurial Identity

I am an entrepreneur now more than in the beginning. I feel that the role and leadership positions that I’ve had [in the venture]
helped. (Sadie, W3)
I definitely feel closer to an entrepreneur than I was in the beginning, a lot closer now. (Sadie, W4)
I’m really getting a sense of what it feels to be an entrepreneur: all the stuff we have to do to prepare for product launch and sales. But
I feel that once we will actually start selling it [the product] and trying to get customers and stuff, then I will be even more
identified. (Luna, W2)
I feel like I’m even more of an entrepreneur now ... we were almost the equivalent of a start-up ... being a start-up you kind of go into
the unknown, and have to figure things out for yourself. (Carla, W4)
I feel like a little more of an entrepreneur than before because I learned more skills about being a leader: what is your responsibility,
and how to actually solve conflict in the group. I feel I definitely learned more about it ... I am more confident about
entrepreneurship than before. Yeah. (Ophelia, W4)
I would say, if I’m using a percentage, 80–85%. Yeah. Definitely increased from the previous time [I see myself even more as an
entrepreneur]. I guess it is just the process of pivoting and getting a super involved with the team: you were actually feeling that
you were a part of a functioning venture ... Sales gave you the sense of, “Ah, we’re actually doing a business.” (Skye, W4)
I definitely feel more of an entrepreneur now than last time ... I feel I’ve been through a complete venture, a start-up … I definitely
know more than most people. I can say that I have this experience. (Selena, W4)
them off … I’m a relationship person. So, I have to schedules] … Giovanni and I were literally willing to
understand that I’m not very task oriented. Maybe I meet at 3 or 11 p.m., anything to just get it done, any-
need to try to work on that. (Haley, W4) thing in between. And [some team members] would
either be like “I can’t, I just can’t” or like “I’ll be
As a result, Haley remained engaged in EntX’s activi- there” and then wouldn’t come. And I think that was
ties, which as she, herself, noted contributed to her the hardest for us … people just did not come. (Sadie,
learning. In her words: “I learned a lot from that … W4)
I found [it] really beneficial” (Haley, W4). Her provi-
sional entrepreneurial identity also helped de-escalate The lack of participation of some of her team mem-
her negative emotions and gave her the confidence bers led Sadie to feel “anger towards these Select
and perspective she needed to persevere. As she few people” (Sadie, W4). Here too planned pedagog-
shared, “There are many highs and lows … I defi- ical scaffolds and emergent individual buffers facili-
nitely feel like it’s part of me now. I feel once you do it tated sensemaking. First, Sadie pointed to a course
once with guidance, it’s like ‘oh, I can do that again’ … framework that helped her reframe her teammates’
it is not so bad” (Haley, W4). behavior. In her words:
Like Haley, Sadie recounted a new critical inci- A lot of it had to do with emotional intelligence …
dent and its aftermath during our Wave 4 interview. [and] with self-awareness and social awareness …
She expressed with disappointment that most of the I could find two or three out of those five or six
work fell on the shoulders of only a few team mem- aspects of emotional intelligence that usually people
bers, including herself. In her words: [on the team] didn’t have. (Sadie, W4)
I think what bothered Giovanni [the CEO] and I the Scoring small wins also aided her ongoing sense-
most is that we would do absolutely anything we making and the de-escalation of her negative emo-
could to make sure the meeting time fit [everyone’s tions. Notably, although she initially worried that
TABLE 5
De-Escalation of Negative Emotions through Cognitive Reframing
Every step, something goes wrong. So, that’s Nimble. Right? You’re like, okay, I wanna do this … problems may start out as these
mountains you have to walk over and they just become speed bumps. Right? It’s like all right. So, a big thing for me is Nimble.
(Pablo, W3)
It’s been a rollercoaster … I have mixed feelings [now that my business idea is not moving forward]. What are we gonna do about it
now? It’s pretty much my mindset: where can I go that I’ll make an impact and I’ll be able to help that business succeed the most? I
don’t necessarily need to be the CEO of the company, but if I’m able to in a position where I’m able to help make the business
successful, I’m willing to do that. (Jeb, W2)
I don’t know how to feel about it because I know that on mind if we went through feasibility with my team, I know that my position
would be higher up since I came up with the idea. We were the original people. So, for me that’s a big deal breaker I guess because
I know that since this is not my original team, I’m not going to get as high of a position which is fine, but I would—I would have
hoped to be a CEO or CFO or something like that … It is just part of the course, I guess … I’m excited to actually get money from a
product that we’re making, even if I don’t have as a high position in the team, it’s fine. (Francis, W2)
I think we were the ones that were asking more questions about it. We had a survey that didn’t really do that well. When we talked to
Professor [Name], he gave us two options. He wasn’t really suggesting either one of them. He said, either you can do another survey
or you can scrap your idea and pivot … It was just difficult that no one really wanted to even give the pivot a thought … but that’s
not what it’s supposed to be. We’re not just supposed to stick with something because it’s been like that from the beginning ... when
we embraced this idea, that’s when we came through with four designs instead of two designs. (Hope, W2)
I felt I was more on top of deadlines [than her] and I was more stressed about the deadlines because of it. Yeah. Also, our work habits
are very different: I like to start things before and have them planned out and execute … Now I just think you can’t prepare for
that. I mean, you’re also constantly pivoting … the business is really always on your mind. It’s tough. It’s like you don’t want it to
be. That was a huge adjustment for me: I learned how to deal with that stress and pressure. (Don, W4)
Succeeding … that puts more confidence in [me] … [because] running a business … it’s difficult. (Tyler, W3)
We’ve run into a couple issues with suppliers just because of the coronavirus in China. Yeah. So, one completely pulled out. So, we
had to pivot a little … that’s a little bit of stress. I think a lot of the other EntX businesses are going through the same thing right
now … But staying positive … it’s a learning experience. I guess you gotta run into bumps in the road in whatever industry you’re
in. So, it’s good to get that experience, I guess. (Carter, W3)
There will definitely be a lot of challenges you face during the process and uncertainty may happen. So, you just always need to take
action … just based on all those theories you learn in class, those theories are pretty important … you need to always take
action—to fix your product, taking one step forward, and just see how things go. Because things never really happen the way that
you think they will happen. So, like you always need to find some other methods to fix the original mistake you make … you
always need to take action, and learn through taking action, and the combination of that based on theory … [I’ve learned that] I’ll
live through this phase, I know that sometimes in business you need to learn how to take risks. (Ophelia, W3)
It’s very difficult with the corona[virus], our China [based] product was very delayed. And obviously it’s not great for us, but it’s
certainly a good learning experience for how to deal with problems that you can’t control, so that you don’t get too psyched out.
Because problems happen everywhere … it’s a good learning experience (Victor, W3)
I think it’s a really good learning process even if we don’t make money from it … it’s very hard to come up with an idea … the
biggest thing about EntX I think is just going through the process, the ins and outs. (Bobby, W3)
Obviously, I was sad [when my team was eliminated] … But, I was like, it’s fine. It’s a class. It’s fine. I’ll join another business … I
have to run with it. (Francis, W3)
It’s [EntX] just a teaser for how it feels to be running a company. It could be like this. Basically, it’s just how to deal with annoying
people … It’s gonna be stressful. It’s gonna be annoying to me, frustrating. It’s gonna be all this stuff. I guess you just gotta embrace
this. (Libby, W4)
her teammates’ lack of participation would harm the incidents. Table 6 provides additional examples for
performance of her venture, they managed to turn a both Haley and Sadie.
profit. As she joyfully expressed it, “we broke even Figure 2 offers a longitudinal perspective of these
and made money. And for me, it was a sense of relief recursive and cyclical dynamics. As this figure illus-
… I felt a sense of, ‘okay, this is over,’ like ‘we did trates, experiencing multiple critical incidents over
it’” (Sadie, W4). Sadie admitted that eventually she time—and particularly the ongoing processing of
“calm[ed] down” in reference to her team members’ negative emotions and the cognitive reframing of neg-
lack of accountability, and once they broke even, she ative experiences—culminated with students devel-
“got over it” (Sadie, W4). oping an entrepreneurial mindset and enacting
As Sadie’s and Haley’s experiences illustrate, stu- resilient behaviors beyond the course. Specifically,
dents faced multiple critical incidents throughout the ongoing activation or intensification and de-
their journeys at EntX and cycled through the ongo- escalation of negative emotions associated with ex-
ing activation or intensification and de-escalation of periencing and making sense of critical incidents
negative emotions as they made sense of such over time led to the development of new schemas
TABLE 6
Cycling through Critical Incidents: Additional Examples from Haley’s and Sadie’s Experiences
Student Critical Incident Quotes
Haley Self-Doubts About Critical Incident:

