Lean Startup and Learning Loops in Entrepreneurial Ventures: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The lean startup embraces experimentation and validated learning as part of the entrepreneurial search effort. Scholars situate it within the Learning School of Strategy (Bortolini et al., 2018; Mintzberg, 1978) and report that it intersects with multiple organizational learning areas (York, 2022). Of interest is the relationship of lean startup, its iterating and pivoting actions, and continuous experimentation with learning loops (single-, double-, and triple-loop) in the entrepreneurial setting. This systematic review, with guidance from Tranfield et al. (2003), Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta-Analyses (Moher et al., 2010), and the International Journal of Management Reviews, identified evidence around these relationships. This effort used preset criteria to screen citations from three portals (ABI/Inform, EBSCO, and SCOPUS) and Snowball collection per Wohin (2014). This effort identified 41 publications (19 systematic, 22 snowball). This review finds direct and suggestive evidence concerning the interrelationships of lean startup, its actions, and processes with the learning loops. Also, it posits a model involving lean startup and the three learning loops and offers questions for further exploration.