Differentiating response uncertainty reduction and learning goals 88

The goals to reduce response uncertainty and to learn emerged from the lived experiences of the entrepreneurs and can be

differentiated across three dimensions: purpose, content, and sources. The first conceptual difference between the two goals relates to their fundamental purpose. Reducing response uncertainty captures entrepreneurs’ intentions to reduce feelings of doubt and confusion in relation to possible options and/or the outcomes of options, thus it refers to decision making. The learning goal captures entrepreneurs’ attempts to acquire and change knowledge, skills, and habits to actually implement decisions and options. This difference in purpose is also evident in the type and topics of feedback sought, which is the second difference between the two goals. When

pursuing the response uncertainty reduction goal, the entrepreneurs focused on seeking outcome feedback on strategic decisions more often and they sought cognitive feedback only to generate new alternatives. When pursuing the learning goal, the entrepreneurs sought only cognitive feedback to guide future performance across the full spectrum of feedback topics. The third conceptual difference between the two goals relates to the common feedback sources approached for each goal. When pursuing the response uncertainty reduction goal, the entrepreneurs sought feedback mostly from customers, beneficiaries, experts and professionals as often the outcome of the decision depended on their reactions. However, when pursuing the learning goal, the entrepreneurs sought feedback from other social or commercial entrepreneurs and mentors as they were perceived to have experience with similar issues and situations as the entrepreneurs.

In addition to using feedback seeking as a pathway to learning, the entrepreneurs also considered it as a pathway to improving, which I describe in the next section.

4.3.3. Improving

Improving emerged as the third goal to seek feedback. I define improving as creating better products or services or positioning them more effectively in the market by correcting errors and enhancing appeal or performance. The entrepreneurs’ discourse revealed that they sought feedback to improve the offering and to improve the positioning of the offering, which are the first-order categories

underlying this second-order sub-theme and I describe them in detail next.

The entrepreneurs’ discourse emphasised the importance of designing and delivering a good product or service for the success of the venture. The entrepreneurs considered the development of a high-quality offering to be essential for achieving the venture’s social and commercial objectives. Without an effective and desirable

offering, the entrepreneurs did not think they could catalyse social impact for their beneficiaries or gain enough customers to create a financially sustainable venture. This is why they asked for feedback on their products and services throughout the process: from just an idea for an offering through designing a prototype and even when they were selling or delivering the product or service. For many entrepreneurs, seeking feedback to correct errors and enhance the offering was “the only way” they could provide “a proper service” to their beneficiaries. They also considered seeking feedback to improve the offerings and their positioning as essential to gain

customers and revenues. Many of the entrepreneurs recognised that the social and commercial aspects of their ventures were interlinked and they could not catalyse social impact without financial

sustainability nor could they generate income without creating offerings that were desirable and served their purpose.

In order to improve the design and positioning of their offerings, the entrepreneurs sought feedback to remain objective and

understand the perspectives of the customers and beneficiaries. The entrepreneurs realised that being embedded in their ventures might make it difficult to detach, critically evaluate, and examine the design

and positioning of their offerings in an objective manner. This

sentiment was strongly expressed by the entrepreneurs who started their ventures due to a personal pain or need for the offering. These entrepreneurs perceived their personal experiences to be limiting their objectivity and ability to see their work from different

perspectives. As Peter highlighted:

Also because I suffered the addiction and now I work in the field, I need to make sure I constantly stay objective rather than just passionate about an area that affected me. […] I think that is even more important when you are a one-man band to build it because when you live it, sleep it, breathe it and everything else and you are the organisation, the lines get blurry and your head becomes fuzzy, so I think feedback is absolutely essential for me.

To improve the design and positioning for their offerings, the entrepreneurs sought feedback on various aspects of their products and services: from names and features to positioning. Some of them recognised that they were not the customers or beneficiaries of their offerings and needed to understand them better to improve their products or services. For instance, Sam realised very early in the venture emergence process that he and his co-founder did not know the target beneficiary group well enough to implement their idea of a mobile application that supported young people’s wellbeing through anonymous sharing of secrets. Consequently, they asked a group of young people for feedback and started with the name of the platform.

