Mapping communication skills within entrepreneurial competence: A bibliometric analysis

This study examines the diversity of entrepreneurial intentions among university students by extending the construct to include business versus social orientations and founding (“build”) versus participation (“activity”) roles. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with first-year students in Japan. Cluster analysis revealed three student types: Value-Initiator , Value-Contributor , and Traditional-worker . To understand each type's characteristics, the study compared their profiles using Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), entrepreneurial competence based on EntreComp framework, and prior educational experience. Value-Initiator type exhibited high intentions across business and social domains, with strong attitudes, social norms, and initiative-oriented competencies. The Value-Contributor type showed high activity intentions but lower build intentions, indicating motivation for team-based value creation rather than for leadership. The Traditional-worker type demonstrated low entrepreneurial intentions, reflecting limited engagement with entrepreneurial or social initiatives. Comparative analysis revealed business practical education was strongly associated with higher build intentions, while social practical education mainly influenced activity intentions. These findings suggest entrepreneurship education should adopt differentiated approaches: experiential business practice to foster Value-Contributor into Value-Initiator, and career design education to encourage Traditional-workers to explore entrepreneurial mindsets. This study contributes to entrepreneurship education by proposing a multidimensional model of entrepreneurial intention and demonstrating pedagogical implications for an inclusive learning design. • Expands entrepreneurial intention into business/social and build/activity roles. • Identify three student types: Value-Initiator, Value-Contributor, and Traditional-worker. • Identify the characteristics of each type by TPB, EntreComp, and prior education. • Suggests differentiated pedagogical strategies for diverse student profiles.

ABSTRACT Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a significant role in economic development and international trade in Southeast Asia. With increasing global competition, the adoption of digital technologies and sustainable business models has become essential for MSMEs aiming to expand across borders and sustain long-term growth. This study investigates how digital marketing and entrepreneurial capabilities affect sustainable cross-border expansion of MSMEs in Indonesia and Malaysia, with energy efficiency as a mediating factor, using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was employed, and data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 120 MSME owners and managers involved in digital business and cross-border trade. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability and correlation analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicate that digital marketing capabilities significantly enhance sustainable cross-border growth, while entrepreneurial capabilities positively influence business growth and strategic flexibility. These findings support the need for MSMEs to transform their retail and consumer marketing strategies, as digital tools foster better engagement and global market reach. Furthermore, energy efficiency practices were found to have a positive effect on sustainable MSME performance and partially mediate the relationship between digital strategies and cross-border expansion. These findings highlight the importance of integrating digital marketing strategies, entrepreneurial competencies, and sustainable practices to strengthen MSME competitiveness. The study suggests that policymakers and business support organizations should promote digital transformation and sustainable entrepreneurship to facilitate MSME growth in an increasingly dynamic and competitive global market.

This study investigates the influence of lean management practices and entrepreneurial competencies on the business resilience of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the third district of Bukidnon, Philippines. Recognizing MSEs as vital contributors to the local economy yet vulnerable to operational challenges and external disruptions, the research aims to understand how these firms adapt and sustain growth amid adversity. Employing a quantitative approach, data were collected from 400 MSE owners across eight municipalities through a structured questionnaire measuring business profile, lean management dimensions, entrepreneurial competencies, and resilience factors. Findings reveal that most MSEs are micro-sized, sole proprietorships engaged primarily in retail, with a majority operating for less than ten years. Lean management practices are highly adopted, particularly in process efficiency, standardization, and waste minimization. Similarly, entrepreneurial competencies are demonstrated at a considerable level among respondents. The study establishes a significant positive relationship between lean management, entrepreneurial competencies, and business resilience, highlighting the critical role of optimized operations and owner skills in enhancing adaptive capacity and vulnerability management. These insights underscore the importance of tailored support programs that foster lean practices and entrepreneurial development to improve the sustainability and resilience of MSEs in resource-constrained, rural settings. Recommendations include promoting continual improvement initiatives and capacity-building interventions targeting emerging enterprises to strengthen their survivability and growth prospects.

