Fenix - Stories about failure and recovery of entrepreneurs
Stories about failure and recovery of entrepreneurs
ProjectWithin the Fenix project, various aspects of entrepreneurship are examined. A deliberate choice was made to emphasize failure and restarting or recovery, as this is an often overlooked aspect of entrepreneurship.
Project Fenix is an initiative of the Entrepreneurship research group that examines various facets of entrepreneurship. A deliberate choice was made to also emphasize the aspect of failure and restarting, as this is an often overlooked side of entrepreneurship in both research and education. While entrepreneurship is characterized by ups and downs, the reality is that many businesses do not succeed. This failure and, more importantly, how entrepreneurs overcome it, is the core of our research.
The goals of this project are:
- To show that (dealing with) setbacks, failure, and recovery are natural parts of the entrepreneurial process and that even the best and most experienced entrepreneurs can encounter these issues.
- To describe, through publications, educational materials, and presentations, how entrepreneurs and their stakeholders respond to business failure and recover from it.
- To formulate and share findings, through policy advice and education, to reduce the (financial, social, emotional, and other) costs of business failure, accelerate the recovery process, and retain entrepreneurial capital.
We aim to achieve this by collecting and analyzing stories from entrepreneurs who have experienced business failure. Although each story is personal, the interviews focus on how the cognitions and interactions between the entrepreneur and their social network influence the failure and recovery process. After anonymizing and editing the interviews, the stories are included in our database. In no case can a story in the database be traced back to an individual entrepreneur or business. This database of more than a thousand stories is used exclusively for scientific research and educational purposes.
What do we do?
Since 2017, we have been collecting stories about various types of business failure and recovery. The failure experiences can involve extreme cases such as bankruptcy or involuntary termination or sale of (part of) the business. Examples of stories include innovation projects, new market introductions, or other investments that went wrong and led to the closure of a branch or department, the layoff of one or more employees, or the replacement of management to allow the rest of the company to survive.
Based on these stories, we can identify patterns and provide (scientific) insights into the process of failure and restarting. By sharing their stories, entrepreneurs also serve as examples for students. Sharing experiences helps future entrepreneurs prepare for and cope with setbacks and recover more easily. Based on insights from research, we have developed a protocol that allows students to interview entrepreneurs.
FENIX OUTPUT
As an entrepreneurship student, it is important to become aware that entrepreneurship does not always go smoothly and, more importantly, to learn how to deal with setbacks. With this Fenix module, students get the chance to learn more about innovation processes, developments in an economic sector, and expanding a business network. Whether students aim to become entrepreneurs themselves or to support entrepreneurs in the future, the stories of experienced entrepreneurs help develop a realistic view of entrepreneurship.
The educational module is designed for regular education. It can be tailored to the specific program in which it is used and aligned with the related course series. Essentially, the module consists of an assignment to interview an entrepreneur, draw lessons from the entrepreneur’s story, and apply these lessons to the student's own learning trajectory. The experiences of the entrepreneurs can provide insights into where things might go wrong in the development of a business and how to prevent such issues in future actions.
To find entrepreneurs for the interviews who have faced significant setbacks or went bankrupt, we advise participating students to ask around within their own network (family, friends, and acquaintances). Local newspapers often provide useful information as well.
The module is available via email, in consultation with the AUAS research leaders. After the request, we will determine how the module can be adapted to the program/course series and how AUAS can support its implementation. It is required that AUAS is credited as the developer of the Fenix Module.
The knowledge and expertise we have built up over the past years have been translated into images, illustrations, and assignments.
Check out the ECSB blog for an example of a workshop for teachers and advisors in entrepreneurship.
Custom Workshops
A presentation or workshop can be customized in consultation with the AUAS research leaders within the following themes:
The Content of Failing and Restarting:
- Definitions of Failure, Resilience, and Recovery
- Early Warning Signs and Crisis Prevention
- Role of the Entrepreneur and Other Key Actors in the Environment
Vicarious Learning – Learning from the Stories of Others:
- Theory Behind Learning from Others' Experiences
- Patterns from Stories of Failure and Restart
- Applying This Method to Other Themes
Conducting Qualitative Research:
- Conducting an Interview: How to Do It and How to Prepare
- Transcription Protocols: What Does This Entail?
