How coachability shapes entrepreneurial learning in venture acceleration programs

Purpose This study develops a process-oriented understanding of how entrepreneurs enact entrepreneurial learning when engaging with coaching feedback in venture accelerators. Conceptually, we link the active use of feedback to research on coachability. The research question is formulated as follows: How do entrepreneurs enact coachability in ways that condition entrepreneurial learning in venture acceleration programs? Design/methodology/approach We adopt an inductive, informant-centric research design to explore the processual dynamics surrounding how entrepreneurs enact entrepreneurial learning in venture acceleration programs. Empirically, we employ a longitudinal study of a ten-month venture accelerator program in Sweden. The core of our analysis centres on interviews with business coaches and lead entrepreneurs who took part in coaching sessions during the program. Findings Our findings highlight coachability as a conditioning capacity enacted through learning processes and shaped by situational orientations. We identify four key themes that condition entrepreneurial learning from coaching feedback: ownership of learning, openness to change, preference for tangible outcomes, and a short term learning preference. In all, our findings suggest that coachability is not a stable trait but a dynamic learning capacity that unfolds under the temporal and emotional conditions characteristic of venture acceleration contexts. Originality/value Our findings provide a qualitative, process-focused framework of how coachability is enacted in ways that condition entrepreneurial learning. Rather than assuming complete learning cycles, our framework depicts entrepreneurial learning as shaped by situational orientations that may accelerate, distort, or truncate entrepreneurial learning.