Dissertation final (caa14May2016)

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WHAT ARE THE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
ACCESSED BY ONLINE ENTREPRENEURS?
A Study Of Entrepreneurial Learning In The Context Of
Online Entrepreneurship In Singapore
Sim Buan Heng, Alvin
Dr Edmund Waite (Supervisor)
MA in Lifelong Learning
2014/2015
Institute of Education
University College London
(18,935 words)

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Acknowledgement
“Transformational” is the word I would describe MA LLL.
MA LLL not only deepened my critical thinking skills, it has a profound impact in my
career. However, my learning journey would not be meaningful without the support of
many inspiring people.
I would like to thank my dissertation supervisor, Dr. Edmund Waite, for his guidance
in my research. I also wish to thank Dr. Christine Han, all MA LLL tutors and IAL for
providing us an enjoyable learning experience.
I would like to thank my fellow classmates for adding fun and laughter in the class
with their anecdotes, ideas, laments and food.
I would like to thank Jeng Ying Tay for her moral support to complete MA LLL when I
faced challenges in my career as well as in my research.
Finally, I would like to thank God and by His grace, I submitted this dissertation to
mark the end of my MA LLL journey.

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Abstract
In recent years, Singapore experienced a surge in entrepreneurial activities and the
country was regarded among investors as an entrepreneurial hub (TODAYonline,
2016), positioning itself to be the “Silicon Valley of the East” due to its thriving startup
culture (Kamaran, 2016). Although 99% of the Singapore’s economy was driven by
small and medium businesses (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2016), there
were no official statistics of online entrepreneurs in Singapore. Online
entrepreneurial activities refer to businesses that are carried out on the Internet and
could vary from selling goods using mobile applications or e-commerce platforms to
promoting professional services through websites. Possible reason for this lack of
detail on online entrepreneurial activities could be that the low initial capital and the
ease of setting up an online business (Kamaran, 2016), had resulted in too many
new online ventures being created in such a short time, and it seemed impossible for
the authorities to regulate.
However, this popularity for online entrepreneurship did not suggest that studies had
been carried out to understand entrepreneurial learning among online business
owners in Singapore. My study aims to find out how online entrepreneurs utilise
learning opportunities as part of their daily work. I am interested to explore exactly
how learning happens from a qualitative study of five online entrepreneurs who
either provide services or sell goods on the Internet. This research adopted a
qualitative approach of semi-structured and in-depth interviews to get intimate
accounts from five Singapore-based online entrepreneurs who sold goods or
provided their services on the Internet for a year or more. Supplementary study aims

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include how past business or career experiences shaped these online entrepreneurs’
work, the role of self-directed learning in entrepreneurship, the importance of
networks in providing learning opportunities and how these online entrepreneurs tap
on the Internet (such as learning from other online businesses) to develop their
entrepreneurial skills.
Most existing adult and business learning models were argued before the genesis of
online entrepreneurship. In fact, entrepreneurial learning itself is still an area that is
not well understood in literature (Rae 2006: 39). The lack of relevant literature raises
the level of difficulty to discuss entrepreneurial learning in the context of online
entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, this research seeks to pave the way for more
studies on entrepreneurial learning and to contribute to the capability development of
online business owners in Singapore.

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgement.....................................................................................................2
Abstract......................................................................................................................3
Background To The Study.....................................................................................8
Entrepreneurial Activity In Singapore..................................................................9
Developing Research Aims Statements.............................................................12
Key Aim.................................................................................................................13
Sub Aims...............................................................................................................14
Key Literature (Relevant Concepts And Issues) ...............................................14
Chapter 2 Literature Review...................................................................................15
Background ..........................................................................................................15
Frameworks And Theories On Entrepreneurial Learning ................................16
Relevance Of These Concepts And Issues To The Study................................33
Conclusion............................................................................................................36
Chapter 3: Methodology .........................................................................................38
Background ..........................................................................................................38
Research Method And Approach........................................................................38
Sample Selection..................................................................................................40
Interview Questions .............................................................................................41
Data Analysis Method..........................................................................................47
Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................49
Limitations Of This Study....................................................................................51
Chapter 4 Findings ..................................................................................................53
Background ..........................................................................................................53
Profile Of Interviewees.........................................................................................53

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Reasons For Running Online Businesses ..........................................................55
Analysis Of Interviewees’ Background................................................................56
Findings On Entrepreneurial Learning...............................................................61
The Impact Of Past Business Or Career Experience On Online Entrepreneurship
............................................................................................................................61
The Role Of Self-Directed Learning In Entrepreneurship ...................................65
The Importance Of Networks In Providing Learning Opportunities.....................70
How Online Entrepreneurs Leverage On The Internet To Develop Their
Entrepreneurial Skills..........................................................................................74
Challenges Faced By Beginning Online Entrepreneurs......................................76
The Impact Of Formal Education In Online Entrepreneurship............................80
Discussion and Analysis.....................................................................................83
............................................................................................................................83
How Online Entrepreneurs Leverage On The Internet To Develop Their
Entrepreneurial Skills..........................................................................................92
Challenges Faced By Beginning Online Entrepreneurs......................................93
The Impact Of Formal Education In Online Entrepreneurship............................94
Chapter 5 Conclusion .............................................................................................95
Background ..........................................................................................................95
Discussion ............................................................................................................96
............................................................................................................................96

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Conclusion............................................................................................................99
Bibliography...........................................................................................................102

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Chapter 1 Introduction
Background To The Study
Entrepreneurship is defined as the inter-related processes of creating, recognising
and acting on opportunities, which combine innovating, decision-making and
enaction (Hébert & Link 1988: 159, Rae 2006: 40). It is also a dynamic social
process of sense-making that is cognitive, affective and holistic (Rae 2006: 41).
While the concept of entrepreneurship is not new and topics on entrepreneurship are
taught in business schools today, many researchers still consider entrepreneurship
to be an area of research that has not been particularly well-studied in relation to the
process of learning (Agnedal, 1999; Rae & Carswell, 2001; Ravasi, Turati, Marchisio,
& Ruta, 2004).
Entrepreneurial learning is defined as learning to recognise and act on opportunities,
through initiating, organising and managing ventures in social and behavioural ways
(Rae 2006: 40). New entrepreneurs have to quickly make sense of unforseen
circumstances, overcome those challenges and identify opportunities to survive.
While developing those identified opportunities into businesses, mundane business
tasks like recruiting, accounting and marketing also need to be taken care of. Finite
resources limit new entrepreneurs from hiring or outsourcing necessary tasks like
marketing and accounting. Therefore, these entrepreneurs must quickly learn
management skills to run their businesses (Gartner et al., 1999; Johnson et al.,
1997).

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However, the lack of studies on entrepreneurship could mean that past academic
debate on entrepreneurial learning could not keep up with contemporary business
trends. Scholars who wish to advance their research on entrepreneurial learning are
likely to be constrained by the limitations of established adult and business learning
concepts and theories in their literature reviews. Previous researches on
entrepreneurial learning did not anticipate the emergence and the popularity of
online entrepreneurship. With the popularity of online shopping, advancement in
information technology (IT) and minimal startup capital, more aspiring business
owners are starting their businesses online. As there was no research on how online
entrepreneurs learn, my study aims to fill the knowledge gap in entrepreneurial
learning, particularly in the context of online entrepreneurship in Singapore and to
pave the way for future empirical research.
Entrepreneurial Activity In Singapore
Singapore’s economy was largely driven by small and medium business owners. In
2015, there were 190,100 enterprises in Singapore and 99% of them were small and
medium enterprises (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2016). However, this
number was expected to grow as the startup community was thriving and Singapore
was even regarded among investors as an entrepreneurial hub (TODAYonline,
2016). Both the government and several other large organizations had collaborated
to contribute to the thriving startup community. For example, Blk71, a startup hub,
was set up in 2011 by NUS Enterprise, SingTel Innov8 and the Media Development
Authority of Singapore (Blk71 Singapore, 2016). Prior to this joint venture, Blk71 was
one of the oldest industrial buildings in Singapore serving the light manufacturing

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industry since the early 1970s. Instead of being demolished in 2010, Blk71 was
renovated in 2011 to house startups. Dubbed by the Economist magazine as “the
world’s most tightly packed entrepreneurial ecosystem”, the intention for setting up
Blk71 was to consolidate the previously dispersed entrepreneurial community in
Singapore for “increased synergy and economies of scale” (Blk71 Singapore, 2016).
Blk71 was a success and it quickly became a beacon for hundreds of tech-related
startups, venture capitalists and incubators. This success led to the Singapore
government to renovate other old industrial buildings like Blk73 and Blk79 to house
more entrepreneurs (Blk71 Singapore, 2016).
Although statistics show that there were already a substantial amount of
entrepreneurial activities taking place, there were no official figures on the number of
online entrepreneurs in Singapore at the point of writing this dissertation. A reason
could be that given the low initial capital or excessive maintenance and marketing
costs (Kamaran, 2016), and the ease in setting up online businesses, a lot of new
online ventures were created so quickly that tracking the total number of new online
businesses seemed impossible. The age of the Internet has played the biggest role
in globalisation and has revolutionised the global corporate workflow. Singapore
seemed to be heading to be the “Silicon Valley of the East” because of its thriving
startup culture (Kamaran, 2016). The World Bank Group ranked Singapore as the
world’s top location for ease of doing business with milestones such as the setup of
the Golden Gate Ventures (GGV) incubator fund in 2011 and when the government
launched its own tech incubator, the National Research Foundation (NRF), in 2006
(Founders Grid, 2016). Singapore also saw a massive influx of venture capital
investment from across the world that helped build the foundations of numerous