Beyond the business plan: A psychological framework for cultivating innovative and entrepreneurial competence in higher education.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the development of entrepreneurship competences (EC) shaped by self-directed experiential learning (SDEL) within business and entrepreneurship studies internships. Design/methodology/approach The investigation applied deductive qualitative research guided by SDEL framework. Students' weekly reflections on entrepreneurship internships were analyzed to identify enabling and constraining behavior, affecting EC development. Seventeen undergraduate students provided their written consent to the use of their reflections for this study. Lists of keywords were then inductively derived from the coded data to characterize empirically confirmed SDEL patterns. Keyword distribution was analyzed throughout the reflections on EntreComp-defined competences. Findings The study identified distinct patterns through which self-directed learning (SDL) would either enable or limit the progression across Kolb's experiential learning (EL) phases in the development of EC. SDL manifested unevenly across EL phases, with strengths in dealing with concrete experience and reflective observation, along with notable limitations in engaging with conceptualization and experimentation. Contextual factors, task design and learner readiness had significantly shaped these outcomes. Originality/value The research advances a theoretical understanding of SDEL by mapping the emergence of its enabling and limiting elements in the SDL-EL interaction. Lists of keywords, assigned to the SDEL framework, propose a replicable tool for analyzing reflective texts, offering a way to anticipate, support and evaluate learning behaviors in educational contexts. The findings occurred in a natural learning environment, as students were not prompted to consider SDL or EL concepts. The disclosures represent authentic and spontaneous manifestations of SDEL occurrence in actuality.

In the UK, innovation has become a cornerstone of healthcare reform and professional development. National policy increasingly emphasises integrated, workforce-led approaches to care, positioning nurses at the centre of transforming healthcare organisations and systems. As the largest professional group in the NHS, nurses are well-placed to translate policy aims into everyday practice and system-level change. However, while professional standards emphasise the importance of effective leadership, communication and compassion, they rarely articulate how nurses can systematically develop the entrepreneurial capabilities required to drive innovation at scale. Entrepreneurial competence - the ability to recognise opportunities, mobilise resources and translate ideas into practice - remains under-recognised in nurse education and healthcare organisations. This article calls for a renewed understanding of innovation in nursing, positioning entrepreneurial competence as integral to professional identity, rather than as a business-oriented or specialist activity. The author reframes everyday nursing innovation as entrepreneurial practice and offers a structured framework for its development, thereby supporting nurses and nurse leaders to lead sustainable, practice-informed changes.

ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is increasingly recognized as a strategic driver of organizational transformation. However, the mechanisms through which AI generates sustained value creation remain insufficiently theorized, particularly in emerging economy small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing on dynamic capability and knowledge-based perspectives, this study examines how learning organizations (LO) mediate the relationship between AI adoption and value creation (VC), and how learning environment (LE) and entrepreneurial competencies (EC) condition this process. Using survey data from 412 Tunisian SMEs and structural equation modeling, the findings reveal that AI adoption positively influences both LO and VC. Importantly, LO partially mediates the AI–VC relationship, indicating that AI-driven VC depends not only on technological implementation but also on the organization’s capacity to transform AI-generated insights into collective learning and coordinated action. The results further demonstrate that EC significantly strengthen the positive effect of AI adoption on LO, whereas LE does not exert a significant moderating influence. These findings suggest that individual-level entrepreneurial capabilities play a more critical role than the contextual learning climate in leveraging AI for organizational learning. By clarifying the mediating and moderating mechanisms linking AI adoption to VC, this study contributes to the emerging literature on AI-enabled capability development and offers actionable implications for SMEs seeking to translate digital investments into sustainable performance outcomes.

ABSTRACT With the emergence of entrepreneurship education, its integration within the arts discipline remains limited. Existing literature on entrepreneurship education in higher education has primarily focused on outcomes, with assessments relatively overlooked. This study investigated entrepreneurship education assessment through the expectations and perceptions of multiple stakeholders, including students, teachers and professionals from the field of arts. An open‐ended survey was administered to first and final year students at a university in Hong Kong, followed by individual semi‐structured interviews with higher education students and educators, as well as professionals. Findings showed that entrepreneurship education was valued in the arts discipline, and results recommended focusing on creative processes and fostering entrepreneurial competencies to enhance employability and career management. Non‐traditional but authentic and experiential approaches in evaluation methods were highlighted. In light of the findings, this study offers valuable insights to curriculum design, as well as teaching and learning in the arts discipline within higher education.

ABSTRACT In response to the rising demand for entrepreneurial competence in the digital economy, this study explores how self-directed entrepreneurship education fosters digital literacy and shapes technopreneurial intention among Generation Z students. Guided by the Self-Directed Learning Theory, the Job Demands – Resources Model, and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the study examines the direct effects of self-directed learning on digital business literacy and digital financial literacy and the mediating roles of these literacies in forming technopreneurial intention. A quantitative survey of 698 Indonesian university students was conducted, with data analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that self-directed learning significantly enhances both forms of digital literacy, which in turn exert strong and positive influences on students’ intention to engage in technopreneurship. Theoretically, this research contributes by integrating psychological and behavioural frameworks to explain entrepreneurial readiness in digital learning contexts. While centred in Indonesia, the study’s implications are relevant to higher education systems across Southeast Asia and broader Asian regions facing similar challenges in building entrepreneurial and digital capacities. The findings highlight the importance of creating digital learning ecosystems that promote learner autonomy and practical digital competencies, equipping students for evolving roles in technology-driven entrepreneurial environments.