Developing a [A big concern is] getting users ... one of our biggest issues is do people want to
Successful Venture pay for it? … [and] dealing with people who are buying your product. And if
[Wave 2] something goes wrong, how do you go about that? Because now there’s
money involved. People invested in that. How do you go about that, how do
we solve problems? (Haley, W2)
Emotional Intensification:
People [in my team and I] are becoming more worried. (Haley, W2)
Planned Pedagogical Scaffolds [Coaching] & Emotional De-escalation:
There was definitely tension at times, but … my coach was phenomenal … He
just had faith in me to be this all-star … it’s kind of nice that someone who
doesn’t know you and they say this. I never talked to him until that time, and
he was already like “you can do great things” … having someone say that
really gave me more confidence and that’s why I feel I want to do [the
venture] … [it was] affirming. Just like, “okay, I can do this.” (Haley, W2)
Haley Confronting Critical Incident & Emotional Intensification:
Teammates It’s been hard for me, like at a meeting if someone’s not paying attention or
[Wave 3] [they’re] starting to talk about different things, being able to like “guys, we
need to stay on the right track” or telling someone you need to get this done,
like “I know you’re busy and we’re all busy, but you need to get this done.”
Like I hate that stuff … It’s uncomfortable. (Haley, W3)
Planned Pedagogical Scaffolds [Coaching]:
A couple people asked the professors how I can do better and that’s what they
said. I just need to be more upfront, task oriented. So, that’s really pushing
me personally and so, yeah, but in a good way … but like I know I’m gonna
grow from it. (Haley, W3)
Emotional De-escalation:
I’m excited because I think I’m gonna grow up a lot and I’m excited to see that
outcome. (Haley, W3)
Sadie Teammates Not Critical Incident & Emotional Intensification:
Engaged [Wave 2] I mean, people literally sit there on their phone. We meet for three hours on
end sometime. It’s just like they do nothing. We have three athletes. Two are
always, “I have practice.” I have practice too! It’s still a big deal on our team
… it’s frustrating. (Sadie, W2)
I was mad because he’s missed so many meetings … It’s really frustrating, very
frustrating. (Sadie, W2)
Planned Pedagogical Scaffolds:
I think I have the two best professors … taking a class that teaches you how to
deal with people is very helpful. (Sadie, W2)
Emotional De-escalation:
If I go to another team … In some way, it’s almost a huge stress relief … Just
let someone else deal with … the three or four kids that just don’t want to
participate. (Sadie, W2)
It’s not a big deal if we don’t go through. I’ll be so much more stress-free.
(Sadie, W2)
Sadie Conflict with Critical Incident:
Freeriding One kid, after we made the entire presentation … he came in and he was like
Teammate [Wave 3] … “what do I need to know?” And I’m like, “where were you?” … He’s like,
“yeah. What did you guys do?” I’m like, “where were you at 7:00? It’s 9:00!”
(Sadie, W3)
Emotional Intensification, Planned Pedagogical Scaffolds, & Emotional
De-escalation:
It irritates me, but like I don’t know. Good karma. Like what am I supposed to
do? He’s 18. I’m 18. We’re both in the same course … Truly I don’t know
what I’m supposed to do. Maybe as HR I can start stepping in and talking
with the professors … I think being able to finally like voice my opinion will
be nice. (Sadie, W3)
TABLE 6
(Continued)
Student Critical Incident Quotes
Sadie Problems with Critical Incident & Emotional Intensification:

Product In the beginning, I definitely had a lot of doubt … I was like, “this product …
[Wave 4] is just not going to work.” And there was a point where I just wanted to
pivot. I was like, “I’m not going through all spring term with this feeling of
my product is gonna fail.” That winter term period—when we found out that
our product was too heavy, and that when it’s made in the U.S. [it] is too
expensive—I also a lot of doubt and “this sucks.” (Sadie, W4)
Emergent Individual Buffers [Small Wins]:
It’s just nice to know that at least we had the point where we could say we
broke even. That was a huge deal all year in EntX, like “what’s your
breakeven?” Just to be like, “we broke even” was pretty reassuring … it was
a sense of relief. (Sadie, W4)
(Maitlis et al., 2013; Sandberg & Tsoukas, 2015). In to very high or low emotional activation, was gener-
our case, such schema coincided with entrepreneur- ally only temporary.
ial ways of seeing and interpreting challenges—in
other words, they coincided with an entrepreneurial
mindset (Ireland et al., 2003; Lynch & Corbett, 2023; Learning from the Ongoing Experience of Critical
Naumann, 2017). Students engaged this mindset as Incidents and Sensemaking
they encountered subsequent critical incidents, even Developing an entrepreneurial mindset. An
beyond the course. Thus, through the continuous pro- entrepreneurial mindset comprises a specific type of
cess of experiencing and reframing critical incidents,7 schema—an adaptable way of thinking in the face of
students learned how to respond in such a way that challenges that distinguishes entrepreneurial cogni-
promoted entrepreneurial ways of approaching dif- tion and action (Ireland et al., 2003; Lynch & Corbett,
ficult situations and the enactment of resilient 2023; Naumann, 2017). It is through their experi-
behaviors. ences over time, and especially through the proces-
Figure 2 also denotes that there is an emotional sing of repeated, emotionally charged, experiences
“activation band” that serves as the bedrock for stu-
(Fiske & Taylor, 1991), that individuals form and
dents’ continued engagement and learning. Indeed,
update their schemas (Fiske, 1993). In our case, as
when negative emotions become too intense, they
students cycled through the activation or intensifica-
can hamper sensemaking by reducing one’s cogni-
tion and de-escalation of negative emotions, and the
tive processing (Maitlis & Sonenshein, 2010). Yet,
accompanying sensemaking, they developed an
some emotional activation is also necessary to trigger
entrepreneurial mindset.
sensemaking (Byrne & Shepherd, 2015; Maitlis,
Such a mindset became evident as we traced stu-
2009). Although there were no clear patterns in our
dents’ thoughts and actions longitudinally, compar-
data tying specific types of critical incidents to vary-
ing how they tended to view and respond to critical
ing degrees of emotional activation, we did notice
incidents in earlier interviews with how they viewed
some variation in the activation of negative emotions
and responded to them in later ones. For example,
on the part of students, with some experiencing very
high emotional activation and others low emotional early on, Haley manifested deep frustration and
activation in response to critical incidents. The even panic in the face of what she perceived as
dashed coils dipping beyond the “high” and “low” “uncontrollable” aspects of launching a new ven-
bands in Figure 2 denote these dynamics. In addi- ture, such as her team members’ contributions and
tion, they suggest that students’ disengagement, due the unexpectedly low market appeal of her venture
product (see her earlier quotes). In later interviews,
critical incidents still triggered frustration and the
activation of negative emotions. However, a more
7
Our data did not lend itself to quantifying a minimum holistic and adaptive way of thinking also emerged,
or maximum number of critical incidents students must which she herself defined as “entrepreneurial.” In
experience in order for such learning to occur. her words:
TABLE 7
Entrepreneurial Mindset
If something’s wrong, how do we maneuver this? That has been something that has been super apparent to me that has been similar
between the two [referring to EntX and the state of the world with COVID-19] ... BizEd students have a good grasp of how to handle
these situations even though they’re completely new and different … New things are coming up, and we’re having to adapt and see
the situation. I feel BizEd especially loves teaching the essence of how to figure out problems on the fly. (Jeb, W4)
When I went back home right now, I was just looking at different opportunities and how I could help other people, including what
other products could be brought in. So, it’s [EntX] given me more of an entrepreneurial mindset I would say, a way of thinking ...
since the beginning of [EntX] that’s something that I picked up I think. (Parker, W4)
I think that’s where the entrepreneurial mindset comes in … [Before EntX] I was probably like “there’s one answer to everything
looking straight forward.” But now, I’m kind of taking a look from side to side, seeing everything from a different perspective. And I
think they [EntX] taught us to do that, never settle on one thing, always look for the best situation. (Bobby, W4)
You focus on the things you can control. So yeah, there’s a lot of uncertainty right now, but you kind of take away, okay, what are the
things that aren’t going away? My exam’s not going away. I can study for that ... Anything can happen really and you have to kinda
adjust to what’s going on. (Don, W4)
A big part of being an entrepreneur is leading yourself … especially during this whole crisis … it’s an opportunity to work on
yourself and also realize maybe what other business opportunities may come up from it … I’ve been thinking more like a
businessman entrepreneur since … this whole coronavirus thing … I’m really happy to be taking away more an entrepreneur
mindset from [EntX]. (Benny, W4)
Things don’t always work out. So I mean, we’ll see what happens. But things are really competitive too right now ... whatever
happens, I’ll be fine with. (Benny, W5)
My way of thinking has that overlap (with entrepreneurship). I’m not like an entrepreneur in the traditional way of like having my
own start-up ... but I feel like I know. I definitely have like some of the skill set and then I have some knowledge of
entrepreneurship. (Selena, W5)
Because of COVID actually … lot of stuff changed. As my professors said, they had not seen this before. Everything was new, but that
is just like how things are [in life]. You don’t know what’s going to happen, but this is the reality. And that part, that’s the fun of it:
there are difficulties we faced in terms of supplier. We had to switch supplier because of COVID … for both the professors and the
students, we had to adapt to the changing environment and go with it and to make the most of it … How I deal with uncertainty
[now]? To some extent, I just see uncertainty as a way to learn because no matter the uncertainty, uncertain situations have
something in common … I also know I will be better in the future because I already experienced this. That’s just how I approach it.
(Selena, W5)
How do we fix that? I feel right now a lot of problems you learn, it is kind of how they described it [at
are arising, but it’s also like, “Okay. So, how do we fix EntX], which is cool because then there’s no down-
it? And let’s figure it out now.” So, I just noticed I side to it. (Sadie, W5)
have been thinking more entrepreneurial … just kind
of like noticing the problems and noticing myself Table 7 includes additional quotes suggestive of the
being like, “okay, what [is a] solution?” so I don’t, development of an entrepreneurial mindset that stu-
like, dwell on the problem. (Haley, W4) dents invoked as they experienced challenges, even
after EntX.
Sadie too noted that she acquired an entrepreneurial Resilient behaviors. In addition to developing an
way of thinking,8 which afforded her greater per- entrepreneurial mindset, students described behav-
spective and insight into various problems that were ing in ways that reflected this mindset by doing things
arising in her world outside of EntX. As she put it dur- that helped them withstand various hardships
ing our last interview, which occurred months after beyond EntX. Descriptions of resilient behaviors, that
course completion, “I … am more able to understand is, behaviors that aid in adapting to adversity and sig-
[problems in life] … if that makes sense” (Sadie, nificant challenges (Masten & Coatsworth, 1998;
W5). In addition, she emphatically expressed that: Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2007), rose to the fore in how stu-
I actually see a complete overlap now [between me dents recounted occupying their time during the early
and being an entrepreneur]. It’s my mindset … You months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
think like an entrepreneur. You know what I mean? In the face of unexpected unfavorable circum-
Now I see a problem and the first thing that comes to stances, such as not being able to secure an intern-
mind is, “how can I monetize that?” … Let me just ship or prior work offers being rescinded, rather
do it: if it fails, it fails … [I have] taken the negative than dwelling, many students actively sought and
connotation away from failure. So it’s you succeed or embraced alternative possibilities. For example,
Haley shared that:
8
In our data, these dynamics manifest sooner for some I knew it was going to be a hard year and I was like,
students than for others. “If we’re going to be stuck inside, we might as well
use it to our advantage.” [I] networked, LinkedIn, and maybe I did learn that at BizEd or at EntX, just
resume, got some headshots, those kind of things … stepping in when it’s necessary, taking that opportu-
Let me use this time to get ahead … what can I do nity. (Sadie, W5)
with myself? How do I make myself better? I wanted
to build myself. I would just watch TED Talks, You- Other students showed similar shifts in mindset and
Tube videos on how to be a good leader … a bunch behavior. For instance, Don talked about redirecting
of trying to develop myself. (Haley, W5) his efforts toward “the things that I could control” as
the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded (Don, W5). As he
Thus, Haley found herself responding to the chal- explained:
lenges outside of EntX by invoking the entrepreneur-
ial mindset she had developed and by enacting There’s a lot of uncertainty right now, but … if I do
resilient behaviors. The astute reader might question my own thing and make sure I’m protecting myself,
those are the things you can control. So with my
the link between these behaviors and her EntX ex-
exams, I wanted to get good grades. I could control
periences. However, she herself, as well as several
that. I wanted to learn a skill, so I [did] that. (Don, W5)
other informants, linked the way she acted to her
experiential learning journey at EntX. As she put it: The quotes in Table 8 offer additional examples of
some of the resilient behaviors that students de-
It was just noticing my habits. I started thinking about
scribed following the completion of EntX.
EntX. I was like, “okay, what did I take away from
this?” I realized [that part of what I took away was] pro-
ject management … [and] the whole concept of find- DISCUSSION
ing your passion. I wanted to help people, but “how do
Our most significant contribution consists of pull-
I monetize it? How can I reach a large audience?” I
actually I am in the process of finalizing the first epi- ing back the curtain on what the process of learning
sode of a podcast. EntX helped me. (Haley, W5) from critical incidents in an experiential entrepre-
neurship course comprises and how this process
Sadie also demonstrated behavioral resilience out- unfolds longitudinally. Scholars have called for
side of EntX. In her case, accepting that the intern- such an understanding, recognizing the learning
ship she had planned on was not going to potential of critical incidents (Cope & Watts, 2000;
materialize, she signed up for an additional online Donnellon, Ollila, & Middleton, 2014; Lynch &
class and secured alterative employment with her Corbett, 2023; Pittaway & Thorpe, 2012) and the
family business. In her words: merits of engaging qualitative research to enhance
I worked at my parent’s business … because there theorizing in management learning (K€ ohler, 2016).
was no way I was going to find somewhere to go for Our work addresses these calls.
five weeks … I was like, I’m going to take this class Specifically, our granular longitudinal data bring
and then I’m going to work with you guys for five to light the centrality of experiential pedagogy,
weeks … I wasn’t losing out on this opportunity to which we elaborated in terms of planned pedagogi-
understand their company more. I thought it was cal scaffolds and emergent individual buffers as sen-
almost just as beneficial as having the internship. segiving devices, in fostering students’ sustained
(Sadie, W5) engagement through the ongoing de-escalation of
Reflecting back on her decisions, Sadie explained negative emotions. Importantly, the experience of
that despite how difficult it was, she was determined repeated critical incidents over time culminated
to “push through” and “make the most out of it” by with students developing an entrepreneurial mind-
“staying focused on what’s next week and not what’s set and enacting resilient behaviors beyond the
going to happen at the end of the year … [and by] course.
