The Transformation Mechanism Of Entrepreneurial Learning From The Individual Level To The Organizational Level:Based On Knowledge Perspective

Entrepreneurship plays an important role in promoting economic development and solving employment problems.On the one hand,the government put forward the policy of "public entrepreneurship and innovation" to stimulate the entrepreneurial and innovative potential of the whole society and promote the creation and development of new ventures.On the other hand,with the deepening of China's economic reform,new ventures are facing increasing complex external environment,such as the lack of stability and continuity of the system,the highly uncertainty market,the changing frequently technology,the lack of resources,and the low of ability in resisting risks,which all make the failure rate of new ventures high.To solve the problem,continuous entrepreneurial learning is essential.Successful entrepreneurs learn continuously through the trial,reflection,and observation to capture and develop entrepreneurial opportunities.However,with the development of new ventures,entrepreneur's learning access to their own knowledge has become insufficient gradually to support the gradual diversification of business operations,and it's needed for new ventures to implement the whole organizational learning and build the organization knowledge base,in order to maintain a good momentum of development of new ventures.Therefore,how to achieve the transformation of entrepreneurial learning from the individual level(entrepreneur's learning)to the organizational level(new venture's learning)is a question worthy of studing and exploring.In this paper,based on the related theoretical analysis of entrepreneurial learning,organizational learning and entrepreneurial knowledge,combined with the exploratory case study of four new ventures,we analyze entrepreneur's learning and new venture's learning from the knowledge perspective,build a theoretical model about entrepreneur's knowledge,knowledge sharing mechanism,knowledge integration mechanism and new venture's knowledge,and put forward the knowledge sharing and knowledge integration are the key transition paths from entrepreneur's knowledge into new venture's knowledge.Meanwhile,knowledge sharing mechanism is divided into formal and informal,and knowledge integration mechanism is divided into precise and abstract.We deeply analyze the role of different types of knowledge sharing mechanism and knowledge integration mechanism in this transformation process from entrepreneur's knowledge into new venture's knowledge,thus opening the black box of transformation mechanism of entrepreneurial learning from the individual level to the organizational level.Based on the insufficient theoretical studies,we took high-tech start-ups in China as study object,did a questionnaire survey in inactive entrepreneurial areas(Changchun,Harbin,Hainan)and high active entrepreneurial areas(Beijing and Tianjin).We collected two questionnaires from each start-ups,eventually received 406 valid questionnaires from 203 new ventures,and the statistical hypothesis was analyzed by factor analysis,Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis.It was found that 13 of the 16 hypotheses proposed in this study were better supported.The results of data test show that entrepreneur's knowledge,different knowledge sharing mechanisms and knowledge integration mechanisms all have a positive impact on new venture's knowledge.Formal and informal knowledge sharing have a positive impact on different knowledge integration mechanisms(both precise and abstract),and entrepreneur's knowledge has a positive impact on formal knowledge sharing and precise knowledge integration.However,the inverted "U" type relationship between entrepreneur's knowledge and informal knowledge sharing and the positive influence of entrepreneur's knowledge on abstract knowledge integration have not been supported by the data.At the same time,this study also validates the mediating role of formal knowledge sharing,precise and abstract knowledge integration between entrepreneur's knowledge and new venture's knowledge.The results show that the mediating role of formal knowledge sharing and precise knowledge integration is supported,but the mediating role of abstract knowledge integration has not been verified by data.In this paper,through the study of Chinese high-tech start-ups,this research explores the transformation model and the transformation mechanism of entrepreneurial learning from the individual level to the organizational leve based on knowledge perspective,analyzes how entrepreneur's knowledge can influence different knowledge sharing mechanisms and knowledge integration mechanisms,and then affect new venture's knowledge,reflecting a certain degree of innovation,which makes up for the lack of research on the transformation mechanism of entrepreneurship learning from the individual level to the organizational level.Firstly,this paper conducts in-depth analysis for entrepreneurial learning and entrepreneurial knowledge at two levels of the entrepreneur and new venture,and constructs systematically the conceptual system of entrepreneurial learning.Although the previous research has made the diversified study of entrepreneurial learning from multiple angles,focusing on the application of learning theory in the field of entrepreneurship,or the relationship between entrepreneurial learning and resources and