Entrepreneurial Skill Set Research Articles

What entrepreneurial skillsets support responsible value creation in health and social care? A mixed methods study

AbstractAlthough various scholars underscore the importance of innovating responsibly in view of today's societal challenges, less attention has been paid to the entrepreneurial skillset, that is, the range of individual skills and organizational capabilities, that innovation‐based organizations mobilize to deliver new responsible products and services. This paper thus explores the relationships between the entrepreneurial skillsets of 16 Canadian and Brazilian for‐profit and not‐for‐profit organizations producing Responsible Innovations in Health (RIH) and their degree of responsibility. Our mixed methods study includes interviews with entrepreneurs (n = 23) and fieldnotes as well as quantitative results from the RIH Assessment Tool. Our findings identify four skillset orientations—Technical, Technical + Business, Social, and Social + Business—that not only reflect (co)founders' training and entrepreneurial motivations but also a proclivity toward the consolidation of either “Technical” or “Social” skills and capabilities. Such consolidation is made possible by recruiting high‐level executives with diverse backgrounds or by tapping on external knowledge sources (e.g., boards of directors, incubators, or volunteers). As five enterprises had no formal business skills, patterns associated to their overall RIH score (ranging from 1 to 5) reveal intriguing results. Organizations with a Social + Business skillset have a slightly lower RIH score (4.1) than those with a Social skillet (4.4) and those with a Technical + Business skillset have a slightly higher score (3.5) than those with a Technical skillset (3.0). The presence of business skills thus appears to mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial skillsets and the degree of responsibility, which may be linked to the distinct roles of ordinary (“doing things right”) and dynamic capabilities (“doing the right things”). These exploratory findings have scholarly and practical implications. First, the tensions and synergies characterizing responsible value creation should be approached by examining the complementary skills and capabilities that need to be assembled and consolidated. Second, the eight cases with a Social + Business skillset clarify the unique capabilities needed to produce highly responsible health innovations. Third, entrepreneurs with a scientific or engineering background should recognize that a Technical skillset is not enough. Fourth, recognizing that “falling in love with the cause” of RIH is not sufficient, investors and boards of directors should adequately support responsible entrepreneurs towards the proper orchestration of skills and capabilities that can reconcile economic and social goals.

Entrepreneurial intention acknowledgment in sustainable entrepreneurship: An exploratory study

Entrepreneurship is more than ever a key factor to successfully surviving and building a sustainable future, as it is linked to certain positive and proactive personality traits and innovation and creativity. Higher education plays an important role in this ongoing process, as students of today need to be guided into becoming tomorrow's leaders. The 21st century demands new skills and education. Regarding entrepreneurship, it will be more effective the better the associated profile with the student is understood in terms of entrepreneurial intention. This research involves 101 respondents from a population of 300 students. Taking as dimensions attitude, norms, and behaviour, hierarchical and k-means clustering methods were applied to the responses, yielding five entrepreneurial intention profiles (clusters). This is the main contribution of this study to the literature, which may help entrepreneurship program administrators and students alike to improve on their entrepreneurial skillset. This study also presents a new approach to better motivate and work with students on what concerns entrepreneurship. It can also be applied in all contexts and areas of knowledge.

The COVID-19 Challenges to the Unfold of Entrepreneurship Education

This article reviews and discusses along the development and deployment of universities' entrepreneurship teaching and learning. It emphasizes on the detection, interpretation and analysis of entrepreneurial skill sets that can be directly established by structured educational programs. This analytical review and opinions also aims to illustrate and also describe how entrepreneurial discipline needs to evolve on the basis of the technological advancements that the current COVID-19 disaster has rendered reasonable to expect. The numerous relevant theories in entrepreneurial learning are indeed discussed, indicating the need to consider regarding future potential educational strategies in various possibilities. Some issues were established in a study of the previous research including the teaching substance, the teaching methodologies, the institutional characteristics and the proper teaching instructor that should deliver entrepreneurship education. The article concludes that educators should continuously evolve the instructional framework, practices, as well and instruction in response to an evolving entrepreneurship climate.