applying that same [entrepreneurial] mentality”
(Sadie, W5). She also noted that what she learned Integrating Critical Incidents in Experiential
through the EntX experience had broad-ranging (Entrepreneurship) Education
applicability and that it continued to help her in her
By bringing empirical relevance to the “complex,
life. For instance, in describing a COVID outbreak in
personal learning that results from … critical
her sports team she noted:
incidents” (Cope & Watts, 2000: 115), our research
We had a COVID outbreak on my team, and two girls contributes to theory regarding how experiential
went home … even there you have to step up. Those entrepreneurship education may facilitate students’
girls are brand new. I’m also an underclassman, but entrepreneurial learning (Gaggiotti et al., 2020;
I’m older than they are. I think little things like that, Mandel & Noyes, 2016). Critical incidents require
TABLE 8
Resilient Behaviors
I had ankle surgery. Basically I could not walk for two months … I think many other students like me, they also hoped to come back
but there was still a travel ban going on … So I relocated to Shanghai—there is so much to do! I started an internship part-time and
signed up for an online class, not through BizEd, I just signed up for it on my own … as a college student, I feel like I need to be
around other college students, in a college campus preferably. That’s why when I knew there was an alternative to study in
Shanghai, it’s basically like study abroad for me, even if the classes are just pass/fail, I feel like it’s better than nothing. (Selena, W5)
There’s a lot of stress … I mean, you do as much as you can, but at the end of the day, I mean, that’s all you can do. And then there’s
no point in worrying ... Do your part, I guess, but there’s not a lot you can do as an individual … [So] I started running, and I got
pretty good at that. I was running like three miles a day in the summer. I was just trying to literally find ways to fill my time,
basically, because I didn’t have any classes to take, and couldn’t really work, so it was a weird ... Because I couldn’t find an
internship online, either, because I was a freshman ... I was able to really put the time in and figure it out and do well. So yeah,
classes were going well. Without swimming, I had this huge ... I guess I had all this time now that I didn’t really have a lot to do, so
I filled it mostly with guitar and just focusing more on studying. (Don, W5)
I started working at a real estate company for the summer … It wasn’t super interesting, but it paid. It was a paying job, and that’s the
reason I took it. [Investments and financial markets and finance in general were areas you were really interested in last year?] Yeah,
I still am, but you don’t get as many opportunities as a freshman. (Victor, W5)
I started my landscaping … company … it was project-based instead of like lawn mowing—probably because people were looking at
their lawns during corona, and were like, “oh … what can I do with this?” So they’re having me do a bunch of somewhat hard
labor, I guess, which kind of sucked. But yeah, it made for good business … I mean there wasn’t much you could do, obviously …
I was also looking to get a job somewhere else ... but it didn’t work out … the way I view is with corona and other uncontrollable
factors in life you can’t really get upset about something you can’t control. I mean, I only get upset at myself about something that
was my fault and I made a problem for myself. (Benny, W5)
I took two courses online … the summer was actually a lot of emotional challenges for me … I started focusing on my courses …
something I thought, well, I actually can do something alone. It was really difficult sometimes, you just wanted company but when
you don’t have your family and when you don’t really have friends who you really trust, that’s all you can do. I found it really
challenging, and that’s something I also find really impressive that I did because I’m normally a more a people-oriented person.
(Felicity, W5)
situated understandings (Cope, 2011; Cope & Watts, failure and loss experiences, alluding to the impor-
2000), as it is the interplay between critical incidents tance of the “socio-emotional impact” of failure in
and salient aspects of the learning context over time particular (Mueller & Shepherd, 2016: 479). Our work
that promotes entrepreneurial learning. We found addresses these calls and opens the door for future
that the ongoing oscillation of negative emotions fol- scholarship that more fully accounts for students’
lowing students’ experiences and their cognitive experiences—not only how they think and act in
reframing of critical incidents tied critical incidents response to failures and negative experiences but also
to salient features of the experiential learning envi- how they feel and channel their emotions.
ronment. This oscillation bears conceptual resem- In our case, both experiential pedagogy design and
blance to how entrepreneurs recover from loss and content promoted the generative oscillation of nega-
failure (Shepherd, 2003, 2004). tive emotions associated with critical incidents. Speci-
Yet, for students in an experiential learning envi- fically, we introduced planned pedagogical scaffolds
ronment, this oscillation process involves negative to evoke figuratively the support from which students
emotions and sensemaking. Specifically, the intensi- benefited in making sense of, or in keeping with, the
fication and de-escalation of such emotions through metaphor of “organizing cognitively” their experi-
sensemaking undergird the development of an entre- ences. At EntX, coaching and conceptual framing on
preneurial mindset and resilient behaviors. These the part of the faculty played a central role in helping
outcomes relate to, but are analytically distinct from, students reframe the issues they were facing, which in
what scholars have hereto theorized as continuity, turn contributed to the de-escalation of their negative
defined as one’s capacity to regain “structural emotions. In the moment, coaching and conceptual
alignment” or to adjust dynamically one’s cognitions framing helped students situate their experiences in
to changing conditions (Mueller & Shepherd, 2016). the context of evidence-based frameworks and theo-
Our work adds to extant understandings of continuity ries. Over time, ongoing coaching and exposure to
by bringing to light the recursive “dance” between conceptual frameworks promoted students’ higher-
negative emotions and the cognitive reframing of crit- order learning (Argyris & Sch€on, 1978; Greiner, 1972).
ical incidents. Scholars have called for research that In articulating these dynamics, we build on prior
moves beyond cognitive approaches to learning from work regarding the critical role that educators play in
experiential learning, and particularly in how educa- wins help in this regard in at least three ways. First,
tors might support students’ emotional processing they help reduce the importance of the problem at
(Lund Dean et al., 2020). As research has found, edu- hand (i.e., “this is not such a big deal”). Second, they
cators must have strong relational, as well as group limit cognitive demands on the individual (i.e., “this
facilitation, skills and competencies to manage the is all I can do now”). Lastly, they help raise one’s
emotions and risks associated with experiential learn- perceived competencies or skill levels (i.e., “at least I
ing (e.g., Lund Dean et al., 2020; Sanderson, 2021; can do that”). When the reappraisal of issues and
Wright, Lund Dean, & Forray, 2022). Beyond skills challenges happens in this way, arousal generally
and competencies, how educators craft their role can becomes less of a deterrent to facing issues and chal-
also shape students’ experiences with, and their lenges (Weick, 1984). By bringing empirical rele-
learning from, experiential activities (for comparable vance to these conceptual insights, we unpack why
arguments, see Greenberg, Clair, & MacLean, 2007). in experiential learning failures need to be balanced
In particular, by taking on the role of coaches in and with some successes. In our case, small wins tempo-
beyond the classroom, educators may help students rarily activated positive emotions, which in turn
process their negative emotions and in so doing pro- tempered the negative emotions that students expe-
mote their ongoing sensemaking and learning. Future rienced in conjunction with critical incidents. With-
research would benefit from further examining the out small wins, negative arousal would likely thwart
effects of faculty coaching, facilitation, and traditional learning (Rowe & Fitness, 2018). However, with the
teaching, as well as of diverse experiential activities countereffect of small wins, students remained
in students’ learning from critical incidents (see also within a range of emotional activation conducive to
Wright et al., 2022). their sustained cognitive engagement and, over time,
With respect to curating varying experiential to their learning. Beyond this emotional effect, small
learning activities, our findings implicate a likely wins also promoted sensemaking by helping stu-
difference between protracted and episodic experi- dents positively reframe past critical incidents and
ential learning activities (Wright et al., 2022). In build their confidence and competence in addres-
extended experiential activities, learning emerges sing subsequent losses and failures, thereby support-
over time as students cycle through a recursive pro- ing learning over time.
cess of emotional activation and sensemaking. Such In addition to small wins, the development of a
learning is unlikely to occur in episodic experiential provisional entrepreneurial identity (Ibarra, 1999;
activities confined to one or two classes. Thus, Radu-Lefebvre, Lefebvre, Crosina, & Hytti, 2021)
future research would benefit from attending to dif- served as an important mechanism in the ongoing
ferences in learning processes, as well as outcomes, de-escalation of students’ negative emotions at EntX.
associated with each episodic and ongoing experien- As our data suggest, in “doing entrepreneurship,”
tial activity. EntX students developed firsthand understanding of
In addition to planned pedagogical aspects, our what it meant to be entrepreneurs. Such understand-
findings suggest that emergent aspects of an experi- ing generally involved facing challenges of various
ential pedagogy—emergent individual buffers—play kinds. Because challenges were so pervasive, stu-
an important role in students’ sensemaking of criti- dents started developing perceptions that they, them-
cal incidents and ultimately in their learning. Small selves, must be or that they could be entrepreneurs as
wins (Weick, 1984) comprise one type of emergent a way of normalizing and accepting challenges as part
buffer pervasive in our data, consistent with the of their self-development. In other words, students’
notion that students may benefit most from experi- experiences in EntX cemented their understanding of
ences of failure when some successes also accom- entrepreneurship, which they eventually took as self-
pany them (Dobson et al., 2021; Gaggiotti et al., 2020; defining (Ibarra, 1999; Radu-Lefebvre et al., 2021).
Neck & Corbett, 2018). We reveal why this mix is Research has long suggested that identity shapes
important and how successes might balance failures the information to which we attend and assimilate
to support students’ learning. (Lave & Wenger, 1991), implying a causal relation-
Research on small wins has explained that, when ship between identity and learning. Considering
faced with an array of emotion-provoking issues, emotions not only adds a new dimension to this
individuals need to find ways of tempering their identity–learning relationship but also ostensibly
emotional arousal to both “keep diagnostic interfer- expands it, from unidirectional to recursive. Future
ence at a minimum” (Weick, 1984: 41) and avoid research may benefit from testing these insights in
feelings of powerlessness or indifference. Small different learning contexts and from probing more
deeply into the emotions–learning–identity triad mindset may be seen as a guided sensemaking pro-
within and beyond the experiential entrepreneur- cess, and as we explained, educators play a critical
ship classroom. role in shaping it (Lundgren et al., 2023; Neck &
Corbett 2018).
Developing Students’ Entrepreneurial Mindset Taken together, our theorizing extends the poten-
tial application and learning benefits of experiential
An additional primary contribution of our work is entrepreneurship education beyond entrepreneur-
connecting the experience of critical incidents in the ship. Our findings provide insight into how manage-
classroom to the development of an entrepreneurial ment education can help cultivate students’ ability
mindset (Ireland et al., 2003; Lynch & Corbett 2023; to cope with uncertainty and challenges, beyond the
McGrath & MacMillan, 2000). In doing so, we academic context—a topic that has previously raised
respond to entrepreneurship education scholars questions (Aronsson, 2004). Such an ability is espe-
who have advocated for research that moves beyond cially critical for today’s students who generally
a focus on students’ entrepreneurial intention and struggle with ambiguity and failure and yet will
self-efficacy and that also attends to their emotions likely enter precarious and competitive work envir-
and mindset (Gonz alez-L opez, P
erez-Lopez, & onments post-graduation (Dobson et al., 2021). In a