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successful online businesses due to its highly business-friendly economic policies
(Kamaran, 2016). Those venture capital investments had help at least 50 Singapore
online startups to succeed (Founders Grid, 2016).
Online entrepreneurial activities were also supported in higher education institutions.
An example is ZaiBike, a bicycle sharing venture started by a team of university
students. Its business mission was to create a vibrant cycling ecosystem by
introducing a smart public bicycle incorporating features such as a smart locking and
theft-proofing system and a Global Positioning System (GPS). It also allowed users
to rent, reserve, or return the bicycle through their smartphones (Yon, 2016). The
idea came about when the students observed that Singapore, compared to the
Netherlands and Taiwan, was lacking in adequate bicycle-friendly facilities such as
cycling lanes and public bicycle kiosks (Yon, 2016). Funding for their work came
from their university, a government body as well as from the students’ own
crowdfunding campaign.
Even if there were no venture capital investments or any assistance from the
government, higher education bodies or private organizations, unsupported
individuals could still run online businesses in Singapore. Reuben founded
ShopAbout.sg to introduce retail stores to online shoppers (Techinasia.com, 2016).
Unlike the typical e-commerce business model of catering to the online shoppers’
needs, ShopAbout.sg was all about helping to raise the brick-and-mortal stores’
online presence and compete with online businesses. Besides charging merchants
subscription fees, Reuben was also paid in commissions for each sales made via
ShopAbout.sg (Techinasia.com, 2016).

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Developing Research Aims Statements
Like any other business, running an online business is a journey fraught with
challenges. Low startup cost and enhanced information technology (IT) can help to
inspire more online entrepreneurship. However, cost savings and improved
technology do not necessary shorten the learning curve for online entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship (whether it is online or not) is a dynamic process and require
entrepreneurs to quickly learn on the job to identify and materialise potential
business opportunities. On the contrary, online entrepreneurs probably face more
challenges than conventional business owners as they have to keep up with
changes in information technology besides selling their goods or promoting their
services. Unlike a typical business model where a business owner can simply rent a
shop or a pushcart, showcase the goods, explain the product (or service) to potential
customers face-to-face or over a counter, and even allow a potential buyer to feel or
inspect a merchandise before paying, an online business owner has to learn how to
attract and convert netizens into customers with little or no pre-sales interaction with
the potential buyer in person.
Previous studies on entrepreneurial learning were published in the era when online
entrepreneurship was either unheard of or not widely understood. Certain
entrepreneurial learning frameworks like Rae (2006)’s workplace learning as a
situated and active experience, Cope (2005)’s three elements of a dynamic learning
perspective of entrepreneurship and Politis (2005)’s conceptual framework for the
entrepreneurial learning process did not factor in information technology (IT) as an
enabler to help entrepreneurs automate certain business processes (such as payroll

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and accounting) without having to learn how to execute those processes via formal
education. They can either outsource certain business processes through virtual
assistants or access whatever business development knowledge they need from the
Internet.
There are many institutions, universities and business schools today that teach
entrepreneurship. However, what is the probability for an aspiring online
entrepreneur to invest in a business degree programme when the individual could
access learning opportunities from the Internet for free? Formal education is just one
dimension of adult learning and there are researchers who argued for a more
informal and situated learning. The relevance of their theories in the understanding
of entrepreneurial learning, in the context of online entrepreneurship, shall be
discussed in the rest of this dissertation.
Key Aim
Interviews provide conducive, humanistic and interpretive (Jackson et al. 2007)
platforms to generate data that give authentic insights into people’s experiences
(Silverman, 2001: 87). This research adopted a qualitative approach of semi-
structured and in-depth interviews to get intimate accounts from interviewees. These
interviewees were Singapore-based online entrepreneurs who sold goods or
provided their services on the Internet for a year or more. My study aimed to find out
how these online entrepreneurs utilised learning opportunities as part of their daily
work. I am interested to explore exactly how learning happened with five online
entrepreneurs who provided services or sold goods on the Internet.

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Sub Aims
Subsidiary study aims include how past business or career experiences shaped
these online entrepreneurs’ work, the role of self-directed learning in
entrepreneurship, the importance of networks in providing learning opportunities and
how these online entrepreneurs harnessed the Internet (such as learning from other
online businesses) to develop their entrepreneurial skills.
Key Literature (Relevant Concepts And Issues)
Selecting relevant literature for this study was somewhat problematic with the lack of
accepted unifying theoretical assumptions of entrepreneurship, combined with a
wide diversity of perspectives and lack of congruence in the literature (Rae 2006:
40). Nevertheless, I began my study by considering all adult and entrepreneurial
learning literature available at the time of working on this research. Key features of
literature on entrepreneurial learning relevant to the aims of the study include Kolb
(1984)’s experiential learning, Mezirow (1991)’s learning history, Lave and Wenger
(1991)’s communities of practice (CoP), Rae (2006)’s workplace learning as a
situated and active experience, St-Jean (2012)’s mentoring for new entrepreneurs,
Cope (2005)’s three elements of a dynamic learning perspective of entrepreneurship,
Politis (2005)’s conceptual framework for the entrepreneurial learning process and
Tseng (2013)’s self-directed learning for entrepreneurs. These concepts will be
covered in detail under Literature Review.

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Chapter 2 Literature Review
Background
While the educational and theoretical aspects of entrepreneurship were thoroughly
discussed (Rae 2006: 41), the concept of entrepreneurship seemed inconsistent
across literature. Entrepreneurship is typically known as the creation of an
opportunity and a response to existing circumstances (Hébert and Link, 1988: 159)
but other literature defined entrepreneurship as a dynamic social process of sense-
making that is cognitive, affective and holistic (Rae, 2006: 41). The former definition
suggested entrepreneurship as an activity of identifying, responding and converting
potential opportunities into profitable businesses. Whereas the latter appeared to put
more emphasis on the entrepreneur as an individual whereby entrepreneurship
begins with one’s ability to make sense and decisions. Nevertheless, it is not the aim
of this study to determine the ‘correct’ definition of entrepreneurship. Both definitions
seem equally applicable in this research on online entrepreneurs. It could be
possible that this vague understanding of entrepreneurship in literature had resulted
in an overall lack of interest and study in the area of entrepreneurial learning.
Entrepreneurial learning is still a critical yet insufficiently understood research area in
the study of entrepreneurship and the development of new entrepreneurs (Cope
2005: 373, Rae 2006: 41). It was only in recent years that studies on entrepreneurial
learning began to emerge; these studies seem to suggest that 1) informal learning
plays an important role in entrepreneurial learning (St-Jean, 2012: 201) and 2)
entrepreneurial learning relies on an network that is external to the business (Lans

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et. al., 2004). Building on Wenger (1998)’s social theory of learning, Rae (2006: 41)’s
study focused on the exploration of workplace learning as a situated and active
experience. Another researcher, Cope (2005), introduced “a dynamic learning
perspective of entrepreneurship” (Cope 2005: 374), influenced by Stevenson and
Sahlman (1989)’s three primary schools of thought on entrepreneurial activities.
Whereas Politis (2005) drew from a variety of literature to develop a framework that
explains the process of entrepreneurial learning as an experiential process. This
dissertation will review the above entrepreneurial learning theories and two prevalent
informal learning approaches in entrepreneurial learning; entrepreneur mentoring
(St-Jean, 2012) and self-directed learning (Tseng 2013).
Frameworks And Theories On Entrepreneurial Learning
There is literature on entrepreneurial learning that provides cultural and personal
support, knowledge and skill development about and for entrepreneurship. However,
the ‘art’ of entrepreneurship is learned mainly in the business environment through
inductive, practical and social experience rather than in the educational environment
(Rae 2006: 41). Entrepreneurial learning should be seen as more of a situated and
active experience, rather than as a purely educational and theoretical process (Rae
2006: 41). Wenger (1998)’s social learning theory influenced Rae (2006)’s
entrepreneurial learning framework that was based on narrative and social
construction (Rae 2006: 52). There are three propositions in his framework. First, the
development of entrepreneurial identity is the outcome of personal and social
emergence, which generally includes the “narrative construction of identity; identity
as practice; the entrepreneur’s role in relation to family; and tension between current

