FACING THE UNEXPECTED: EXPLORING ITALIAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS’ LEARNING EXPERIENCE WHEN CONFRONTING EXTERNAL SHOCKS

Purpose. In a world characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA), exogenous shocks exert profound and often unpredictable effects on society and the economy, with particularly significant consequences for women entrepreneurs. Grounded in the field of entrepreneurial learning and drawing on experiential learning theory, this paper investigates what and how women entrepreneurs learn in response to such disruptive events. Design/methodology/approach. Based on the experiences of a sample of Italian women entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic, chosen as an emblematic case of shocks, this study employs a phenomenological qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis uncover key aspects of the learning process and outcomes. Findings. The COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique opportunity for women entrepreneurs to gain a deeper understanding of their businesses, their entrepreneurial roles and themselves. It triggered emotional, strategic and relational adaptations that fostered the development of new skills, resilience and changes in self-perception. Participants adopted reactive strategies such as digitalisation and financial learning, and relied heavily on social networks. Despite increased domestic burdens, they developed self-empowerment by reevaluating their work-family balance and perceived themselves as more resilient and aware of future exogenous shocks. Learning was socially embedded and context-dependent, strongly fostered by other subjects with whom the women interacted during their experience. Originality. This study contributes to the literature by examining women entrepreneurs’ learning processes during exogenous shocks through the lens of experiential learning theory, an area that remains underexplored. It offers novel insights into how emotional, strategic and relational dimensions interact in shaping entrepreneurial learning in crisis contexts. Furthermore, by focusing on women micro-entrepreneurs in Italy, the study offers context-specific evidence from a developed economy, highlighting how gendered constraints and contextual factors influence learning dynamics during VUCA conditions.