Developing Entrepreneurial Skillsets Amongst Rural Women in Uganda

Purpose: Rural women in Africa have less entrepreneurship opportunities than men. This is mainly due to societal expectations of women, but it may also be caused by a lack of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills due to their work in agriculture-related activities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of entrepreneurship training on entrepreneurial skillsets of rural women working in Uganda and how such training influences their entrepreneurial activity. Design/methodology/approach: The primary data set for this study comes from surveys of rural women working in agriculture who participated in a specific entrepreneurship training programme in Uganda. A panel data set is gathered from surveying 298 women before and after the training programme. A random effects regression method is utilised to estimate the impact of entrepreneurship training and other sociodemographic characteristics on entrepreneurial skillsets. Findings: The key finding of this study is that entrepreneurship training increases entrepreneurial skillsets by 25% and that further training and educational opportunities may improve social standing and living standards of rural women working in agriculture. Originality: This study offers distinctive insights into female entrepreneurship in Africa as it quantitatively examines the impact of entrepreneurship training on entrepreneurial skillsets of rural women in Uganda. The findings of this study may inform policymakers of the benefits of appropriate training programmes to improve the living standards, social standing, and economic outcomes for rural women in Africa.

The Biomedical Entrepreneurship Skills Development Program for the Advancement of Research Translation: Foundations of Biomedical Startups course, metrics, and impact.

A growing number of biomedical doctoral graduates are entering the biotechnology and industry workforce, though most lack training in business practice. Entrepreneurs can benefit from venture creation and commercialization training that is largely absent from standard biomedical educational curricula. The NYU Biomedical Entrepreneurship Educational Program (BEEP) seeks to fill this training gap to prepare and motivate biomedical entrepreneurs to develop an entrepreneurial skill set, thus accelerating the pace of innovation in technology and business ventures. The NYU BEEP Model was developed and implemented with funding from NIDDK and NCATS. The program consists of a core introductory course, topic-based interdisciplinary workshops, venture challenges, on-line modules, and mentorship from experts. Here, we evaluate the efficacy of the core, introductory course, "Foundations of Biomedical Startups," through the use of pre/post-course surveys and free-response answers. After 2 years, 153 participants (26% doctoral students, 23% post-doctoral PhDs, 20% faculty, 16% research staff, 15% other) have completed the course. Evaluation data show self-assessed knowledge gain in all domains. The percentage of students rating themselves as either "competent" or "on the way to being an expert" in all areas was significantly higher post-course (P < 0.05). In each content area, the percentages of participants rating themselves as "very interested" increased post-course. 95% of those surveyed reported the course met its objectives, and 95% reported a higher likelihood of pursuing commercialization of discoveries post-course. NYU BEEP can serve as a model to develop similar curricula/programs to enhance entrepreneurial activity of early-stage researchers.

Competency as an enabler for entrepreneurial intention among female post-graduates

Various behavioural theories agree that intention precedes any planned behaviour. One who has a strong entrepreneurial intent becomes an entrepreneur. Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour is one of the psychological theories that predict human behaviour and has been widely used to predict the entrepreneurial intention. Higher education is expected to instil entrepreneurial skillsets among the students. Growing economies witness an increased number of women entrepreneurs. Governments encourage by incentivising the women-owned start-ups. Women entrepreneurs' contribution to the economy is inevitable for a country that has a sex ratio of 933. The paper is aimed at studying the entrepreneurial intent and competencies among the female postgraduates. Research model is developed by extending the theory of planned behaviour with entrepreneurial competency as an additional predictor variable. Results revealed that possessing entrepreneurial competencies has a positive and significant effect on the entrepreneurial intention and can be an enabler for entrepreneurial intention.