Rodrıguez-Ariza, 2019; Li~ nan & Fayolle, 2015; Loi, world that is increasingly volatile and ambiguous,
Castriotta, & Di Guardo, 2016; Nabi et al., 2017). the development of an entrepreneurial mindset may
To start, with respect to research on entrepreneur- help weave continuity and coherence throughout
ial mindset (e.g., Haynie, Shepherd, Mosakowski, & one’s career and life. For this reason, we see the
Earley, 2010; Haynie, Shepherd, & Patzelt, 2012; potential merits of exposing students and future lea-
Naumann, 2017), we make two primary contribu- ders, and not just aspiring entrepreneurs (Corbett,
tions. First, we suggest a possible pathway through 2020), to learning environments that mimic, in terms
which such a mindset develops. As others lamented, of pedagogical elements, the environment in which
the overarching lack of in-depth, qualitative, longitu- our students were embedded.
dinal research to date has made it difficult to articu-
late how, why, and when an entrepreneurial mindset
Entrepreneurial Learning from Failure and Loss
may come to be (Naumann, 2017). Our study design
and data uniquely allowed us to shed light on these Finally, our theorizing builds on and extends
dynamics. We suggest that the development of an research on learning from failure and loss in entre-
entrepreneurial mindset on the part of students fol- preneurship. We show empirically that those to
lows the experience and processing of multiple criti- whom one turns for support (Shepherd, 2004), and
cal incidents over time, as students (re)work through more broadly the context in which one is embed-
the ongoing negative emotions that such incidents ded (Shepherd et al., 2011), play an important role
activate. in shaping one’ thoughts and actions. We take
Second, we advance a process-based view of these insights a step further by shedding light on
entrepreneurial mindset. This perspective comple- the in-the-moment, granular, interplay of action,
ments and extends existing conceptualizations of cognition, and negative emotions that over time
entrepreneurial mindset as a metacognitive resource aggregates to learning after experiences of loss and
that develops as individuals accumulate knowledge failure. Scholars have long pleaded for this focus,
and assimilate feedback (Haynie et al., 2012). We acknowledging the importance of tracing how indi-
add specificity here by explaining the mechanisms viduals experience and respond to loss and failure
that link receiving feedback and cumulating knowl- longitudinally (Shepherd, 2003). Focusing on stu-
edge to thinking about challenges beyond the class- dents enrolled in an experiential entrepreneurship
room in highly adaptive and entrepreneurial ways. program enabled us to trace such experiences as
Such mechanisms are both cognitive and emotional. they unfolded. Future research may assess the
Prior to our work, others suggested that an entrepre- extent to which, if at all, the emotional and learn-
neurial mindset involves both cognitions and emo- ing dynamics we induced here extend to others,
tions (Kuratko, Fisher, & Audretsch, 2021). Yet, such as students enrolled in different types of
extant theoretical work tended to treat these experiential learning programs or different types of
domains as separate. In our case, emotions and experiential entrepreneurship activities.
thoughts were closely coupled through sensemak- Our finding that the ongoing oscillation of nega-
ing. Thus, the development of an entrepreneurial tive emotions undergirds learning from critical
incidents offers a new dimension for interpreting A way to foster such safe spaces is designing experi-
why and when individuals may oscillate cognitively ential courses in which experiencing failures are
between loss and restoration orientations after fail- divorced from evaluation and grading. At EntX, for
ure (Shepherd, 2003, 2004). It is possible that shifts example, students were assessed based on how they
between these two cognitive orientations are catalyzed reflected on and analyzed their experiences, rather
by a combination of critical incidents and by the pres- than on business outcomes, such as their ventures’
ence of various sensemaking devices, whether sales, or on the traction of their marketing cam-
“scaffolds” within one’s environment or individuals’ paigns. Through journaling prompts, essays, and
own development. Future research may benefit from even exam questions, students connected their own
probing deeper into individuals’ (entrepreneurs’ and experiences (of failures and successes alike) to
other students’) experiences to unearth what such crit- course concepts. When grading and returning such
ical incidents and experiences comprise. It is also pos- deliverables to students, faculty took extra care in
sible that the development of an entrepreneurial reinforcing their grading approach. This is important
mindset undergirds individuals’ recovery from busi- because some students may be foreign to, and con-
ness failure. Future research may thus explore fused by, such process-based (versus more common
whether the link we presume between loss and failure outcome-based) grading.
experiences and entrepreneurial mindset indeed Educators should also consider designing their
transcends an experiential entrepreneurship learning courses, and their own teaching roles, so that they
context. have the capacity to provide individualized coach-
Finally, research has suggested that sensemaking ing to students, particularly when students’ negative
facilitates learning from the negative emotions that emotions intensify following critical incidents. This
failure and loss experiences trigger (Byrne & Shep- might mean, for example, planning for individual
herd, 2015). Our granular longitudinal data qualifies meetings with students specifically around points
this insight, offering a detailed explanation for how where tension and anxiety may be heightened, such
and why oscillating emotions and cognitions interre- as key deliverables. Doing so requires educators to
late over time, ultimately leading to learning. We be less bound to the classroom as the sole teaching
also extend existing scholarship that suggested there space.
is a connection between sensemaking and learning In addition, because students may expect neither
(Daft & Weick, 1984) by articulating what such the activation nor the intensification of negative emo-
learning comprises in terms of both process and tions, educators need to prepare students by foresha-
outcomes. dowing these dynamics, as well as by explaining how
they, themselves, plan to support students through
Practical Implications the learning process (Lund Dean et al., 2020; Wright
et al., 2018). In our case, approaching students from a
From a more practical standpoint, our research coaching orientation, and engaging in periodic indi-
sensitizes educators toward pedagogical approaches vidual meetings outside of EntX, proved critical in
that require careful curation to promote student this regard.
learning from critical incidents. To start, our find- However, educators may realize that as students
ings highlight the importance of prolonged experien- work “at their edge,” they may also be teaching at
tial learning activities. As others noted, such “the edge” (Allen, 2018: 310). Taking stock of their
activities simulate the dynamic, iterative, nature of own needs, educators themselves should feel com-
the entrepreneurship process more fully (Dobson fortable reaching out to colleagues for advice and
et al., 2021; Gaggiotti et al., 2020). Importantly, our coaching. Teaching experientially requires faculty
findings also suggest that it is only over time, cycling to move beyond traditional, didactic, professorial
through multiple critical incidents, that students roles. As such, educators would benefit from seeking
learn to navigate the failures, losses, and uncertainty opportunities to improve their capacity to facilitate
that surrounds the entrepreneurial process. This their own, as well as their students’, emotional pro-
reinforces the merits of designing prolonged experi- cessing of ongoing critical incidents (Bradford, 2019;
ential activities as part of entrepreneurship and man- Sanderson, 2021; Wright et al., 2022). By finding
agement education. ways to build a safe learning community among
In addition, faculty need to create safe spaces in themselves, educators can better support one
which students may experience critical incidents another through the stress and uncertainty of this
(Dobson & Walmsley, 2021; Lundgren et al., 2023). pedagogy.
Limitations and Opportunities for entrepreneurship. The course also benefits from a
Future Research larger ecosystem that provides opportunities for stu-
dents to learn about entrepreneurship outside of the
Like all research, this study has limitations. While
classroom. Although not evident in our data, these
our insights do generalize to a broader theory, it is
contextual features may have influenced student
unclear whether, and if so to what extent, they might
learning and thus our findings. We encourage future
apply to other settings (Yin, 2003). Notably, we
research to compare learning across different educa-
focused on a group of undergraduate students
tional contexts and to examine how the educational
enrolled in a yearlong experiential entrepreneurship
ecosystem might affect students’ learning.
course who had limited prior entrepreneurship
Finally, with respect to our research design, the
experience. Future research may consider how our
unexpected outbreak of COVID-19 created an oppor-
theorizing extends to other groups engaged in pro-
tunity to evaluate student learning outside of EntX.
longed experiential learning activities, such as grad-
To be sure, given the ongoing nature of COVID-19, it
uate students or executives enrolled in experiential
was difficult to know how much time to leave before
entrepreneurship courses. Such research may give
re-engaging with students following EntX’s prema-
way to the discovery of additional mechanisms
ture end. On the one hand, one could argue that leav-
underpinning what and how students learn from
ing more time between our second-to-last and last
critical incidents. Similarly, our research cannot
round of interviews might have offered additional,
assess the extent to which the patterns we uncovered
and perhaps different, insights. On the other hand,
extend to students with prior entrepreneurial experi-
attrition would have likely increased. What we did
ence. Researchers may want to focus on how stu-
capture is students’ processing and application of
dents’ prior entrepreneurial experiences might
their classroom experiences and learning during a
shape their emotional engagement and learning.
turbulent time. Future research may consider engag-
There are several additional limitations to our
ing in longitudinal research that follows students for
research, which offer further opportunities for future
even longer periods. This work would help assess
scholarship. Although the longitudinal nature of
the durability of students’ entrepreneurial mindset
this study uniquely allowed us to theorize how
and resilient behaviors, issues that are beyond the
learning evolves over time, it was difficult to keep
scope of our work.
all participants engaged across all five waves of
data collection. Thus, our findings may have been
affected by underlying differences between those
CONCLUSION
students who continued to participate in our research
and those who did not. Differences might exist based We began our paper by highlighting a tension
upon individual-level factors, which we did not, and between the importance of exposing entrepreneurship
in some case could not (due to student privacy restric- students to critical incidents in the classroom and the
tions), capture systematically. Future research would pedagogical challenges and risks associated with such
benefit from probing into the extent to which the pat- exposure. We conclude by showing how experiential
terns we induced might vary based on individual pedagogy design and content can facilitate students’
differences. More broadly, although prior research learning from critical incidents. In our case, such
suggested that there may be some variation in the learning culminated with students developing an
effects of entrepreneurship education based on gen- entrepreneurial mindset and enacting resilient beha-
der and social background (e.g., Nowi nski, Haddoud, viors beyond course completion. In theorizing what
Lancaric, Egerov
a, & Czegledi, 2019; Shinnar, Hsu, & and how students learn from critical incidents in an
Powell, 2014) we could not systematically trace such experiential entrepreneurship course, we also provide
variation in our data. Future research may focus on insights for how entrepreneurship and management
revisiting our model, assessing quantitatively the educators may engage, rather than shy away from, crit-
extent to which the learning process we theorized ical incidents as part of their own experiential
applies to students of different genders and social courses. This engagement is important and timely. In
backgrounds. careers and jobs that are increasingly precarious, the
Another potential concern is the influence that the development of an entrepreneurial mindset, as a
larger institutional context may have had on our highly adaptable and resourceful way of thinking
findings. EntX is embedded in BizEd—an environ- under uncertainty, may help students find continuity
ment where many students express an interest in and coherence in their working lives and beyond.
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at Babson College. His research focuses on entrepreneurial