knowledge,or the relationship between entrepreneurial learning process and opportunity identification and exploitation.However,on the one hand,with the diversification of entrepreneurial learning research,these studies are characterized by highly individualistic and fragmented nature,most research is still at the stage of the conceptual framework,and many studies are parallel and lack of reference or contrast(Wang & Chugh,2014).On the other hand,the study on entrepreneurial learning is not clear at the theoretical level,leading to inconsistency in the conceptual system of entrepreneurial learning.Some scholars have realized that entrepreneurial learning occurs in the individual and organization level,but the in-depth analysis aout entrepreneurial learning from a variety of levels is scarce.Based on this,we study the entrepreneurial learning systematiclly,define the concept and measurement architecture of entrepreneurial learning and entrepreneurial knowledge at two level(individual level and organizational level),and analyze the internal relation between entrepreneur's learning(entrepreneur's knowledge)and new venture's learning(new venture's knowledge),which makes up for the current research gaps and deficiencies.Secondly,this research explores the transformation mechanism model from entrepreneur's learning to new venture's learning based on the knowledge perspective,and puts forward and analyzes the key mediating effect of different knowledge sharing mechanisms and knowledge integration mechanisms.Through combing the existing research,we find that scholars for entrepreneurial learning still have not a theory of universality,and the defining and measurement issues of entrepreneurial learning are not yet clear.The reason is that entrepreneurial learning is unclear at the level of theoretical research(Harrison & Leitch,2005).Most of the studies have analyzed entrepreneurial learning from a single level,that entrepreneurial learning have been treated as an entrepreneur's learning at the individual level,or treated as new venture's learning at the organizational level,but the cross-level research on entrepreneurial learning is scarce.This paper breaks through the previous research traditions.Through the analysis of relevant theoretical literature and exploratory case studies,we constructs the transformation mechanism model from entrepreneur's learning to new venture's learning based on knowledge perspective,puts forward the importance roles of knowledge sharing and knowledge integration,and analyzes the mediating effect of formal knowledge sharing,precise and abstract knowledge integration between entrepreneur's knowledge and new venture's knowledge.Based on the two-level research of entrepreneurial learning,this paper analyzes the transformation path of entrepreneurial learning from the individual level to the organizational level,and constructs a cross-level and versatile theoretical model of entrepreneurial learning.This paper breaks through the traditional research that focuses on the learning phenomenon from the perspective of environment impacting people and enterprises,and make up for the lack of research on the cross-level entrepreneurial learning.Thirdly,based on the lack of research on the relationship between knowledge sharing mechanism and knowledge integration mechanism,we have systematically reveal the characteristics and internal relations of different knowledge sharing mechanisms(formal and informal)and different knowledge integration mechanisms(precision and abstraction)and their impact on new venture's knowledge.Although scholars have done some research on knowledge sharing and knowledge integration in new ventures,most scholars focus only on one of the variables(eg,Zhou and Li,2012;Zahra,Ireland and Hitt,2000),or see knowledge sharing and knowledge integration as the same variable(Such as Collins and Smith,2006;Farrell,Flood and Curtain,2005),ignoring the inherent link between knowledge sharing and knowledge integration.While the domestic research has analyzed the relationship between knowledge sharing mechanism and knowledge integration mechanism,such as Ke,Sun and Shi(2007)combines knowledge sharing and knowledge integration as two intermediate variables between social capital and team effectiveness;Xu(2007)analyzes the influence of the trust of organization,supervisors and colleagues on knowledge integration and knowledge sharing,and validates the role that knowledge integration have played in promoting knowledge sharing.However,these studies ignore in-depth exploratory research about the characteristics and internal links between different knowledge sharing mechanisms and different knowledge integration mechanisms and their impact on new venture's knowledge.Therefore,based on the existing research,this study divides the knowledge sharing into formal mechanism and informal mechanism,divides the knowledge integration into precision and abstraction,discusses the internal relationship between knowledge sharing mechanisms and knowledge integration mechanisms,and then reveals how different knowledge sharing and knowledge integration play a different role in the development of new venture's knowledge.Through the study about the internal relations of the different stages of knowledge management process in new ventures,it helps the start-ups to better optimizing and adjusting the interior from the overall perspective and providing guidance for more effective arrangements for learning activities.