Academic Entrepreneurship in CALL

This concept paper aims to introduce academic entrepreneurship as a subject of particular significance in the CALL field in the knowledge economy era. The article describes why the primary CALL practitioners – faculty and students – should invest their time, skills, and resources to pursue, identify, and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities and create far-reaching technological products and services for language instruction and research. The paper advocates for creating a particular research area in which CALL researcher and academic entrepreneurs will showcase their practical uniqueness and experience in CALL academic entrepreneurship to motivate and inspire one another. The paper also advocates for the inclusion of entrepreneurship education into the CALL preparation curriculum to produce graduates with the entrepreneurial skillset that will enable them to be active participants in identifying and exploiting CALL-related entrepreneurial opportunities.

The Effects of Hackathons on the Entrepreneurial Skillset and Perceived Self-Efficacy as Factors Shaping Entrepreneurial Intentions

Purpose: While traditional university programs primarily use regularly scheduled classes as the primary means for developing students, this program evaluation explores the direct effects of intensive entrepreneurial learning activity in the format of a hackathon. This is one of the first papers to explore the learning outcomes of hackathons as an intensive entrepreneurial pedagogy. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers implemented a pre-test/post-test model with students participating in an entrepreneurship hackathon and tested the changes in their confidence levels in the ability to craft a successful entrepreneurial venture. Findings: The results support a hackathon model of entrepreneurial learning. As the result of a one-day workshop, significant results were achieved for self-reported ability in identifying a viable entrepreneurial concept, and for having the ability to successfully launch a new venture. Further, class standing and prior entrepreneurial courses, as well as gender did not influence the learning outcomes. Importantly, while hackathon-generated increases in entrepreneurial self-efficacy proved to be statistically significant, same gains proved not to be significant in a traditional entrepreneurship class setting. Authors conclude that short, intensive entrepreneurship learning methods like hackathons may be more effective in developing entrepreneurial self-efficacy than semester long courses. Originality/value: A hackathon is likely an effective entrepreneurial learning methodology suitable for a general student population which includes students with limited knowledge of and interest in entrepreneurship. The usefulness of a hackathon for entrepreneurial learning has potential implications for educators, scholars and policy makers. For educators, a hackathon approach may outperform a number of traditional entrepreneurship pedagogies in the form of lectures, case studies, class discussions or even a business plan development over a semester-long course. A hackathon may also allow students to gain entrepreneurial skills and self-confidence much quicker and using less resources than in a traditional entrepreneurial course. The potential reasons for these findings as well as their implications are discussed along with future research areas.

Entrepreneurial capacity-building in HEIs for embedding entrepreneurship and enterprise creation – a tripartite approach

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to conceptualise entrepreneurial capacity-building as an integrated approach within the international higher education sector. Whilst university–enterprise collaboration is recognised as being essential to promoting graduate employability and entrepreneurship, the lack of an integrated approach towards embedding entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial capacity-building with an entrepreneurial skill and mind-set prevails in the higher education sector. With reference to the retail sector, increasingly competitive job markets and the need for entrepreneurial capacity-building place growing pressures on universities to nurture career-ready graduates with entrepreneurial acumen.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical paper presents a rationale for embedding entrepreneurship education into university curricula and for promoting university–business collaboration. Secondly, it reviews the extent to which entrepreneurial capacity-building is institutionally embedded to foster graduate entrepreneurship, university–business collaboration and business incubation within one strategic framework. Finally, the paper proposes five propositions within a tripartite approach that can foster graduate entrepreneurs with entrepreneurial skills and mind-set, useful for existing enterprises and start-ups. The implications for these propositions are discussed.FindingsThe authors propose five propositions with a tripartite approach that can foster graduate entrepreneurs with entrepreneurial skill and mind-set, skills for creating enterprises and university–enterprise collaboration within one strategic framework.Practical implicationsIncreasingly competitive job markets and the need for entrepreneurial capacity-building place growing pressures on universities to nurture career-ready graduates with entrepreneurial acumen in social science (e.g. retail, business management and accountancy) and science (e.g. pharmacy, architecture and engineering) programmes centred within the tripartite approach.Originality/valueWhilst university–enterprise collaboration is recognised as being essential to promoting graduate employability and entrepreneurship, the tripartite integrated approach embeds entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial capacity-building with an entrepreneurial skillset and mind-set in the international higher education sector.