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and future identity” (Rae 2006: 52). As people become entrepreneurs, a lifelong
process of personal learning (Rae 2006: 52, Tseng 2013: 440) and emergence
changes how they see themselves and how others see them (Rae 2006: 44).
Second, the recognition and enaction of opportunities in specialised situations is an
outcome of a process of contextual learning (Rae 2006: 47). Contextual learning
includes learning through immersion within an industry (Rae 2006: 47), opportunity
recognition (Tseng 2013: 426, Politis 2005: 402) and innovation through participation
(Rae 2006: 48), and the formation of practical theories of entrepreneurial action (Rae
2006: 52). Third, that the enaction and growth of a business venture is an outcome
of negotiated enterprise, which includes processes of participation and joint
enterprise (Rae 2006: 49); negotiated meaning, structures and practices; changing
roles over time (Rae 2006: 50); and engagement in networks of external
relationships (Rae 2006: 51). The last proposition above on the engagement in
networks of external relationships seems to draw from Lave and Wenger (1991)’s
Situated Learning Theory in which workplace learning is a collective and relational
process (such as apprenticeship) involving the co-participation of newcomers with
more experienced others (Fuller & Unwin, 2004). New entrants to an occupation or
workplace gain the knowledge and skills to become old-timers (Fuller and Unwin,
2004: 128). Unlike the more individualistic self-directed learning model whereby
learners rely on personal effort to attain knowledge, situated learning emphasises
learning as an integral part of (all) social activity (Lave & Wenger, 1991). New
entrants go through the process of legitimate peripheral participation within
communities of practice (CoP) (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Both new entrants (legitimate
peripheral participants) and CoP interact and influence each other in the process,
contributing to the change of CoP’s norms and practices. As they engage in various

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CoP activities, learners progress from novice on the periphery of CoP to expert in the
centre.
Rae (2006) is not alone in his assertion for a more dynamic study of entrepreneurial
learning. Cope (2005: 375) highlighted two issues with current entrepreneurship
research. First, the conventional definition of entrepreneurship as a new venture
creation undermines the entrepreneurs’ ability to learn and adapt once the business
is established. The current literature calls for broader models to define the
entrepreneurial process. Second, the significance of the entrepreneur as a subject of
continued academic interest has been overlooked (Cope 2005: 374). Traditional
literature focuses on anything related with entrepreneurship except the individual. To
close those research gaps, Cope (2005) proposed these three elements of dynamic
entrepreneurial learning: 1) temporal phases, 2) processes, and 3) characteristics.
The concept of dynamic temporal phases of entrepreneurial learning serves to
demonstrate the sophisticated relationships between two pertinent stages of
learning; learning prior to start-up and learning during the entrepreneurial process
(Cope 2005: 377). Cope (2005) also introduced the frameworks of entrepreneurial
preparedness (Harvey & Evans, 1995), learning history (Mezirow, 1991) and learning
task to explain learning prior to start-up and during entrepreneurial process. Skills
(tangible) and attributes (intangible) are critical for assessing individual
entrepreneurial preparedness (Harvey & Evans 1995: 342). The learning history
theory stresses the importance of the individual’s prior learning which adult learners
begin with, in order to operate and make decisions (Mezirow 1991: 1). The learning
history defines the individual entrepreneurial preparedness prior to the start-up

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phase and this prior learning determines the entrepreneurial learning objectives
(Cope 2005: 379). Entrepreneurial preparedness is a process of lifelong knowledge
transfer into the venture creation (Cope, 2001) and entrepreneurial preparedness is
a summation of prior learning and lifelong learning (Boud, Cohen, & Walker, 1993;
Mezirow, 1991). However, the formation of one’s entrepreneurial preparedness is not
fully within control; the development is dependent on both the situations faced by the
entrepreneur and the social groups which the entrepreneur associated with. An
entrepreneur should look outward (interact with, and learn about, the wider
environment and recognise the business opportunity) and look forward (how to
develop the business) in order to develop entrepreneurial preparedness (Cope 2005:
379).
Existing entrepreneurial learning theories do not address the difficulties in shaping
the entrepreneurial learning task (Boud, Keogh, and Walker, 1985: 38). A learning
task is a “dynamic, contextual and cumulative process” (Cope 2005: 379). Given the
complexity and diversity of each individual’s learning history, it is important to
recognize the unique range of experiences, skills, and abilities that shape the
“learning task” of every prospective entrepreneur once they enter into the new
venture creation process (Cope 2005: 379). Entrepreneurs learn by updating a
subjective stock of knowledge accumulated on the basis of past experiences (Minniti
and Bygrave 2001: 5). There are two dimensions of the learning task; content and
process. The content refers to the “what” of entrepreneurial learning and can be
further explored in terms of 1) learning about oneself, 2) learning about the business,
3) learning about the environment and entrepreneurial networks, 4) learning about

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small business management and 5) learning about the nature and management of
relationships.
Processes, the second element of Cope (2005)’s dynamic learning perspective
model, refer to the critical learning events, a theme that had been gaining interest in
entrepreneurial learning (Cope & Watts, 2000; Deakins, O’Neill, & Mileham, 2000;
Deakins, Sullivan, & Whittam, 2002; Deakins & Freel, 1998; Sullivan, 2000; Taylor &
Thorpe, 2000). Entrepreneurs are known to be action-oriented and their learning is
experientially-based (Rae and Carswell 2000, 2001). Learning from experience is a
dominated form of entrepreneurial learning (Reuber and Fischer, 1993). Although
learning is a continuous process, confronting challenges (critical learning events) can
also be a source of learning (Daudelin, 1996; Kleiner & Roth, 1997). However, no
further studies were done to understand the impact of critical learning events on
entrepreneurial learning (Cope 2005: 382). A more recent understanding of critical
learning events was that some degree of discomfort such as a crisis is a pre-
requisite for unlearning, new higher-level learning and re-adaptation to take place
(Fiol & Lyles, 1985: 808).
To explain characteristics, the third element of Cope (2005)’s dynamic
entrepreneurial learning perspective, one needs to understand that learning is
inherently a social process (Lave & Wenger, 1991) that is found within certain
situations and context (Burgoyne, 1995; Holman, Pavlica, & Thorpe, 1997; Pavlica,
Holman, & Thorpe, 1998). Influenced by Lave and Wenger (1991)’s work, Cope
(2005) argued the significance of studying entrepreneurs as practitioners “who
operate within multiple, overlapping social communities of knowledge and practice

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(Cope 2005: 388)”. Recent studies on the social dynamics of entrepreneurial
learning (Deakins et al., 2000; Hamilton, 2004; Rae, 2002; Taylor & Thorpe, 2000)
seemed to support the notion of entrepreneurs as practitioners who learn by forming
learning partnerships with key network agents (Gibb 1997). Research suggested
associations between the social characteristics of entrepreneurial learning and
critical learning events (Boussouara & Deakins, 1999; Taylor & Thorpe, 2000). There
is a “powerful social dimension to owner-manager learning” from critical learning
events although the impact of this social dimension to learning is still unknown
(Taylor & Thorpe, 2000). Acknowledging the limited understanding of this social
element, Cope (2005: 389) proposed for more studies to analyse the types of
learning that arise from entrepreneurs’ engagement with social relationships, both
inside and outside, of the venture.
Politis (2005) also proposed a more dynamic model of entrepreneurial learning
whereby entrepreneurial learning is seen as an experiential process. The
experiential learning framework comprises three main components: 1) experience, 2)
the transformation process, and 3) entrepreneurial knowledge in terms of
effectiveness in recognising and acting on entrepreneurial opportunities and coping
with the liabilities of newness (Politis 2005: 402). Experience plays a critical role in
entrepreneurship development with two learning outcomes. First, experience
increases one’s ability to discover and exploit business opportunities (“increased
effectiveness in opportunity recognition”). Second, experience helps individuals to
learn how to overcome organisation and manage new ventures (“increased
effectiveness in coping with the liabilities of newness”). The second component of
experiential learning was the transformation process of the entrepreneurs’

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experiences. Entrepreneurship is a lifelong process of learning “by experience and
discovery” (Politis 2005: 417) and formal training and education are unlikely to have
any strong and direct influence on entrepreneurial learning that can only be affected
by 1) the outcome of previous entrepreneurial events, 2) the entrepreneurs’
predominant logic or reasoning, and 3) the entrepreneurs’ career orientation.
However, literature on entrepreneurial education seems to favour a “static” (Politis
2005: 400) perspective of the entrepreneurial learning process to explain the causal
relationship between entrepreneurs’ previous experiences and the performance of
the subsequent venture. Studies did not show how entrepreneurs, through
experiences, develop entrepreneurial knowledge that enables them to recognize and
act on entrepreneurial opportunities and to organize and manage new ventures
(Politis 2005: 400). Literature has yet to address how entrepreneurs develop
entrepreneurial knowledge that may have a positive impact on subsequent venture
performance.
Besides the experiential learning framework, five major propositions were also
developed to better understand entrepreneurial learning (Politis 2005: 399). First, the
entrepreneur’s career experience, in terms of start-up, management, and industry-
specific experience, is positively related to the development of entrepreneurial
knowledge (Politis 2005: 406). Second, an entrepreneur’s predominant mode of
transformation moderates the relationship between his or her career experience and
entrepreneurial knowledge (Politis 2005: 410). Third, the outcome of an
entrepreneur’s previous entrepreneurial events is related to his or her mode of
transforming an experience into knowledge (Politis 2005: 412). Fourth, an
entrepreneur’s predominant reasoning is related to his or her mode of transforming