Entrepreneurship education plays a crucial role in advancing capacity building and equipping students with essential skills to meet the demands of the modern workforce. With an emphasis on skill development in the newly emerging educational system, this study examines the effect of entrepreneurial education on capacity building. The research aims to identify the methods, tools, and strategies that enhance entrepreneurial competencies and promote sustainable growth among learners. The study uses a mixed-methods approach to analyze the effectiveness of several educational stepping-ins, such as workshops, training programs, and curriculum design, in fostering the development of important abilities, including problem-solving, leadership, innovation, and adaptability. Entrepreneurship education, an independent variable, is the rate of its impact on capacity building, a dependent variable measured through skill enhancement among students. Key challenges are analysed, such as the lack of alignment between traditional education systems and industry requirements, insufficient access to resources, and gaps in practical exposure. The research further inspects how entrepreneurship education can link these gaps and make a robust framework for skill development; ensuring learners are well-prepared for the demands of the global economy. Findings from this study are expected to provide applicable awareness for policymakers, educators, and institutions to integrate entrepreneurship education successfully into the academic framework. Guidance will highlight innovative pedagogical approaches, tailored training modules, and collaborative efforts between academia and industry. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on entrepreneurship education and its transformative role in capacity building, fostering a skilled and resilient workforce for the future.

ABSTRACT In the rapid evolution of technology, businesses are increasingly confronted with emerging challenges in response to a new economic world. Fostering innovation-based enterprise (IBE) could enhance business opportunities and competitive advantages. However, transforming a business into an IBE involves a multifaceted approach. This includes skill development for entrepreneurs. This study aims to explore skill sets required for Thai small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs in driving IBEs. A qualitative approach was employed, integrating insights from literature reviews and in-depth interviews with 11 SME entrepreneurs and five public-sector officers. The findings reveal four prominent skill sets: organizational innovation-driven, digital and data-driven, communication and collaboration, and financial skill sets, each skill set representing a group of skills by integrating theoretical knowledge with real-world application. These insights offer context-specific definitions of entrepreneurial skills to propel IBEs. Notably, this research does more than compile skill sets; it contributes to theory by expanding the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework and refining dynamic capability theory at the microfoundation level through context-specific definitions. Furthermore, it provides a structured diagnostic lens for entrepreneurs and policy makers to prioritize the skills necessary for transforming ordinary SMEs into innovation-driven businesses.

This scoping review synthesized the entrepreneurial competencies required of personal financial planners working in the life insurance business. The review mapped heterogeneous evidence relevant to advisory practice, competency development, professional standards, occupational expectations, and practitioner performance. The review process identified 301 records, removed 33 duplicates, screened 268 records, and assessed 183 full-text records for eligibility. After exclusions for generic entrepreneurship, education-pipeline studies, and topic mismatch or duplicate variants, 75 studies were retained; 36 were designated as core studies for deep synthesis. The retained literature yielded five higher-order themes: professional competency and standards frameworks, development and learning mechanisms, performance and business outcomes, retention and career sustainability, and advisory trust and long-term client relationships. A more detailed synthesis identified 24 entrepreneurial competency elements organized into 7 knowledge elements, 9 skill elements, and 8 personal attributes. Beyond mapping the field, the review clarifies how regulated professional expertise and entrepreneurial capability converge in this occupation. The review therefore provides a defensible conceptual foundation for curriculum design, competency-based development, and later model construction in the life insurance financial planning field.

The influence of entrepreneurial spirit and environmental perception on entrepreneurial intentions: A mediation model of entrepreneurial competence.

In the current landscape of digital transformation, objectively measuring and fostering students' innovative and entrepreneurial competencies has emerged as a central mission of the educational community. Aiming at the defects of extreme subjectivity and lack of dynamics of the existing assessment methods, this paper constructs a comprehensive assessment model integrating AHP hierarchical analysis and BP neural network, and introduces the SHAP interpretation framework to reveal its decision-making mechanism. First, the multidimensional innovation and entrepreneurship ability evaluation indexes of students are established through feature engineering, and their weights are determined using AHP. The pre-processed samples are then fed into the BP neural network to obtain an accurate measure and evaluation of students’ innovation and entrepreneurship potential. SHAP post hoc interpretation is used to uncover the role played by each assessment index. Experimental data demonstrate the results show that the average prediction error between model outputs and measured values of the model in this paper is as small as 0.815% which is an indication of high precision. It also confirms that the innovation and entrepreneurial competence is among the major dimensions that determine the level of students’ overall innovation and entrepreneurship proficiency. It implements the dynamism behind individual innovation and entrepreneurial abilities of each student, thereby supporting the smooth operation of the learners’ careers.