- Anonymization Protocols: What Should or Should Not Be Anonymized?
In 2017, we started a database that now contains over a thousand stories. These stories were collected by students participating in this project. During this period, both researchers and students have used the data for their research and graduation projects.
The stories contain the following information:
- Personal characteristics of the entrepreneur
- Background and industry of the business
- Description of the setbacks and the recovery process
- The entrepreneur's network of involved parties
- Lessons as indicated by the entrepreneur
The database is available for research purposes. You can request access to view and edit the data by emailing Ingrid Wakkee, HvA Professor of Entrepreneurship.
The transcripts made from the interviews are anonymized and coded according to GDPR guidelines to protect the identities of the entrepreneurs and students. Examples of the consent form and the anonymization protocol are available as part of the educational module.
Books
- Alvarado Valenzuela J.F., Blagburn N., Martens J. 2021. Project Fenix. ISBN 9789491371400
- Wakkee I. 2010. Faillissement en Herstart; Entrepreneurship Update. ISBN/EAN: 978-90-78621-08-9
Academic literature
- Martens J, Alvarado Valenzuela J.F. (2019) Hulp voor ondernemers in nood. Maandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie 93(3/4): 127-134.
- Alvarado Valenzuela J.F., Wakkee I., Martens J., Grijsbach P. (2020) Lessons from entrepreneurial failure through vicarious learning, Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, DOI: 10.1080/08276331.2020.1831839
The data from Project Fenix offers many opportunities for students who want to conduct research for their bachelor's or master's thesis. When students wish to use the data, they receive guidance from the researchers of Project Fenix.
In recent years, various studies have been conducted by students from AUAS, AMSIB, and Vrije Universiteit. Some examples include:
- A Commercial Economics student researched the role of different parties within a company and how they respond in the event of a business crisis (thesis by Carmen Been, AUAS 2019).
- The data were used to gain insight into stories of failure among female entrepreneurs (thesis by Samantha Francisco, AUAS 2020).
- An AMSIB student investigated the influence of internationalization on the failure process in a company (thesis by Max Spierings, AMSIB 2020).
- An MBA student and AUAS employee researched how financial advisors handle their role when a company encounters problems (thesis by Desiree de Bos-van Birgelen, Nyenrode 2020).
- The data were also used to study differences between female and male students in dealing with this assignment (thesis by Myrthe Bootsma, VU 2021).
- Students used the data to focus on the role of the network in struggling entrepreneurs (thesis by Meredith Petrisie, VU 2021, and thesis by Joury Ottenbros, AUAS 2021).
- Other students were interested in looking to the future: How do entrepreneurs who have faced severe problems view the future? (thesis by Jim Woudstra, AUAS 2021; thesis by Judy Westenberg, AUAS 2021).
In recent years, we have collaborated with the following parties:
Within AUAS:
- Creative Business Program – Faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industries, specializing in Media Entrepreneurship in collaboration with Annemieke Boer.
- Commercial Economics Program – Faculty Business and Economics, Entrepreneurship Track in collaboration with Stefan Molenaars, Pere Guanter and Zouhair Ben Abdelkarim.
- Sport, Management and Entrepreneurship program– Faculty of Sports and Nutrition with team Entrepreneurship led by Wilko de Graaf and in collaboration with Jet van der Werf
Outside AUAS:
- Avans Hogeschool, program Business Innovation in collaboration with Yvonne Koert and Anne Marieke Fransen
- Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Research Group Business Innovation in collaboration with the team led by Dr. Arie de Wild.
- University of Northumbria, VK, Faculty of Business, course Business Closure in collaboration with Dr. Natalia Blagburn.
- University of Taphar in collaboration with Dr. Karminder Ghuman.
- University of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia in collaboration with Andrea Zelienkova
Presentation at 'Gala van de Wetenschap' (Gala of Science)
In 2019, we shared our experiences from the Fenix project at the Gala van de Wetenschap. We spoke about the importance of practice-oriented research on entrepreneurship and the resilience of entrepreneurs.
Presentation Fenix at Gala van de Wetenschap