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an experience into knowledge (Politis 2005: 413). Fifth, the career orientation of an
entrepreneur is related to his or her mode of transforming an experience into
knowledge. (Politis 2005: 415).
Politis (2005) also relied on Kolb’s (1984) four-stage model of experiential learning to
explain entrepreneurial learning as an experiential process in which entrepreneurs
develop knowledge through four distinctive learning abilities: 1) experiencing, 2)
reflecting, 3) thinking, and 4) acting. However, literature also suggests that Kolb’s
theory of experiential learning “de-contextualizes the learning process” (Politis 2005:
408) which provides little understanding of factors that influence learning. Kolb’s
cyclical model does not fully address the complex uncertainties entrepreneurs have
to deal with. The process of entrepreneurial learning does not necessarily follow a
predetermined sequence of Kolb’s (1984) four-stage learning cycle (Politis 2005:
408). Entrepreneurial learning is a complex process of transforming experience into
knowledge in disparate ways. An interesting observation in Politis (2005)’s work is
that entrepreneurs who started their first ventures seem to be more successful and
effective in starting up and managing their second and third ones (Politis 2005: 399).
Although literature did not address how entrepreneurs develop their knowledge to
improve the next venture performance (Politis 2005: 400), Politis’s study suggests
that entrepreneurial success can be duplicated (and even quickened) in subsequent
ventures when these two questions are addressed:
1. What expertise and special knowledge do these entrepreneurs gain from
doing their first start-up?

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2. How do entrepreneurs develop their personal experiences into such expertise
and special knowledge?
Politis (2005: 401) also highlighted the confusion between entrepreneurial
experience and entrepreneurial knowledge. In addition, this confusion was not
addressed in literature. The attempt to differentiate the two was to regard the former
as “a direct observation of, or participation in, events associated with new venture
creation” (Politis 2005: 401). The latter refers to the practical wisdom derived from
the experience in creating a new venture. Again, Politis’ attempt to distinguish
between entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial knowledge was influenced
by Kolb (1984)’s two basic dimensions of experiential learning through 1) acquisition
(grasping) and 2) transformation. Politis argued the former to correspond with
“experience” and the latter to “experientially acquired knowledge” (Politis 2005: 401).
Supported by all the above literature for a more informal, dynamic and experiential
approach towards entrepreneurial learning, St-Jean (2012: 200) proposed mentoring
as a key development tool for new entrepreneurs. Mentoring is also relevant and
essential for the continuing professional development of entrepreneurs. St-Jean
(2011) categorised the mentor’s functions into psychological, career-related and role-
model functions. The psychological functions comprise four dimensions: 1) reflector,
2) reassurance, 3) motivation and 4) confidant. The career-related component
comprises dimensions of integration, information support, confrontation and guide.
The last category is role-model function (St-Jean 2011: 205). Table 1 shows the
three types of the mentor’s functions, their dimensions and the definitions by St-Jean
(2011).

25
Table 1: Mentor’s Functions proposed by St-Jean (2011)
Functions Dimensions Definitions
Psychological
Reflector
The mentor gives the mentee feedback on who he is
and his business project. The mentor reflects the
image the mentee projects to others, somewhat like a
mirror does. This function provides the mentee with a
kind of personal progress report where strengths to
be bank on and weaknesses to be worked on are
identified.
Reassurance
The mentor reassures the mentee during difficult
times. He acts as a pressure valve enabling the
mentee to evacuate accumulated stress and put
problems into perspective.
Motivation
The mentor motivates and encourages the mentee.
The mentor helps the mentee build self-confidence
and gives him incentives to persevere.
Confidant
With time, the mentee may confide in the mentor just
as he would in a friend. The mentoring relationship
may also transform into friendship.
Career-
related
Integration
The mentor facilitates the integration of the mentee in
the business community by presenting him to
business contacts who may be of need in the future.
Information
Support
The mentor gives the mentee information. He
transfers various types of personal knowledge

26
Psychological
Reflector
identified.
Reassurance
Motivation
Confidant
Career-
related
Integration
including on business management, laws to be
aware of, useful information on the industry, and so
on.
Confrontation The mentor confronts the mentee’s ideas to help

27
Psychological
Reflector
identified.
Reassurance
Motivation
Confidant
Career-
related
Integration
further his reflection. This confrontation appears in a
problem-solving context where the mentee’s beliefs,
attitudes or habits prevent him from reaching his
goals and makes him part of the problem rather than

28
Psychological
Reflector
identified.
Reassurance
Motivation
Confidant
Career-
related
Integration
the solution.
Guide
When problem solving, the mentor helps the mentee
improve problem comprehension, widen problem
vision and context. When necessary, the mentor also

29
Psychological
Reflector
identified.
Reassurance
Motivation
Confidant
Career-
related
Integration
makes suggestions and gives advice toward a
solution.
Role-model Model
The role model function focuses on the mentor as a
person. During meetings, the mentor presents

30
Psychological
Reflector
identified.
Reassurance
Motivation
Confidant
Career-
related
Integration
excerpts from his life and the mentee takes what
applies to him and learns the lessons that need to be
learned according to his particular situation. The
mentor may also be a source of inspiration, or at

31
Psychological
Reflector
identified.
Reassurance
Motivation
Confidant
Career-
related
Integration
least, of comparison.
In his study on how to maximize learning through the mentoring process with a
sample of 360 Canadian-mentored entrepreneurs, St-Jean (2012: 200) concluded

32
that the mentor’s career-related functions are the most effective factor in the
development of learning, followed by psychological functions and the role-model
function. To foster those functions, trust and perceived similarity are needed to build
a strong and high-quality relationship conducive for mentee self-disclosure. St-Jean
(2012)’s research highlighted the various elements that influence learning through
mentoring and show the mediating role of trust, perceived similarity and mentor’s
functions between the mentee’s self-disclosure and learning. Two key study
limitations were found. First, other than the perception of functions experienced by
the mentee, mentor characteristics were not considered. At hindsight, St-Jean (2012:
212) thought it would have been important to introduce certain relationship-
influencing variables like the ability to open other relationships (Miller et al., 1983)
but then again, it is impossible to consider all possible variables that might influence
the relationship, the functions or the learning outcomes; the proposed study, for want
of thoroughness, has the merit of being efficient (St-Jean 2012: 212). Second, only
the mentee filled out the questionnaire and the study lacked the mentor’s
perspective. This mentor’s perspective could mitigate research method bias for
instance, by cross-validating with the mentees’ questionnaire responses.
With its strong learning intention, necessary experience, and knowledge, Tseng
(2013: 426) asserted for a self-directed learning to be a primary approach for
entrepreneurial learning with three arguments. First, the characteristics of self-
directed learning are important in supporting entrepreneurial learning. Second,
entrepreneurial learning provides experiences, knowledge, and opportunity
recognition to help entrepreneurs and their start-up enterprise to achieve their
entrepreneurial performance. Finally, self-directed learning, by influencing

33
entrepreneurial learning, provides entrepreneurs with the learning capabilities to
enhance their entrepreneurial performance. (Tseng 2013: 426). Findings showed
that entrepreneurs who learn and develop their self-management and self-monitoring
skills have more opportunities to enhance entrepreneurial knowledge and
experiences in the entrepreneurial development process (Tseng 2013: 425, 438).
Self-directed learning has emerged as an important area of inquiry in relation to
entrepreneurial learning, as well as entrepreneurial performance. However, Tseng
(2013)’s study surfaced two limitations. First, the connection between self-directed
learning and entrepreneurial learning theory is potentially useful but only if self-
directed learning is differentiated from other theories used in entrepreneurial
learning. Second, the relationships among self-directed learning, entrepreneurial
learning, and entrepreneurial performance lack persuasion as no actual data can be
presented to show the connection among all three (Tseng 2013: 439).
Relevance Of These Concepts And Issues To The Study
The three propositions in Rae (2006)’s entrepreneurial learning framework stress the
importance of developing the entrepreneur's identity through contextual learning
(Rae 2006: 47), negotiated enterprise (Rae 2006: 49), engagement in external
relationships (Rae 2006: 51) and personal lifelong learning process (Rae 2006: 52,
Tseng 2013: 440). Entrepreneurial learning is most likely to be encouraged in a more
situated and active (Rae 2006:41) avenues like communities of practice (Lave &
Wenger, 1991) and entrepreneur mentoring (St-Jean, 2012). As mentioned in the
Introduction that new entrepreneurs need to learn management skills quickly, a more
collective and relational (Fuller & Unwin, 2004) workplace learning model is more

