The entrepreneurial accompaniment process and the importance of context

PurposeBased on the different stages of the business creation process and using qualitative methods, this study's aim is to understand the functioning of the process of accompaniment entrepreneurs in the Tunisian context.Design/methodology/approachThe authors' exploratory research is qualitative. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a manager of an entrepreneurial accompaniment structure and 11 entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs were subjected to a manual content analysis.FindingsThe results of the authors' research show the importance of the different mechanisms and structures put in place in the Tunisian context to promote private initiative. Tunisia is a diverse and very rich environment for the entrepreneurial process. The results of the authors' research confirm the processual nature of entrepreneurial accompaniment, which is presented as a continuum of five stages: the promoting of the entrepreneurial spirit, the exploration of the entrepreneurial profile, the study of the project and preparation of the business plan, the financing of the creation of a company and the creation of the company.Originality/valueThe authors' study contributes to a better understanding of the close relationship between the entrepreneurial process and accompaniment in order to confirm the procedural nature of the latter. Then, this study highlights the involvement of the context in entrepreneurial accompaniment and the role of this accompaniment in the success of the entrepreneurial project. In addition, the authors' survey confirms the interest of entrepreneurial accompaniment from the stage of promoting the entrepreneurial spirit until the effective creation of the company. Taking into account the specificities of each stage of the creation process, the study shows the interest of a procedural approach to entrepreneurial accompaniment in order to put in place the necessary and above all adequate measures to help the entrepreneur at each stage of the entrepreneurial process and, subsequently, maximize the chances of success of the entrepreneur's business.