cognition and learning, corporate entrepreneurship, and
entrepreneurship education.
Eliana Crosina ([email protected]) is an assistant
professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College. Her cur- Danna Greenberg ([email protected]) is the Walter
rent research focuses on issues of identity and organizing H. Carpenter professor of organizational behavior where
in entrepreneurial contexts. she also serves as the associate dean of faculty. Her
Erin L. Frey ([email protected]) is an assistant professor at research programs center on academic careers and how
the University of Southern California. Her research con- faculty and pedagogy influence learning and on how
siders the aftermath of failures in organizations, explor- individuals integrate work, family, and community as
ing responses to wrongdoing and crises. their careers and lives evolve.
Andrew C. Corbett ([email protected]) is the Paul T.

Babson distinguished professor of entrepreneurial studies
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
Timeline of EntX and Data Collection Activities
Description of All Research
Time EntX Activities Data Collected Activities
September 2019 Students begin EntX and are Obtained consent from All 40 informants in a single cohort
assigned to a cohort informants gave consent to participate
Students begin meeting as a Conducted first wave of Second author conducted first
cohort; begin receiving baseline interviews interviews in person
instruction on (Wave 1) (39 informants)
entrepreneurial skills and Second author attended cohort
theories; are placed on teams meetings
to start developing venture Research team met to discuss
ideas emerging insights
October 2019 Students narrow venture ideas; First two authors open-coded
explore feasibility of transcripts of Wave 1 interviews;
ventures; continue learning met to discuss and resolved
entrepreneurial skills and discrepancies; wrote memos to
theories capture emerging themes
Research team met to discuss
emerging insights; refined
interview protocol based on
insights
November 2019 Students create business plans Conducted second wave of Second author conducted
for ventures; “pitch” venture interviews (Wave 2) second interviews in person
ideas to investors; continue (35 informants)
learning entrepreneurial Second author attended cohort
skills and theories meetings
emerging insights
December 2019 – Students are given financing First two authors open-coded
January 2020 for ventures; begin ordering transcripts of Wave 2 interviews;
products, supplies met to discuss and resolved
discrepancies; wrote memos to
capture emerging themes
emerging insights; refined
interview protocol based on
insights
APPENDIX A
(Continued)
Description of All Research
Time EntX Activities Data Collected Activities
February 2020 Students begin operating Conducted third wave of Second author conducted
ventures and selling interviews (Wave 3) third interviews in person
products or services; (30 informants)
participants continue Second author attended cohort
learning entrepreneurial meetings
skills and theories Research team met to discuss
emerging insights
March 10, 2020 COVID-19 forces early closure Research team met to discuss
of EntX closure of EntX and implications
Students notified that all for research
venture activities must stop
by 3/11/20 and class would
continue online
March 13–30, 2020 First two authors engaged in open-
coding of Wave 3 transcripts; met
to discuss and resolved
Research team met to develop
interview protocol for Wave 4
interviews in light of emerging
themes from Wave 3
April 2020 Students continue learning in Conducted fourth wave of Second author conducted Wave 4
EntX without the venture interviews (Wave 4) interviews virtually (via Zoom)
projects. (21 informants)
May 2020 Students conclude EntX course First two authors open-coded
transcripts of Wave 4 interviews;
met to discuss and resolved
emerging insights
December 2020 Conducted fifth wave of Second author conducted Wave 5
interviews (Wave 5) interviews virtually (via Zoom)
(8 informants)
First two authors open-coded
transcripts of Wave 5 interviews;
met to discuss and resolved
capture emerging themes and met
with the team to discuss emerging
insights
APPENDIX B
Sample Information and Data per Wave
Initial Level of Interest in
Pseudonym Gender Entrepreneurship W1 W2 W3 W4 W5
Don M Medium X X X X X
Selena F Medium X X X X X
Haley F Medium-high X X X X X
Felicity F Medium-high X X X X X
Sadie F Medium-high X X X X X
Victor M Low X X X X X
Benny M Medium-high X X X X X
Pablo M High X X X X X
Libby F High X X X X
Tyler M Medium X X X X
Mickey M Medium X X X X
Luna F Low X X X X
Ophelia F Medium-high X X X X
Jeb M Medium X X X X
Carla F Medium X X X X
Skye F Low X X X X
Rose M High X X X X
Bobby M Medium-low X X X X
Patricia F Medium-low X X X X
Yasmine F Medium X X X X
Parker M High X X X X
Wellington M Medium-low X X X
Carter M Medium-low X X X
Brianna F High X X X
Hope F Medium X X X
Francis F Medium-low X X X
Ellen F Medium-high X X X
Grace F Medium-low X X X
Arthur M Low X X X
Spencer M Medium-low X X X
Fabian M Medium-low X X
Augusta F Medium-low X X
Eli M Medium-high X X
Fiona F Medium X X
Dill M Medium-low X
Lou M Medium-high X
Grover M Medium-high X
Brad M Medium-high X
Karen F Medium X
APPENDIX C 2. Have you had any previous experiences working