34
likely to help new entrepreneurs overcome learning curves faster than a pure
educational and theoretical process. My study aimed to show whether my
participants acquired management skills faster over a more dynamic and relational
environment.
Cope (2005: 375)'s three elements of dynamic entrepreneurial learning aim to
address the two issues with contemporary entrepreneurship research that
undermines the entrepreneur as an individual and his or her ability to learn (before
and during the running of a venture) and adapt once the business is established.
There is a lack of study on developing entrepreneurial preparedness (Harvey &
Evans, 1995), a summation of prior learning and lifelong learning (Boud, Cohen, &
Walker, 1993; Mezirow, 1991), and the significance of learning history (Cope 2005:
379) in entrepreneurial learning. As online entrepreneurs usually work with
information technology (IT) and technology gets replaced quickly, the assumption is
that they would had acquired certain level of learning history over time to cope with
those changes. My work will address whether my interviewees’ learning histories did
contribute to their entrepreneurial preparedness before they set up their online
ventures, as well as to help them be more adaptable and prepared in all stages of
entrepreneurship.
Politis (2005: 399)’s framework identifies three main components in the
entrepreneurial learning process: 1) entrepreneurs’ career experience, 2) the
transformation process, and 3) the entrepreneurial knowledge in terms of
effectiveness in recognizing and acting on entrepreneurial opportunities and coping
with the liabilities of newness. The ability to discover and develop business

35
opportunities is often considered to be the most important ability of a successful
entrepreneur (Politis, 2005: 403). During my data collection, participants were invited
to share how past entrepreneurial experiences shaped them as entrepreneurs and
how those experiences helped them in their present work such as recognizing
business opportunities and coping with the cost of learning new tasks (Politis, 2005:
416).
St-Jean (2012: 200)’s work seeks to understand how to maximise the learning that
occurs through the mentoring process. In St-Jean (2012)’s study with 360 Canadian-
mentored entrepreneurs, the research showed that the mentor’s career-related
functions are the most effective factor in the development of learning, followed by
psychological functions and the role model function. Both trust and perceived
similarity are needed for a strong and high-quality relationship ideal for mentee self-
disclosure. The research findings highlighted the different elements that influence
learning through mentoring, showing the mediating role between the mentee’s self-
disclosure and learning. I was keen to know if my participants were mentored and if
their learning was quickened during mentoring.
There might be a possibility for online entrepreneurs to develop their entrepreneurial
skills through self-directed learning. Tseng (2013: 425)’s framework outlines the
relationships among self-directed learning, entrepreneurial learning and
entrepreneurial performance. Value is created when self-directed learning and
entrepreneurial learning are identified as key factors for entrepreneurial
performance. My findings would show whether my participants preferred a more self-
directed over a more relational or situated learning.

36
Conclusion
The understanding of entrepreneurship has not been consistent although this topic
has been debated in literature. The absence of a common definition of
entrepreneurship might have led to the poor understanding and the lack of rigour in
the study of entrepreneurship and the development of new entrepreneurs (Cope
2005: 373, Rae 2006: 41). The limited studies in entrepreneurial learning posed a
challenge in my literature review for this research on online entrepreneurship.
However, the above constraint also elevated the value of this study on the learning
opportunities accessed by online entrepreneurs. It was only between 2005 and 2013
that some researchers drew from existing adult learning theories to debate on
workplace and entrepreneurial learning. Influenced by Wenger (1998)’s social theory
of learning, Rae (2006) argued that workplace learning is a situated and active
experience. While this workplace learning theory was first formulated with employees
in mind, this learning model was probably the closest I could get to understand how
current adult learning theories are applied in entrepreneurial learning since
entrepreneurs are essentially self-employed. Moreover, the argument on workplace
learning to be situated and active implied that a workplace has to be a common area
where people come together to work and interact. My interviews with online
entrepreneurs would shed some light on whether it is possible for online
entrepreneurs to operate alone and from their own private spaces such as their
homes. Rae (2006) might not have anticipated the presence of online
entrepreneurship in the argument.
Around the same time when Rae (2006) published the study on workplace learning,
other researchers who drew from prevailing adult education frameworks, explored

37
entrepreneurial learning as an inherent dynamic phenomenon (Cope 2005: 374) and
an experiential process (Politis 2005: 407). Their frameworks tend to give a
breakdown of the entrepreneurial process into phases or components such as the
three elements of dynamic entrepreneurial learning (Cope 2005) and the three
components in the process of entrepreneurial learning (Politis 2005). Same as Rae
(2006), both Cope (2005) and Politis (2005) might not have considered how online
entrepreneurs learn in their work. My research will show if it is possible for an online
business owner to run his first fairly successful online venture without any critical
experiences (Cope 2005: 381) prior career or start-up experience as proposed in
Politis (2005: 402)’s conceptual framework of entrepreneurial learning as an
experiential process. With the help of information technology and development of
mobile applications, online entrepreneurs can learn to automate their business
processes, bypassing the conventional entrepreneurship processes as discussed in
existing literature.
However, learning concepts argued from 2012 onwards might help us understand
how online entrepreneurs learn. I am keen to discover whether online entrepreneurs
are generally self-directed learners (Tseng 2013) and whether they receive any
guidance to start their first online businesses through mentoring (St-Jean 2012).

38
Chapter 3: Methodology
Background
As mentioned in the Literature Review chapter that existing entrepreneurial learning
frameworks were proposed in the days when online entrepreneurship was unheard
of, those entrepreneurial learning concepts were very unlikely to explain how online
entrepreneurs learn. I assume my study on online entrepreneurs in Singapore might
be one of a kind. While there are studies on adult and business learning that can,
somewhat, help us understand entrepreneurial learning today, there is a possibility
that most of these arguments will gradually become irrelevant with the increasing
popularity of online entrepreneurship and the advancements in technologies that
enable online businesses to flourish. Nevertheless, this research does not attempt to
endorse or to disqualify existing adult and entrepreneurial learning models. This
study seeks to obtain more intimate accounts of online entrepreneurs and
understand how they learn to start and to run their businesses.
In this chapter, I will elaborate why a qualitative method was used to gather data
from online entrepreneurs and explain the data gathering and analysis process. I will
also conclude this chapter with ethical considerations and limitations to the study.
Research Method And Approach
Research interview is an “inter-view” where knowledge is constructed in the inter-
action between the interviewer and the interviewee (Kvale 2007: 1). Such knowledge

39
construction is done through conversations, an old way of obtaining systematic
knowledge (Kvale 2007: 3). An interview provides a conducive platform to generate
data which give an authentic insight into people’s experiences (Silverman, 2001: 87).
It is also a more humanistic and interpretive approach (Jackson et al. 2007) of data
gathering that allows participants to articulate their experiences, ideas and beliefs of
learning. This “human as instrument” (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) approach aims to
understand the meaning of human action by identifying the underlying traits of my
participants’ experiences.
Since online entrepreneurship has not been debated in literature, the data gathered
from interviews with online entrepreneurs could stimulate further research in online
entrepreneurship and more relevant learning frameworks that explain how online
entrepreneurs learn. To obtain intimate accounts from participants, my study adopts
a qualitative approach of in-depth interviews, conducted in a semi-structured way,
with five Singapore-based online entrepreneurs who have been selling goods or
promoting their services on the Internet for over a year. The interview questions were
not made known to the interviewees beforehand. However, a list of open-ended
questions offered guidance for the interviewee to elaborate and speak freely. These
interviews, lasted approximately twenty minutes each, were audio-recorded and then
transcribed to create a record of the narratives that took place.
Open-ended questions were designed after considering the key learning concepts
discussed in Chapter 2. Participants were given a Participation Information Sheet
describing their expected contribution and how the collected data would be treated
during and after the study. Each participant was requested to sign a consent form to

40
acknowledge all study requirements such as the purpose of the research and the
ability to withdraw at any point of the study. I have submitted the ethics application
form that described my project summary, participants profile, data analysis, storage
and security, and anticipated ethical issues.
However, data gathering with my participants did not stop after those interviews. I
called my participants once to elaborate on certain points they made during the
interviews when I was working on this dissertation.
Sample Selection
The initial plan was to interview a sample size of 10 participants; 5 who sell goods
online and 5 who promote their services on the Web. The early intent of interviewing
equal number of online entrepreneurs who either sell goods or promoting services
was also to look for differences in the way they learn between both types of
entrepreneurs. Participants should at least practise online entrepreneurship for at
least a year so that they can better articulate their challenges, what they have
learned and how they access learning opportunities to overcome those business
issues along the way as an online entrepreneur. More than 30 online business
owners were contacted over a three-month period via social media (like Facebook
and Linkedin) or through word of mouth but only 5 online entrepreneurs responded.
Effort was made to explain to participants my work and to assure them their
confidentiality in my research.

