Error-driven emergence of ownership competences: evidence from early ventures

This study explores how early-stage startup founders develop ownership competences—matching, timing, and governance—through error-driven learning processes. Using a grounded theory approach, we analyze data from 96 Italian startup founders, examining the cognitive and behavioral responses to errors during their entrepreneurial journey from founders to owners. Our findings reveal three distinct cognitive approaches to errors—avoiding, hedging, and embracing—that shape how founders engage with errors and influence their learning mechanisms. While avoidance limits competence development, hedging facilitates episodic learning, and embracing fosters systematic learning, driving iterative adaptation and innovation. By synthesizing entrepreneurial cognitive approaches with specific learning mechanisms, we uncover how errors trigger the emergence of ownership competences, transitioning founders from founders to owners. This research advances effectuation and competence-based theories by positioning learning from errors mechanisms as critical junctures.