Knowledge spillover in entrepreneurial ...

Entrepreneurship’s crucial role in economic growth and societal change has raised researchers’ and practitioners’interest in how to facilitate entrepreneurial activity. With the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship,research highlights knowledge as an essential source of opportunity and, thus, entrepreneurial emergence.However, the mechanisms of knowledge spillover and its influence on entrepreneurial emergence are yet to beexplored. We apply a learning lens to knowledge spillover to investigate how knowledge is created and sharedand how it relates to entrepreneurial emergence. We employ a longitudinal qualitative research design involvinga community of entrepreneurs in an accelerator context. Findings reveal that knowledge spillovers originate froman (initial) stock of knowledge that is continuously updated and extended via experiential learning. Knowledgeexchange as a prerequisite for knowledge spillover is driven by the individuals’ willingness to share knowledgeintending to support the emergence of other entrepreneurs. Findings contribute to the knowledge spillovertheory of entrepreneurship by providing a better understanding of the origin, mechanisms, and effects ofknowledge spillover. Moreover, our novel insights about the mechanisms of interpersonal knowledge spillovercontribute to the field of entrepreneurial learning.