Entrepreneurial behavioral characteristics (EBCs) pertain to the skills, traits, and attributes of the individual usually identified with successful entrepreneurs. These characteristics equip individuals to be successful in venturing into a business. Entrepreneurial characteristics play a significant role in promoting creativity, stimulating economic development, and helping them manage the challenges in the business sector effectively. The objective of the study is to explore the entrepreneurial characteristics present in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) students. The study utilized a quantitative descriptive research method, based on Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PECs) and other related studies. According to the result, students majoring in BSBA during Academic Year 2023–2024 displayed a middle level of entrepreneurial behavior in all three domains: realizing, planning, and power. Students demonstrated strengths in exigencies of quality, goal definition, planning, and data search; however, some characteristics are still improvable, such as persistence, commitment, and taking calculated risks. This study highlights both the entrepreneurial potential of the characteristics and the areas for improvement among business students.

Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population globally and has over 40,000 Islamic boarding schools (pesantren). However, most of these schools face challenges in financial management and economic sustainability. This study, however, examines the strategic role of Islamic boarding schools in providing Islamic education to the community. This study conducted an economic empowerment program for Islamic boarding schools through hydroponic entrepreneurship training to strengthen their economic resilience. The program was implemented at Islamic boarding schools in Klaten using an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach. This approach emphasizes the importance of local assets and active participant involvement. The program consisted of four stages: needs assessment, participatory planning, entrepreneurship training, mentoring, and outcome evaluation. These activities were supported by observation, interviews, and participant evaluation methods to adjust the community service program. Findings indicate an increase in students' entrepreneurial knowledge, technical skills, and economic awareness after participating in the program. The learning provided hands-on experience in hydroponic practices, increasing engagement and facilitating the development of entrepreneurial competencies. Mentoring ensured the program met its targets and determined its sustainability. The results of this study highlight that integrating entrepreneurship education with locally adaptable practical innovations can foster sustainable economic models in religious educational institutions, positioning Islamic boarding schools as agents of inclusive economic development.

This study examines the impact of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurship education on the entrepreneurial intentions of economics and business students in Hanoi, Vietnam. A quantitative research design was employed using survey data collected from 250 students. The reliability and validity of the measurement scales were assessed through Cronbach’s alpha and exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by multiple linear regression to test the proposed relationships. The findings indicate that both entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurship education significantly and positively influence entrepreneurial intention. Among these factors, entrepreneurial self-efficacy exerts a stronger effect (β = 0.460) than entrepreneurship education (β = 0.361). The model explains 49.8% of the variance in entrepreneurial intention, highlighting the critical role of both individual cognitive capability and educational support. This study contributes to the literature by reaffirming the relevance of Social Cognitive Theory in explaining entrepreneurial intention in an emerging economy context. It also provides practical implications for universities and policymakers to enhance entrepreneurial competencies and promote experiential learning approaches. Future research may extend this model by incorporating contextual and institutional factors across different educational and cultural settings.

Bridging the Awareness–Action Gap in Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Competencies: Evidence from Saudi University Students in the Context of Vision 2030

This study evaluates the effectiveness of university incubators and mentorship programs in preparing students for startup ventures. Using a quantitative descriptive–correlational design grounded in a positivist paradigm, data were collected from 251 graduating students of Quezon City University (QCU) who participated in entrepreneurship support programs during the first semester of Academic Year 2024–2025. A structured survey measured business planning, financial management, marketing skills, entrepreneurial decision-making, and early startup success (operationalized through revenue generation, customer acquisition, and business continuity). Statistical analyses included paired-sample t-tests, Pearson correlation, chi-square tests, and multiple regression. Results revealed significant improvements in all entrepreneurial competencies (p < 0.001), with business planning showing the highest gains. Strong positive relationships were found between program participation and decision-making abilities. Startups of participants demonstrated significantly higher early success rates compared to non-participants. Despite these outcomes, challenges such as limited resources and mentor–mentee mismatches were identified. The findings highlight the critical role of structured entrepreneurship programs in enhancing student startup readiness and provide practical implications for program design and policy development in higher education.