41
Interview Questions
Open-ended questions are most effective in eliciting an interviewee’s experience.
Questions were designed and supported by underlying concepts that were
thoroughly reviewed in the Literature Review chapter.
Questions Concepts/Theories
1. Please tell me about your previous
business experience:
a. How have you learnt from this?
Does this experience impact
your current work?
• Entrepreneurial Preparedness
(Harvey & Evans, 1995)
• Three Elements Of A Dynamic
Learning Perspective Of
Entrepreneurship (Cope, 2005)
• Conceptual Framework For The
Entrepreneurial Learning Process
(Politis, 2005)
b. Describe one lesson learned
from a past business experience
that has impacted you as an
entrepreneur.
• Prior Learning, Learning History and
Task (Mezirow, 1991)

42
(Politis, 2005)
2. How long have you been running this
online business?
3. What motivates you to run an online
business? (Probe for underlying
reasons for running the online
businesses.)
4. Please tell me about the experience of
being your own boss. What are the
pros and cons of self-employment?
(Politis, 2005)
5. Please tell me more about your online
business? (What do you sell or what
services do you provide?)
6. How do you market your
goods/services online? (Follow up
using any of the points below if
participant has not mentioned in the
interview):
a. Develop own website or e-
commerce platform?
• Self-Directed Learning For
Entrepreneurs (Tseng, 2013)
• Experiential Learning (Kolb, 1984)

43
b. Hire someone to perform Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)
marketing for you?
c. Pay Facebook or Google Ads to
post your advertisements
online?
d. How do you learn to do any of
the above?
• Workplace Learning As A Situated
And Active Experience (Rae, 2006)
7. What are the challenges you
experienced as an online
entrepreneur?
a. Cashflow issues? Did you learn
to crowdfund or pitch your idea
to some venture capitalists (or
angel investors)?
b. Lack of a strong team to run
your online venture?
c. Don’t know how to write quality
programming codes (such as
.Net, Ruby and JAVA) to
improve your online point of
sales? Did you learn to code or
pay someone to code for you?

44
d. Cybersecurity issues? Did your
website get hacked before? How
did you learn to overcome this?
8. In your opinion, how can those
challenges be addressed?
a. If yes, what kind of learning can
help you address those
challenges?
b. If no, why?
9. Did you study business administration
before setting up this business?
a. If yes, did the business
programme make you a better
online entrepreneur? How?
b. If no, did you enroll yourself into
a business programme after
setting up your business?
i. If yes, are you still
working on this
programme? Tell me
about your experience
with the programme?
ii. If no, why?

45
10.Do you learn things as part of your
everyday work? How does this
happen?
a. How do you learn to sell goods or
promote your service on a daily
basis?
b. How do you keep up with
competition with other online
entrepreneurs who may be selling
somewhat similar goods or offer
similar services?
c. Do online entrepreneurs share
knowledge among themselves to
help one another? How does this
happen? Through meet-ups, online
forums or other avenues?
• Communities Of Practice (CoP)
(Lave and Wenger, 1991)
11.What are some instances when you
learn to do your work better without
having to attend any courses? What is
so unique about those instances?
a. Through trial and error?
Hardknocks?

46
b. Advised by an experience business
mentor?
• Mentoring For New Entrepreneurs
(St-Jean, 2012)
c. Speaking to a community of like-
minded people? Networking?
• Social Theory Of Learning (Wenger,
1998)
d. Observe, read and emulate
successful online entrepreneurs?
12.Are you in contact with other online
entrepreneurs?
a. How often do you all keep in
contact? Do you all prefer to meet
outside (eg. over drinks at a pub) or
chat online?
1998)
b. What are some of the topics in your
conversations with other online
entrepreneurs? Do you all talk
about work most of the time?
1998)
c. Do you learn things from them? Do
you think they learn from you too?

47
Data Analysis Method
The transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is
commonly used for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within data
(Braun & Clarke, 2006, p.79) but its definition remains vague to this day. Very little
was discussed on textual data analysis, which is unfortunate as one would assume
all data to be methodicially analysed to yield meaningful and useful findings (Attride-
Stirling 2001, p.386). Due to the lack of frameworks, researchers typically do not
explain their qualitative analytic methods in their study (Lee and Fielding, 1996) to
enhance the value of their interpretations and to help other researchers who wish to
conduct similar studies. Although thematic analysis can provide a rich and detailed,
yet complex, account of data (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p.78), the ‘anything goes’
critique of qualitative research may apply in some cases (Braun & Clarke, 2006,
p.78) due to its lack of clear and concise guidelines.
Transcipts were analysed for broad themes by highlighting recurring keywords or
similar terms and concepts in the first round. These keywords were clustered in the
second round. This process is called coding. A code refers to the most basic
segment, or element, of the raw data or information that can be assessed in a
meaningful way regarding the phenomenon (Boyatzis, 1998, p.63). The collected
semantic content or latent data may contain details that appeal to the researcher
before they are organised into meaningful groups (Braun & Clark, 2006; Tuckett,
2005). These codes were aligned to my research key and subsidiary aims.

48
Coding-Labels (First
Round)
Coding-Labels (Second
Round)
Key Aim
How online entrepreneurs
utilise learning
opportunities as part of
their daily work?
• On-The-Job
• Trial-And-Error
• Hands-On
• Practice
• Online Research
• Experiential
• Self-Directed
• Ask Around
• Networking
• Business Mentor
• Situated Learning
• Past Experience • Learning History
Sub Aim 1
How past business or
career experience shaped
these online
entrepreneurs’ work, the
role of experiential
learning in
entrepreneurship, the
importance of networks in
providing learning
opportunities?
• No Work Experience
• Customer Service
• Corporate Experience
• Direct Selling
• Financial Services
• No Prior Online
Entrepreneurship
Experience
Sub Aim 2
How these online
• YouTube
• Google
• Social Media

49
Coding-Labels (First
Round)
Coding-Labels (Second
Round)
entrepreneurs tap on the
Internet (such as learning
from other online
businesses) to develop
their entrepreneurial
skills?
• Facebook
• Linkedin
• Google Adwords
• Dropbox
• Evernote
• Skype
• Buffer
• Shopify
• WordPress
• Productivity Tools
• Virtual assistants
• Copy writers
• Outsourcing
Ethical Considerations
The British Educational Research Association (BERA) published guidelines to
remind researchers their responsibilities to participants. Relevant ethical guidelines
to my study include voluntary informed consent, right to withdraw, privacy and
disclosure. BERA defines voluntary informed consent as the “condition in which
participants understand and agree to their participation without any duress, prior to
the research getting underway” (BERA 2011, p.5). Participants need to be informed
of the study’s aims, of what participation entails, of its voluntary nature, of how
anonymity is practised and of other details that could help them make informed
decisions before the study (Robinson, 2013, p.35). They have the right to withdraw

50
from the research “for any or no reason, and at any time, and they (researchers)
must inform them of this right” (BERA, 2011, p.6). While researchers could try to
persuade participants to re-engage with the work, one should not use coercion or
duress to persuade participants to re-engage with the study. In most cases, it is best
to simply accept the participants’ decision to withdraw.
In my consent form to participants, they had the right to withdraw any time during
interviews. If a participant decides to withdraw from my interview, whatever collected
data will be used for this study only with the interviewee’s consent. This consent form
was issued to participants in both hard and soft copy. For soft copy consents, the
participant was requested to either sign, print and hand me the hardcopy before the
interview or to sign, scan and email me a PDF copy if the interview is to be
conducted online. To ensure privacy, participants’ names, company names, contact
numbers, office addresses (if applicable), website URLs, online avatars and personal
pages (such as Facebook and Linkedin profiles) that could potentially expose their
identities, were not mentioned in this dissertation. Under BERA’s disclosure
guideline, it is good practice for researchers “to debrief participants at the conclusion
of the research and to provide them with copies of any reports or other publications
aising from their participation” (BERA, 2011, p.8). If a face-to-face debrief with my
participants is not possible, I may consider using a blog or other online media to
share my research outcomes with my participants.