Entrepreneurship development and pedagogical gaps in entrepreneurial marketing education

In the age of automation and artificial intelligence, the need for sustainable entrepreneurship for job creation has significantly raised. For the development of sustainable entrepreneurship in recent years, business schools worldwide have recognised their roles, and started providing entrepreneurship education (EE). Due to being in emerging phase, the EE at business schools is following pedagogic approaches that are not exclusively developed for entrepreneurship, and hence, not suitable with the practical entrepreneurial needs. This leaves graduates lacking in many types of entrepreneurial skill-sets. One of those key skill-sets is entrepreneurial marketing (EM), which is one of the most dominating problems for SME entrepreneurs for the survival and growth of their businesses. Furthermore, the literature highlights that lack of EM skill-set is also one of the leading causes of entrepreneurial failure. The failure of SME entrepreneurs not only discourages them, but also damages the initiatives taken by the governments and private institutions for entrepreneurship development in the economies. Thus, considering the critical importance of EM education for the development of entrepreneurship, this paper has highlighted the pedagogical gaps in EM education, proposed future research avenues, and made practical implications for business schools’ academic authorities to upgrade their pedagogical models.

Cultivating fertile learning grounds: Collegiality, tacit knowledge and innovation in creative co-working spaces

Recently, the rapid global rise in co-working spaces and shared workspaces has sparked a re-emergence of the clustering debate. Similar to the presumed innovative potential of (creative) clusters, such spaces are assumed to possess the power contribute to their users’ innovativeness. This paper explores whether and how co-working and co-location could stimulate interactions and collaborations that potentially foster innovation in the creative industries.By building upon 46 interviews with Dutch co-located creative entrepreneurs and workplace managers, we argue that agglomeration economies are rarely of an economic (or radical innovative) nature. However, co-working members socially benefit from reduced transaction costs, buzz and the exchange of (tacit) knowledge. Especially, we contend that through physical proximity and play, networks of surrogate collegiality can emerge. Such networks are vital in bridging the transition from creative and arts education to the development of a professional, entrepreneurial skill set, providing a fertile ground for potential innovative prospects. Nevertheless, as outlined by some of the critical approaches to clustering theory, proximity alone has not been a sufficient condition for collaboration and innovation. On the contrary, the conjunction of the professional and private sphere can be challenging for creative workers. Interpersonal frictions, rivalry and mismatching cultures of work have been issues that could be addressed by workplace managers.

The Prominent Dimensions of Entrepreneurial Skillset for Future Civil Engineering Graduates and Salient Factor That Promotes its Development

The notion that `a host of entrepreneurial skills' is instrumental in achieving successful completion of a construction project is presenting the emerging need for future civil engineering graduates to be equipped with entrepreneurial skills. However, the collective individual skills that reflect `a host of entrepreneurial skills' for future civil engineering graduates and the salient factor that promote its development is ambiguous given that entrepreneurship per se is a multidimensional concept. Therefore, a quantitative study has been conducted to discover the collective individual skills that reflect `a host of entrepreneurial skills' for future civil engineering graduate and the factor that promote its development. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) has been used as a method to analyse the data. The outcome of the study shows that `a host of entrepreneurial skills' for future civil engineering graduates are reflected by 5 prominent and 1 non prominent dimensions of individual skills. Besides that the outcome of the study also identified constraint as the salient factor that promotes the development of the entrepreneurial skill set.

A cold call on work-based learning: a “live” group project for the strategic selling classroom