so far? If so, could you tell me about them? What
Interview Protocols
was your role, and what were your primary
Wave 1 Interview Protocol, Selected Questions responsibilities?
Background: a. What, if anything, did you take away from
1. To start, could you give me a little bit of back- these experiences? (Optional Follow-Up)
ground about yourself? Specifically, could you 3. Have you had any previous experiences starting
walk me through some of the key experiences a group, club, or business? If so, could you tell
and/or people in your life that shaped “who you me about these organizations and why you
are” today? decided to launch them?
Could you give me an example or two of how a. What, if anything, did you take away
these experiences/people affected you? (Optional from these experiences? (Optional Follow-
Follow-Up) Up)
4. Think about the teams or organizations you’ve your idea, or did someone else come up with the
been a part of. What are some of the most signifi- idea?
cant experiences that stand out? What is your a. If the former, have you had experiences with
“style” on a team? other students who were not “sold” on your
a. Have you ever had to deal with conflict in a idea? If so, how did you try to convince them?
“work” setting before? If so, can you describe, Could you give me some concrete examples?
briefly, the nature of the conflict, and tell me How do you feel about how you have done in
about your experience/s dealing with it? this regard so far?
b. If the latter, could you describe the process of
Expectations: joining someone else’s idea/team?
1. Let’s switch gears now … Why did you decide 2. How do you feel about: (1) the venture idea on
to come to BizEd? which you are currently working; and (2) your
2. What expectations, if any, do you have about EntX? team members?
a. Do you know any of the other students? If so, 3. If you had to describe your venture to someone
how and how well? who does not know it, what words (adjectives)
b. What are your initial impressions (if any) of would you use? Why?
others enrolled in EntX? Developing Teams & Relationships:
c. Do you already have an idea for a venture? If 1. How would you describe your team more
so, are you hoping to pitch it? If not, why broadly? How would you describe the atmo-
not? sphere on the team? What, if anything, makes for
this atmosphere? Whom, if anyone in particular,
Identity & Mindset: contributes to shaping this atmosphere?
1. What is an entrepreneur to you? 2. On a scale from 1 to 10, how much a part of your
2. When does someone become an entrepreneur? team do you feel? Why? Could you give me some
3. How does someone become an entrepreneur? concrete examples for why you feel the way you
4. Do you have an entrepreneur who is a role do?
model? What makes them role models? 3. Do you have a specific role on your team? If so,
5. Imagine two circles: one represents you, and one how would you describe your role on the team?
represents being an entrepreneur [show the image How did you take on that role? Was it a formal
below while posing this question]. How much process or informal?
overlap (if any) do you see between the two? 4. Are other team members taking on specific
roles in the team? If so, how did they get their
YOU roles?
5. Please talk about your relationship with others
on your team. Is there someone you particularly
like and/or do not like? If so, why? Is there some-
one you feel close to? Similar to? Different from?
Can you help me understand how you developed
these feelings?
6. Can you tell me about any possible memorable
ENTREPRENEUR
interactions you might have had with your team
In what ways, if any, does being an entrepreneur members? What made these interactions
reflect who you are today? In what ways does it not? “memorable”?
Closing: 7. Can you tell me about any possible awkward or
1. In closing, are there any questions you may have uncomfortable interactions you might have had
for me? Is there anything else you would like to with your team members? Have you seen or
add? heard about any awkward or tense events on the
team?
8. Have you experienced directly any conflict with
Wave 2 Interview Protocol, Selected Questions
anyone on the team? Even minor conflict?
Background/Follow up from Prior Interview: a. If so, can you tell me about what happened?
1. To start, could you briefly describe the venture How did you respond?
idea on which you are working now? Was this b. How did the other person respond?
c. How did the situation make you feel 3. Imagine two circles: one represents you, and one
afterward? represents your team [show the image below
d. What, if any, are your interactions with that while posing this question]. How much overlap
person like, currently? (if any) do you see between the two?
9. Have you seen or heard about any conflicts hap-
pen on the team? Even minor disagreements? YOU
a. If so, can you tell me what happened?
b. How did the involved team members
respond?
c. How did seeing/hearing about that make you
feel?
d. Who, if anyone, on the team causes the most
issues? Can you give me some concrete
YOUR TEAM
examples?
10. Have there been any instances where you did
In what ways, if any, does your team reflect who
not agree with something that was happening?
you are today? In what ways does it not?
If so, did you speak up or take action? What led
4. Imagine two circles: one represents you, and one
you to that decision?
represents your venture [show the image below
11. Have there been instances in which your other
while posing this question]. How much overlap
members spoke up about something they dis-
(if any) do you see between the two?
agreed with? What was the situation? What hap-
pened? How did you react? How did you YOU
perceive those team member/s? How do you
think your other team members viewed those
who spoke up?
12. What, if any, challenges have you encountered
as a venture so far? How, if at all, are you deal-
ing with them?
Developing Identity & Mindset:
1. What, in your mind, does it take to be an entrepre- YOUR VENTURE
neur? How, if at all, has your understanding
evolved now that you have been actively involved In what ways, if any, does your venture reflect
in your business? What events/interactions might who you are today? In what ways does it not?
have shaped your understanding? 5. What, if anything, have you learned so far about
2. Imagine two circles: one represents you, and creating your business? What, if any experiences
one represents being an entrepreneur [show the in particular have shaped this learning?
image below while posing this question]. How 6. What, if any, memorable (positive or negative)
much overlap (if any) do you see between the moments/experiences shaped how you see your-
two? self today?
7. How, if at all, has what you have learned in the
YOU
class influenced your experience in your venture?
8. How might your EntX experience so far have
influenced your life outside of EntX? (Probe for
relationships with parents, family, as well as
other businesses they might be involved in.)
9. How, if at all, have your goals for/learning expec-
tations from EntX changed, now that you have
ENTREPRENEUR been in it for a couple of months?
Closing:
In what ways, if any, does being an entrepreneur 1. In closing, are there any questions you may have
reflect who you are today? In what ways does it for me? Is there anything else you would like to
not? add?