51
Limitations Of This Study
The small interview sample size was initially seen as a concern as this may result in
limited data being collected which may not lead to a conclusive answer to the
research questions. However, all interviewees, to a large extent, exhibit similar
behaviour in how they learned to run their online businesses and so this study is able
to conclude based on the partcipants’ inputs to the research questions. All
interviewees went through formal education from diploma to degree. It would be
ideal if the sample includes interviewees with no education, with minimum education
(such as GCE ‘N’ Levels) or with very high level (such as PhD) of formal education
qualifications. The age group of my interviewees falls between late 20s and mid to
late 30s. At hindsight, this study could had been more complete if the sample could
extend to participants in their 40s (or older) and even retirees who could be running
small online enterprises as their pastimes. 80% of my sample were female online
entrepreneurs; it would be ideal if more male online business owners could agree to
help me in this study.
It was difficult to get commitment from online entrepreneurs to meet face-to-face for
voice-recorded interviews. Online business owners are generally very mobile in the
sense that their business transactions can be carried out anywhere (for example in a
wifi-enabled café) and any time as long as they carried their laptops, smart phones
or other smart devices wherever they go. However, that may not necessary mean
that they were always ready to meet me especially when some expenses (such as
transport) might have to be incurred by them and they had no monetary gain by
taking part in this research. While some interviewees agreed for me to drop by their

52
homes where they ran their online businesses or to meet at places not far from
where they lived, others preferred to be engaged via online communication tools
such as Skype or phone calls. For interviews done using Skype or phone calls, I
could not observe their facial or body cues and could only rely on the tone of their
voices to determine their comfort level throughout the conversations. In such
instances, I had to rely on note-taking during and after conversations. Sometimes, I
had to request for my interviewees to speak a little slower for me to take notes and to
verify with them whether the key elements of our conversations were correctly
captured.
The transcription process was challenging when one of the interviews was carried
out inside a rowdy fast-food restaurant on a weekend evening. A more conducive
café was initially chosen but we had to relocate as the café was closed for business
that particular day. Some parts of that interview were not clearly recorded by the
audio recorder due to distractions and noises in the restaurant. In this case, I called
the participant or messaged (when he was not convenient to pick up my call) him
over Whatsapp for clarification.

53
Chapter 4 Findings
Background
This study aims to understand how online entrepreneurs utilise learning opportunities
as part of their daily work and how past business experience shaped these online
entrepreneurs’ work. The findings will also unveil the role of experiential learning in
entrepreneurship, the importance of networks in providing learning opportunities and
how these online entrepreneurs tap on the Internet to develop their entrepreneurial
skills. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were carried out with 5 participants.
Qualitative analysis of coding was used to organise the data into broad themes from
the transcripts.
Profile Of Interviewees
Although it is difficult to prepare fully for the trials and tribulations of small business
ownership, Cope (2001) proposed that some prospective entrepreneurs are more
prepared than others. This concept of preparedness is determined by each
individual’s learning history in terms of experiences, skills and abilities that shaped
the “learning task” of a prospective entrepreneur during the new venture creation
process (Cope, 2005: 379). However, most people still enter entrepreneurship “in a
substantial ‘learning’ situation” (Gibb & Ritchie, 1982: 35). It is likely that most new
entrepreneurs do not have prior startup experience but they develop and grow to
become more “capable” business owners as they learn on the job (Rae & Carswell,

54
2000). This explains why all my interviewees had no prior online business
experiences before they created their first online ventures.
My interviewees were either selling goods or promoting services online for at least a
year. The profiles of the five interviewees were presented in Table 2. All had
acquired formal education qualifications from diploma to degree. Interestingly, 80%
of them were female online entrepreneurs in their early to mid 30s.
Table 2: Profile of Interviewees
Pseudonym Gender Education/
Major
Age Products/
Service
Years in
online
business
Prior
online
business
experience
Past job
experience
Ellen Female Degree/
Finance
36 Products
(children’s
books)
2 No Assistant Vice
President for a
local bank
Ron Male Degree/
Accounting
29 Products
(consumer
goods)
5 No Undergraduate
Tracey Female Degree/
Management
33 Services
(financial
planning,
insurance)
1 No Financial
Services
Consultant
Lydia Female Degree/ Public
Health
31 Services
(Linkedin
Training,
Coaching &
Consulting)
6 No Health Project
Officer
Monica Female Diploma/
Business
Administration
35 Products
(consumer
electrical
appliances)
2 No Business
Development
Manager for
an information
technology
company

55
Reasons For Running Online Businesses
Politis (2005: 413) proposed that an entrepreneur’s career orientation has an impact
to his or her future actions. The underlying premise of this argument was that most
individuals develop diverse concepts of what career means to them, which influence
their choice of career path and experience at work (Larsson, Driver, Holmqvist, &
Sweet, 2001). For mothers (Ellen, Tracey and Monica), they were no longer
interested to climb the corporate ladder and would rather spend more time to be
better homemakers. However, starting an online business gave them the flexibility to
look after their children as well as to generate some income and achieve some level
of financial freedom.
Ellen did not think she would ever go back to her last job and corporate life.
“It is very unlikely for me to go back to corporate now…” Ellen.
Tracey was about to deliver her second baby at the point of our interview. Starting an
online business provided her an opportunity to provide financial planning services on
a freelance basis.
“I am having my second one (child) now…I am happy to freelance…” Tracey.
Monica wished to travel less so that she could spend more time with her children.
Selling online seemed to meet her need for more familiy time at home.

56
“My two daughters need me and I want to travel less…selling online suits
me…” Monica.
Ron, a fresh graduate in Accountancy, had just turned down his first job offer with a
local railway transport company at the time when he was interviewed for this study.
He felt the hiring company made him a poor job offer. Furthermore, Ron did not like
to be deskbound most of the time. While Ron could have applied for jobs (such as a
business development role) that allowed him to be more mobile, he believed it would
be more lucrative financially to be his own boss.
“I could earn more (than the offered pay) by doing what I am doing (running
his online business) now…” Ron.
Lydia felt that her previous job as a Health Project Officer was not aligned with what
she had in mind before she took up the role. To “live the dream” of having to work
any time and anywhere, she decided to be an online entrepreneur.
“As an online entrepreneur, I decide my office hours…” Lydia.
Analysis Of Interviewees’ Background
Ellen was working for a bank for over ten years before she started her first online
children bookstore. As a homemaker, running an online business gave her time to
take care of her two children. Ellen had a business degree major in Finance but she
was candid about the fact that her formal qualification did not help in her online

57
business development. She operated her business from home. Ellen’s sister helped
her set up the e-commerce platform while Ellen did her marketing via Facebook or
through the help of her friends. A self-directed learner, Ellen acquired her website
development skills such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) through online
research or from her sister. Ellen briefly defined and explained the importance of
SEO in her online business:
“SEO is the process of enabling your website to get more exposure in search
engine results…more exposure in search engine results will ultimately lead to
more visitors finding you and going to your website.” Ellen.
Ron had been selling goods from household items to health supplements online
since his undergraduate days. Like Ellen, he too felt that his accountancy degree did
not help him to be a better businessman. According to Ron, business-related
degrees develop individuals to be better managers for their employers; business
degrees were not designed for individuals to be better entrepreneurs:
“Business degree trains one to be a better employee…it is not helping me to
be an entrepreneur…” Ron.
Besides extensive reading, an entrepreneur should also be mentored. Ron was
mentored by a seasoned entrepreneur with more than 20 years of entrepreneurial
experience:

58
“We have business meetings each week with our group mentor to discuss
some agenda…new things to learn each time…” Ron.
“There is always room for improvement in my communication skills then…but
have improved with the help of my mentor…” Ron.
A voracious reader, Ron enjoyed reading about Warren Buffett and books that could
help him be a better entrepreneur:
“You can learn a lot from Warren Buffett such as how to deploy money for
business…” Ron.
Ron also occasionally met with like-minded individuals, not necessarily online
entrepreneurs, to learn how they run their businesses. He also mentored budding
entrepreneurs in his team to sell goods online.
“I mentored beginning entrepreneurs to sell online…” Ron.
Tracey attended an internet marketing workshop before launching her first website to
promote her financial planning and insurance services. Although she had a pool of
existing clients acquired over the years through conventional sales techniques,
Tracey wanted to generate more sales leads by marketing her services on the
Internet. As a hands-on person, she figured her way through trial-and-error before
coming up with her first WordPress pages including plugins.Tracey also researched
on Search Engine Optimization and applied those principles into her website to

59
increase the chances of her website being discovered by netizens as they keyed
certain keywords such as ‘financial planning’ or ‘insurance’.
Lydia helped busy professionals enhance their career prospects or use it as a
consistent source of new leads and sales revenues via Linkedin. LinkedIn is a
networking and communication tool for business professionals:
“I coach entrepreneurs, business owners, managers, directors, and C-Level
executives, particularly about reputation building, relationship management
and effective networking on LinkedIn… as a LinkedIn Specialist, I also
developed e-learning materials and training programs to help users succeed
in business development and career progression using LinkedIn…I also used
YouTube to market my services.” Lydia.
Entrepreneurs are lifelong learners and business mentorship is an informal but very
effective way to learn about entrepreneurship. Lydia kept in touch with her mentor
when she had issues running her online business:
“I skyped my issues with <name of mentor>…she tells me how to handle
them…” Lydia.
Monica started her online business from a famous online shopping platform:
“By paying an annual subscription fee to create my first merchant account
with this platform, I can sell electrical appliances to customers who are

60
already members of this online shopping platform…I also sell goods from an
online shopping mobile application which is very user-friendly and it (online
shopping mobile application) is free of charge…In this way, I can reach out to
more potential online shoppers by selling my goods on two different
platforms…Besides some copywriting and basic image manipulation with
Photoshop, it seems to me that I do not need to acquire a lot of skillsets to get
started (with her online businesses)...” Monica.
As a former business development manager, her past job experience in selling
somewhat helped her in marketing products online.
“My last job in selling helps me to sell online…the common retail model of
selling electrical applicances need business owners to at least set up a shop,
display the items and promote them to walk-in customers… One advantage of
selling (electrical appliances) online is that you do not need so much money to
start business. There is no need to rent a retail space in a shopping mall to
sell (electrical appliances)…” Monica.

