Abstract

Objectives
This chapter explores how conceptualising ‘the moment’ in entrepreneurship contributes to understanding entrepreneurial processes of learning and creativity. It proposes that the significance of ‘the aha moment’ in entrepreneurial behaviour is widely used at a popular level but is not well explored in relation to knowledge of human learning. The ‘moment’ is taken to be a point in time when we experience conscious mental awareness of what is going on, are aware and able to generate meaning from this, and to remember our thinking and responses.
The aims of the chapter are:
1. To explore the connections between the concept of the moment in entrepreneurship with processes of learning and creativity.
2. To develop a framework which can be used to understand momentary perspectives in entrepreneurship.
3. To explore the implications for entrepreneurial education and for practice.

Prior Work
The chapter summarises current and emerging knowledge of ‘the moment’ across associated domains of knowledge in philosophy, literature, social education, cognitive psychology, and learning.

Approach
A limited-scale survey of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship educators; and an evaluation of entrepreneurs’ learning from a business leadership programme is used to present contextual material which illustrates and provides supporting evidence for a momentary perspective.

Results
Types of entrepreneurial moment, such as creativity, opportunity discovery or recognition, failure, critical meetings and realisations are identified and an initial conceptual framework for a momentary perspective of entrepreneurial learning and creativity is proposed, consisting of processes of perceiving, generating meaning, and acting. This builds on a synthesis of prior work on narratives and entrepreneurial learning in relation to critical incidents and episodes; emotion; creativity; serendipity; cognitive science; and psychology.

Implications
The chapter suggests why understanding the moment is significant both from a cultural perspective, and in relation to current and emerging knowledge in associated domains of knowledge. The potential implications for using critical moments in entrepreneurial learning, education and practice are considered, with reference to situated activities such as creative thinking, management learning and entrepreneurial decision-making, practice and future research.

Value
The rapid development of entrepreneurship in the digital media economy, which depends on instant responses to pervasive communications, combined with the evolving economic, technological and cultural experiences of the post-recession ‘new era’ in entrepreneurship within a changed European and Western economy, have shaped a new context for entrepreneurial working. Momentary learning, creativity and decision-making are of heightened importance in this context.