YOU
Background/Follow up from Prior Interview:
1. To start, could you briefly describe some of the
major events that have happened to you, and
your venture, since we spoke last? What made
these events important/consequential?
2. How do you feel now about: (1) the venture; (2)
your team members; (3) your role in the venture?
Evolving Team & Relationships: ENTREPRENEUR
1. On a scale from 1 to 10, how much a part of your
team do you feel now? Why? Could you give me 3. In what ways, if any, does being an entrepreneur
some concrete examples for why you feel the reflect who you are today? In what ways does it
way you do? not?
2. What is your role in your current team? How 4. What, if any, memorable (positive or negative)
do you feel about it? To what extent—if at all— moments/experiences shaped how you see your-
has it changed from what you were doing self today?
before? Venture Outcomes & Possible Learning:
3. Please talk about your relationship with others 1. Could you comment on the performance of your
on your team. How, if at all, have they evolved venture so far?
since we connected last? Is there someone 2. What, if any, new notions have you learned
you now particularly like and/or do not like? about running a business now that you have
If so, why? Is there someone you now feel been running the business for a month or so?
close to? Similar to? Different from? Can you What, if any, experiences in particular have
help me understand how you developed these shaped this learning?
feelings? 3. How might your EntX experience so far have
4. Can you tell me about any possible memorable influenced your life outside of EntX?
interactions you might have had with your team 4. Do you have relationships with people on your
members since we spoke last? What made these team outside of EntX?
interactions “memorable?” a. Can you tell me about those relationships?
5. More broadly, what if any, challenges have you b. How (if at all) do those relationships impact
encountered as a venture? How, if at all, have your experience in the venture?
you been dealing with them? Has your ap- Career and Future:
proach changed in any way since we spoke 1. Thinking about your career going forward, what
last? do you think you would like to do? How, if at all,
6. What, if any, challenges do you foresee in the has EntX influenced your ambitions?
future?
Evolving Identity & Mindset:
1. What, in your mind, does it take to be an entre- Background/Follow up from Prior Interview:
preneur? How, if at all, has your understanding 1. Clearly COVID 19 is a huge event, and we’ll get
evolved now that you have been actively in- into that. However, the last time we spoke was
volved in running a business? What events/ February [date], so could you walk me through
interactions might have shaped this current the major events that happened in your venture
understanding [if different from before]? between February [date] and now?
2. Imagine two circles: one represents you, and one Venture & Unexpected Closing:
represents being an entrepreneur [show the 1. Can you tell me about the experience of closing
image below while posing this question]. How your business earlier than expected? In particular:
much overlap (if any) do you see between the a. How did you react? What did you feel?
two now? b. How did your teammates react?
c. How do you feel now about: (1) the venture; about “who you are”; (3) your propensity to
(2) your team members; (3) the role you had launch a new venture in the future?
in the venture? 4. What, if anything, more broadly will you take
2. Please talk about your relationship with others away from this experience?
on your venture team. How, if at all, have Future and Career:
they evolved since we connected last? Can you 1. At this point, how are you thinking about your
help me understand how you developed these future career?
feelings?
COVID-19: Wave 5 Interview Protocol, Selected Questions
1. What, if anything, have you learned from the
venture experience that has helped you adjust to Background:
the COVID-19 situation? 1. We last talked in [ … ]. What happened between
2. How, if at all, has the COVID-19 situation influ- then and now from both a professional and per-
enced how you think about business and entre- sonal standpoint?
preneurship more broadly? Can you tell me how you spent the summer?
Evolving Identity & Mindset: When you were getting ready to come back to
1. What, in your mind, does it take to be an entre- BizEd, what were your thoughts?
preneur? How, if at all, has your understanding 2. What has this fall been like at BizEd?
evolved now that you have been actively in- Do you feel integrated? Why or why not?
volved in a business? What events/interactions How involved are you at BizEd currently? Is
might have shaped this current understanding [if this different from last year?
different from before]? How do you feel about BizEd currently?
2. Imagine two circles for one last time: one repre-
sents you, and one represents being an entrepre- Shocks: Interpretations, Feelings, Possible Org-
neur [show the image below while posing this anizational and Career Implications:
question]. How much overlap (if any) do you see 1. Looking back on your EntX experience—
between the two today, as you have winded especially the early shutdown of the venture …
down your business? How do you feel about that experience now?
How did you feel about the shutdown of your
YOU
EntX venture in the spring? Do you feel differ-
ently or the same now?
2. How, it at all, did the early closure of your
EntX venture shape your current experience at
BizEd? Could you give me some concrete
examples?
3. How do you think your experience of EntX com-
pares to upperclassmen’s? Do you feel that you
ENTREPRENEUR are at an “advantage” or “disadvantage” based on
what happened? Can you help me understand by
In what ways, if any, does being an entrepreneur giving me concrete examples?
reflect who you are today? In what ways does it not? 4. How, if at all, did the early ending of EntX affect:
Taking Stock: How you think about your future?
1. Now that you have closed your business, how do How about possible jobs or careers you might
you feel about the experience as a whole? consider?
2. What, if any, significant “turning points” did you 䊊 What types of jobs and careers are you
experience as an individual and as part of this interested in right now?
team? If so, what were they? When did they 䊊 How, if at all, do these differ from the jobs
occur? In what ways do you think those experi- and careers you were contemplating when
ences were important? you first came to BizEd? (When pertinent)
3. Looking back at this experience, is there anything Why these differences?
in particular (events/situations/interactions) that 5. Now let’s switch gears and talk about COVID
might have shaped: (1) how you think about more specifically. People had different feelings
entrepreneurship broadly; (2) how you think about COVID when it first broke out.
How would you describe how you felt about How much overlap (if any) do you see between
COVID in the spring? Can you explain why the two today?
you think you felt as you did?
How do you think and feel about COVID now? YOU
Lingering Uncertainty and Identity:
1. What, if anything, from your EntX experience is
helping you navigate your life right now?
䊊 How, if at all, did your EntX experience
inform how you are managing the situations
that COVID has generated? Can you give me
some concrete examples?
䊊 You (did/did not) go through several team
ENTREPRENEUR
transitions during EntX. How did you experi-
ence those transitions? How did you feel? To 3. In what ways, if any, does being an entrepreneur
what extent, if at all, might those “planned” reflect “who you are,” and in what ways does it
transitions help you prepare for transitioning, not today?
unexpectedly, out of BizEd and the shutdown Career:
of EntX? 1. What types of jobs and careers are you interested
䊊 One part of EntX was “Nimble.” Has that in right now?
played any role in your current experiences? 2. How, if at all, did COVID influence how you
2. Now imagine two different circles: one represents think about careers? Why? Could you give me
you and one represents being an entrepreneur. some examples?
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r Academy of Management Learning & Education

2024, Vol. 23, No. 1, 88–127.

FROM NEGATIVE EMOTIONS TO ENTREPRENEURIAL

Negative experiences are pervasive and consequential in entrepreneurship: on the one

• Venture Process Issues • Planned Pedagogical Scaffolds

• Interpersonal Dynamics Issues • Emergent Individual Buffers

Start Experiential Entrepreneurship Course End

Critical Incidents comparisons, his venture generally fell short. As he

sealed. (Sadie, W3) marked BizEd framework.

Provisional Entrepreneurial Identity

Haley Self-Doubts About Critical Incident:

Sadie Problems with Critical Incident & Emotional Intensification:

REFERENCES Carter, T. 2021, January 3. The true failure rate of small

problem-based approach to entrepreneurship. Entre- of processes involved in the formation of organiza-

at Babson College. His research focuses on entrepreneurial

Andrew C. Corbett ([email protected]) is the Paul T.

APPENDIX C 2. Have you had any previous experiences working

Wave 3 Interview Protocol, Selected Questions

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