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe a case study used in a strategic sales class that employs the use of work-based learning pedagogy to expose students to real-life cold calling experiences. This real-life cold calling experience involves students within the course building a target list of prospective students for a small liberal arts college. The students must then construct pre-call strategies, build rapport with prospective students and finally “close the deal” by having the prospective student visit campus.Design/methodology/approachThis paper begins by describing work-based learning as a unique pedagogical method and the importance of cold-calling skills in the context of workplace skills in demand. Theoretical foundations in Lichtenstein and Lyon’s (1996) entrepreneurial skillset is analyzed, as is the application of “live” group projects. The case is then described in detail and focuses on the project itself, the personal and group incentives used in the course of the project, and finally, a review of the learning outcomes and desired skillset outcomes for the class.FindingsThe case shows that students can learn and implement the behaviors, attitudes and practices that make professional cold-callers successful. The impact on the university can also be seen since real contributions were made to the recruiting efforts of the collegevis-à-vishigher matriculation numbers. The entrepreneurial skillsets and “live” group project literature is contextualized in light of the findings of the project. This research found that students engaged in varying levels of progress in their managerial, entrepreneurial, technical skillsets as well as levels of personal maturity. Finally, the authors provide guidance for future research to expound the findings of this project by testing the variables using quantitative methodologies.Originality/valueThe paper showcases an innovative pedagogic approach to exposing students to the best practices of cold-calling and allows them to exercise these tools real time as they make actual cold calls and work toward sales incentives. The focus on recruiting new students as customers of the college serves is not only active classroom learning, but it also serves mission-based outcomes to help the college achieve desired recruiting goals. This case study will provide a tool for small, liberal arts colleges to use which mobilizes faculty and students in the effort to recruit new students, in an environment where enrollment numbers are falling for this market sector in higher education.

Audiology, Entrepreneurship and Innovation: A perspective on private practice

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective:&lt;/strong&gt; This paper investigates the correlation and contact points between entrepreneurship as a discipline and the profession of audiology. The research focuses on specific areas of entrepreneurship (e.g. innovation as an entrepreneurial skill) and the impact it has on audiology private practices as key role players in the biotechnology industry.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Design:&lt;/strong&gt; This study used a two-stage research design comprising of an exploratory study and a formal study to survey the entrepreneurial and business skills of audiologists as entrepreneurs in private practice.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Findings:&lt;/strong&gt; The findings describe severe deficiencies - specifically the business and entrepreneurial skill sets of the professional audiologist as an entrepreneur. The mind-set of the audiologist is not that of an entrepreneur, but rather of a small business owner. A lack of self-confidence to be creative, take risks, and identify new opportunities or innovate in terms of products, process and services was found. Audiologists are not necessarily concerned about the creation of employment, or the growth and profitability of their practices. Autonomy and security are the primary objectives of most practice owners.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keywords: &lt;/strong&gt;Innovation, Entrepreneurs, Women Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship, Audiology, Biotechnology&lt;/p&gt;

Early-stage venture capital in South Africa: Challenges and prospects

The aim of this paper is to assess which factors impact the development of early-stage venture capital in South Africa. Factors identified for other markets and countries are explored and their relative importance in South Africa determined from the perspective of market participants. These include venture capital and private equity fund managers, government institutions, intermediaries and university research coordinators. The study used both an online survey, to capture a broad representation of opinion, and interviews, for in-depth responses. There was broad consensus among respondents with regards to the key factors requiring attention, which include the lack of funds targeted at early-stage investments, the lack of specialised fund managers, and the low entrepreneurial skillsets in the country. Through a detailed analysis of the responses, certain measures are proposed that can enhance the development of early-stage venture capital in South Africa such as engaging more with angel investors and improving the cooperation between the different market players in the sector.

Purchasing/supply chain management flexibility: Moving to an entrepreneurial skill set

Given the rapid changes in the business environment, purchasing and supply management (P/SM) professionals require a different skill set that emulates entrepreneurial behavior. The purpose of this exploratory study is to develop an initial framework for the skills required to attain P/SM flexibility (which we will refer to later as P/SM flexibility skill set). This skill set should provide the necessary flexibility to allow them to meet the challenges of the changing business environment. In this study, we define P/SM flexibility skills as the degree to which purchasers act entrepreneurially in managing risk, making decisions, planning, using interpersonal communication, applying influence and persuasion, being internally motivated, and finding creative solutions to business problems. Drawing on the results of four focus groups we conclude that the new P/SM skill set requires an entrepreneurial focus. The cluster analysis of the questionnaire administered to P/SM managers indicates that those who act more entrepreneurially possess skills that permit flexibility.