61
Findings On Entrepreneurial Learning
The Impact Of Past Business Or Career Experience On Online
Entrepreneurship
All interviewees had no prior online business experiences but Tracey’s and Monica’s
past employment in selling, to some extent, were applicable in their work as online
entrepreneurs.
Tracey articulated similarities between her job experience in the financial services
industry and her online business.
“Financial service and this online business are the same…all about selling…”
Tracey.
Monica also observed a similarity between her previous employment and her online
business.
“I sell in my last job and in this (online) business…” Monica.
Instead of travelling and meeting potential clients to canvass for more sales, Tracey
and Monica spent more time for copywriting or creating new content to draw
viewership on their websites and online stores.

62
Tracey saved her time travelling for business and spent more time developing
content to promote her online business.
“I travel less these days and spend more time on building content for my
website…” Tracey.
Monica no longer had to make cold-calls or knock on potential customers’ doors for
sales. Now she put more effort in copywriting and uploading photographs of her
products online.
“This online business no need to do cold-calling or door-knocking…make sure
you upload nice photos (of the products for sale) and write a caption why
people should buy this product and why they should buy from you…” Monica.
In their previous jobs, Tracey and Monica had teams to support them in delivering
more sales and they knew the importance of effective delegation of tasks. After
setting their online businesses, they had no budget to hire teams and so they had to
get help from someone they knew or paid others for their help on certain business
tasks.
Tracey used to work with a group of financial planning consultants to set up
roadshows at public places to generate sales.

63
“During agency days, my team did roadshows at a bus interchange or at MRT
(Mass Rapid Transit, a kind of public transport system in Singapore) stations
to help Singaporeans with their financial planning…” Tracey.
In her last job as business development manager, Monica used to lead a team to set
up booths to sell the company’s products.
“In my last company, I have a team to do roadshows at client offices and to
man booths at IT (Information Technology) shows…” Monica.
As these entrepreneurs did not have time to constantly generate and upload new
information, they could either get help or pay someone to do those tasks so that they
could spent more time selling online.
Tracey relied on her husband’s support to write for her business website.
“I get my husband to post articles related to financial planning…” Tracey
Monica got somebody to help her with certain business tasks so that she could spent
more time selling online.
“When I cannot cope, I get someone to design and upload the photographs or
other types of content…” Monica

64
Ron was running his online business when he was an undergraduate and he relied
on someone’s (his business mentor) past business experiences to help him succeed
in his business. He also read autobiographies of successful entrepreneurs like
Warren Buffett to learn how to manage his finances as an entrepreneur.
“You can learn a lot from Warren Buffett such as how to deploy money for
business…” Ron
Lydia also had no prior entrepreneurship experience and so she sought help from
business mentors. By learning from their past business experiences, Lydia’s
Linkedin consulting business grew.
“Entrepreneurs are lifelong learners and business mentorship is an informal
but very effective way to learn…to this day I am still keeping in touch with my
mentors…I skyped my issues with <name of mentor>…she tells me how to
handle them…” Lydia.
Ellen was handling customer service in a bank in her previous job and so she had no
entrepreneurship experiences. However, Ellen believed her strength in customer
service could help her gain some market share from major online bookstores like
Amazon.com and Books Depository.
“This is my first business and my first time selling children’s books…There are
many online bookstores so how to compete with them? I hope to retain
customers through good customer service…” Ellen.

65
The Role Of Self-Directed Learning In Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is a process of learning and a theory of entrepreneurship requires
a theory of learning (Minniti & Bygrave, 2001: 7). Previous research shows that much
of the learning that takes place within an entrepreneurial context is experiential in
nature (e.g., Collins & Moore, 1970; Deakins & Freel, 1998; Minniti & Bygrave, 2001;
Reuber & Fischer, 1993; Sarasvathy, 2001; Sullivan, 2000). However, Tseng (2013)
believed that earlier research might have confused experiential learning with self-
directed learning (Tseng 2013: 433). Experiential learning refers to the learning
process whereby knowledge is created from the combination of grasping and
transforming experience (Kolb, 1984: 41) under an educational environment by
institutional development programs (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). Self-directed learning
stresses “learn on one’s own” (Garrison, 1997). Entrepreneurs who assume personal
responsibility for their intellectual growth (Tseng 2013: 426), develop a special
learning capability to identify entrepreneurial opportunities and outcomes (Fiet, 2002)
and are more likely to succeed in their entrepreneur endeavors (Tseng 2013: 439).
Ellen was an independent learner who spent a lot of time researching online to
acquire Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and other internet skillsets.
“SEO is a powerful online strategy to achieve high rankings of webpages in
search engine. The aim is to drive targeted online visitors to my site. A
successful SEO campaign positions a website to get maximum search engine
visibility…” Ellen.

66
This knowledge and application of SEO helped Ellen’s website to be more visible in
search engine results. However, Ellen was not the only one applying SEO
knowledge in her online business.
Tracey attended a 2-day basic SEO workshop to learn how to create her website.
She also used SEO principles to drive traffic to her website.
“This is a very basic workshop to get started. After that you are on your own to
pick up advanced SEO and WordPress skills to improve your website in your
future…One thing I learned from this 2-day SEO marketing workshop is the
internet marketing success model – perform market research, create website,
promote website and drive traffic…” Tracey.
Determined to apply whatever she had learned from a Search Engine Optimization
workshop, Tracey developed the website all by herself most of the time.
“I quickly set up my business website during the workshop…I then improve
on it after the workshop…sometimes I get help from fellow classmates…”
Tracey.
She managed to incorporate plugins that allow potential clients to book an
appointment online by accessing her schedule for free slots and without having to
contact Tracey.

67
“It is actually very easy to insert those WordPress plugins…most of the time is
trial-and-error…Online visitors can quickly click this option (a feature in her
website) to go to the schedule page to book an appointment with me.” Tracey.
While there were online entrepreneurs who were passionate about using SEO to
raise their online businesses’ visibility in the search engine, other online business
owners put more focus on cultivating better shoppers’ experiences. Ron was one of
them.
Ron familiarised himself with the features of his online shopping portal and to
develop his business further, Ron had been researching on how to develop an
online/offline customer experience.
“I don’t do SEO (Search Engine Optimization)…the latest trend is
online/offline…if shoppers like what they see in my online shop, they can
come down to <name of building> to see the product…” Ron.
To achieve better online/offline customer experience, Ron took initiative to explore
ways of improving customer service through better communication skills with his
business mentor.
“There is always room for improvement in my communication skills then…but
have improved with the help of my mentor after years of selling…” Ron.

68
One interviewee took time to improve her expertise through her desktop research.
Besides attending some evening classes when she was still in her last full-time job,
Lydia saw herself as a lifelong learner in Linkedin (a professional networking tool),
website designing, image and video editing.
“These skills (Linkedin, website designing, image and video editing) were
perfected over time through practice and desktop research. For instance, I
would browse Linkedin for samples of effective profiles, study them and take
note of features that make those profiles outstanding… I also invested in
image and video editing software to learn and develop the training materials
myself…” Lydia.
Besides promoting her work via Linkedin which was her area of expertise, Lydia
learned to post her videos on YouTube to market her services to more people.
“You need to know how to extend your influence in the market. Posting your
videos on your YouTube page can help bring your services to more online
visitors…” Lydia.
A combination of passion and the availability of online resources on how to edit
images and videos allowed Lydia to develop those skillsets and to have fun as an
online entrepreneur.

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“Think of social media as a virtual playground, all you have to do is to be
creative and have fun in what you are doing, and the online world will respond
to you...” Lydia.
Monica did not take a long time to familiarise with her online shopping portal. Her
learning curve only came in when she decided to scale her online business.
“My challenge comes when I want to expand my business. Besides analysing
the manpower needs, I also have to explore other e-commerce platforms and
the technology to support my business expansion dream. I have no practical
human resources experience or information technology training...” Monica.
Monica found knowledge on implementing simple human resource administration
and cloud storage on the Internet.
“Before I interviewed my first staff, I prepared my candidate interview and
assessment form based on some desktop research. I also read up on cloud
storage online before I bought and installed my first cloud storage system…”
Monica.
At the point of interview, Monica was reading about mobile applications development
and thinking of paying someone to design her mobile application.
“I also read about mobile applications development…very technical to master
the skills in such a short time…not sure if I should pay someone to design for

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