Configuration paths of the entrepreneurial knowledge evolution of heritage crafts in ethnic villages

Entrepreneurial knowledge evolution (EKE) is critical to heritage craft entrepreneurs’ long-term competitiveness. Drawing on ecological knowledge evolution theory, this study examines the antecedents and configurational paths of heritage crafts EKE in China’s ethnic villages. A sequential mixed-method design was adopted. First, a single case study of Bai silverware entrepreneurs in Xinhua Village uses multisource qualitative data and Gioia coding to identify the antecedents of EKE. Second, survey data from 63 entrepreneurs are analyzed using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to examine how these conditions combine to produce high EKE. The findings identify six antecedent conditions and five configuration paths, grouped into three models. The mentor–apprentice relationship is a core condition in all five paths, although no single condition is necessary for a high EKE. Knowledge retention and selection are shaped by both market evaluation and social exchange between mentors and apprentices, indicating a hybrid social–market selection mechanism. This study applies ecological knowledge evolution theory to culturally embedded entrepreneurship, explains the causal complexity of high EKE, and provides a reference for configuring the support conditions of EKE for heritage craft entrepreneurs and policymakers.