Same action learning, different outcomes: Comparing generic skill development among young entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs

Action learning (AL) develops generic skills through experiential problem-solving, yet how career contexts shape the depth of skill transfer after graduation remains underexplored. Using a grounded theory approach, we analyzed interviews with 29 AL-experienced graduates (7 entrepreneurs, 22 non-entrepreneurs). A two-stage analysis first generated 14 concepts in 6 categories from non-entrepreneur data, producing a skill transfer process model. Entrepreneur data then yielded 7 additional concepts. Polar comparison across the two groups led to a five-layer integrated model. The first three layers – skill accumulation, reflective conversion, and cognitive skill emergence – were shared across groups. Divergence occurred at the fourth layer: non-entrepreneurs navigated organizational inhibitors, while entrepreneurs bypassed them through strategic environment selection. Across both groups, transfer depth appeared to depend less on capability than on environmental authorship – the degree to which learners actively select and construct, rather than merely adapt to, their work environments. We position this variation on an environment selection intensity spectrum: a continuum rather than a dichotomy, with implications for AL program design and MSME-oriented entrepreneurship education.