Table 1.

Analytical framework of entrepreneurial learning conversations and coactive vicarious learning (CVL)

Learning conversations	Themes	Discursive elements of CVL
		Sharing experiences	Analyzing experiences	Offering social and emotional support
Lessons learned	▪ Personal narratives of success or failure ▪ Importing third-party experiences and benchmarks ▪ Small “nuggets” of personal wisdom Typical post title: “My First Startup Failed. Here’s Everything I Learned From It”	▪ Mentor/students dynamic ▪ Narratives combine experiences and personal conclusions ▪ Conversation focuses on original post	▪ Asking for clarification and additional details ▪ Contrasting initial lesson with own experiences ▪ Collecting cases which prove or disprove the lesson learned	▪ Support focuses on brief affirmations and compliments ▪ Emotional support mostly limited to lessons derived from failure
Advice-seeking	▪ Interpersonal conflicts with internal and external stakeholders ▪ Personal career development ▪ Advice on general business strategies Typical post title: “I hate talking to customers. Any tips to get over it?”	▪ Student/mentors dynamic ▪ Narratives surround an open issue or conundrum ▪ Rich conversation surrounding original post and comments	▪ Interpreting and paraphrasing original issue ▪ Proposing and discussing step-by-step solutions ▪ Advice-givers bolster credibility through position and tenure ▪ Deep engagement with issues presented	▪ Support focuses on increasing self-efficacy through actionable advice ▪ Some cynicism in reply towards “incapable” advice seekers and advice givers
Reflection	▪ Opinionated commentary on the start-up landscape ▪ Voicing personal frustration ▪ Emotional self-reflection Typical post title: “Three years in and feeling burned out”	▪ Friends/supporters dynamic ▪ Sharing of personal and intimate narratives and ideas ▪ Rich and extensive conversation surrounding original post and comments	▪ High level of community engagement ▪ Comparing and contrasting original narrative with own experiences and insights ▪ Offering psychological advice	▪ Support focuses on personal and emotional validation ▪ Community provides a safe space for personal reflection ▪ Peer validation and comfort especially for “rants” and “self-reflections”
Call to share	▪ Open call to pitch individual start-ups ▪ Specific call to share knowledge within the community Typical post title: “Share your startup—May 2019” “Startup CEOs: What is your average workday like?”	▪ Moderator/participants dynamic ▪ Additive sharing of stand-alone narratives ▪ “Sender-oriented” conversation with limited interaction among commenters	▪ Collecting and contrasting experiences ▪ Lack of evaluation or interpretation due to “additive” nature of conversation	▪ Support is not a predominant discursive element within this category ▪ Emotional support limited to shared negative experiences
Tips, tricks, and resources	▪ Sharing process knowledge and tips (how-to) ▪ Sharing tools and resources Typical post title: “The Ultimate Term Sheet Guide—all terms and clauses explained”	▪ Coach-students dynamic ▪ OP shares tips, tricks, and resources based on books or based on skill, e.g., programming ▪ In more rare examples, OP shares tips, tricks, and resources based on own experience	▪ Evaluating success or usefulness of resource ▪ Aggregating related resources ▪ Improving and complementing provided tool sets	▪ Support focuses on brief notes of gratitude for shared resources ▪ Some support towards self-efficacy