Title: Brazilian female entrepreneurship in the food service segment: fear and entrepreneurial learning in the context of crisis

Authors: Mariane Lemos Lourenço; Mara Rosalia Ribeiro Silva; Lady Day Pereira de Souza; Michele Estarnecks Peixoto

Addresses: Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil ' Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil ' Federal Institute of Rondônia, Rondônia, Brazil ' Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyse fear in learning among women entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Basic qualitative research was conducted through online interviews with women entrepreneurs in Brazil who are micro enterprise owners pertaining to the food service segment. Learning experiences of the women entrepreneurs were identified, taking into account their experiences and fears: learning how to use new technologies as a means of communication with the client; and, learning to organise the business in terms of care, facing the context of crisis. This paper contributes by adding fear as an intrinsic emotion of the exploitation and exploration processes, so that the transformation between entrepreneurial experiences into entrepreneurial knowledge is experienced with the different fears that permeate entrepreneurial practice.

Keywords: entrepreneurial learning; female entrepreneurs; micro entrepreneurs; fear.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2024.139733

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2024 Vol.36 No.1, pp.1 - 20

Received: 21 Dec 2022
Accepted: 30 Mar 2023
Published online: 05 Jul 2024 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article