Learning practices in social entrepreneurship: a cross-cultural comparison of non-profit organizations in Canada and Brazil

This study aims to analyze the social entrepreneurship (SE) learning practices in non-profit organizations in both Canada and Brazil. Research on entrepreneurship has provided the understanding that learning is central to this phenomenon. However, little is known about the learning practices in SE. What research has been undertaken on this topic tends to take a psychological approach that we maintain excludes important social aspects of learning. To address this, we rely upon communities of practice theory, drawing on interviews in non-profit organizations in two different cultural contexts. We identify three learning practices: mutual engagement, shared repertoire, and social interaction, which are configured by power relations. This study, therefore, contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge of SE learning by studying learning practices in two different geographical regions, showing that power can encourage or inhibit learning practices in SE organizations.