Additionally, examples of seeking feedback to make changes to the features of existing products were abundant in the data. Tim planned on going to a care home to ask activity coordinators who would use his iPad application for feedback about the features and the usability of the product. Selena aimed to create a fun and enjoyable game that helped students with their learning of economics and was also useful for teachers. She had conversations with multiple students about the board of her game, the colours, questions, spaces, and parts. She asked teachers who would be the customers about the resources they would want to be bundled with the game. Additionally, she asked for feedback from her economics professor about the effectiveness of

questions in the game and how to match the content to the material studied in economics classes around the world.

Asking for feedback to improve the offering was not only for those entrepreneurs who offered a product. It was also common for those who offered a service to their beneficiaries and customers.

Building on her work to support people with disabilities into employment, Josie H. also started a series of events and

conferences. She aimed to make each one of them accessible to individuals with disabilities and she asked for feedback before and after the events. Seeking feedback helped her identify that while she was doing a great job of making the events accessible to people with physical disabilities, such as visual impairment, the presentations were not always accessible to individuals with dyslexia. Roger had a similar experience of seeking feedback from his beneficiaries to create a better employability programme for at-risk youth. For example, he asked for feedback about the types of employers he connected the youths with, the number of work placements he provided for them, and even the types of skills he helped them to develop. In some cases, seeking feedback to improve the service required not just assessment of the service but also a better

understanding of the social problem. For example, Angela J. started seeking feedback to improve her employability service for people with disabilities, however, after a feedback encounter with a

beneficiary she realised that the positioning of the services needed to be improved, not the service itself. Andrew realised that in order to involve marginalised youth in engaging and fun enterprise education he needed to engage with their teachers first. He asked for feedback about the service from a team of social entrepreneurs from Gdansk whose venture had a similar purpose and from academics in

education in Glasgow who understood the education system.

Entrepreneurs who perceived their offerings to be very complex and novel heavily stressed that they sought feedback to improve their products or services because they did not have any exemplars to copy or use as a benchmark. For example, Daniel S. considered his

discounts for eco-friendly products and services, tools, and

information, to be unique. This meant that he had no one to copy or learn from and he considered seeking feedback to be the only way to improve his platform. Building a consultancy that addressed problem gambling through increasing awareness, training, and support in organisations, Peter shared a similar experience:

With something as new as this, I think it is the only way I can improve. By gaining that feedback. […] I am bringing something entirely new to the market and I had to develop it from the ground up. I don't have a model to follow. I don't have a business to try to copy. […] You know, if I were doing a drugs consultancy, or a drinks consultancy, or an accounting

consultancy, or something, there are so many others I can look up to and compare it to.

4.3.3.1. Content of feedback

In terms of content of feedback, the entrepreneurs sought feedback to improve about two topic areas and focused on both types of feedback. The entrepreneurs sought feedback about the design and delivery of their products and services, which is a

strategic decision, and about the positioning and marketing of these products, which are management and operations feedback topics.

They sought both outcome and cognitive types of feedback to assess the offerings and their positing and to collect suggestions about how to improve them.

4.3.3.2. Sources of feedback

The entrepreneurs’ feedback seeking to improve was commonly associated with seven main feedback sources. First, the

entrepreneurs sought feedback from customers and beneficiaries because they were considered to be the decision-makers on whether the offering was of high quality. As Josie H. reflected, “It doesn't matter what I think. It matters what our employers [as customers] and our beneficiaries think.” Second, the entrepreneurs sought feedback from their employees and volunteers who were either beneficiaries or had the characteristics of the venture’s beneficiaries, thus considered them as representatives with experience. Third, my analysis revealed

TABLE 4.5. ILLUSTRATIVE DATA SUPPORTING INTERPRETATIONS OF SUB-THEME: IMPROVING

that in order to improve their products and services, the

entrepreneurs asked professionals and experts for feedback. Finally, in rare cases the entrepreneurs asked other social or commercial entrepreneurs for feedback on their products and services.