Entrepreneurship educationanalysis of models, intentions and competences

Abstract

The aim of this research is to explore how entrepreneurship education programs could increase entrepreneurship intention in the early stages of the entrepreneurship process through the development of specific competences. The first natural element to consider in defining entrepreneurship is its economic dimension. In this sense, it is commonly accepted that entrepreneurship is a key activity aimed at a renewed and innovation-based growth. In fact, entrepreneurs are perceived as value creators in the form of new business ventures and as generators of new jobs by mobilizing economic resources, which in combination have a positive impact in terms of increased productivity and economic growth. This pure economic concept has evolved during the last decade to place entrepreneurship as a new core skill for people. In this sense, the definition proposed by the Danish Foundation for Entrepreneurship & Young Enterprise and adopted by the European Commission states a further step that does not only apply to economic activities: “Entrepreneurship is when you act upon opportunities and ideas and transform them into value for others. The value that is created can be financial, cultural, or social". From this perspective, an entrepreneurial mindset is pursued in all sectors and for all citizens and is not only aimed to launch new business but to generate value in general terms. In practical terms, entrepreneurship is considered as a set of competences that everybody should acquire and practice in all spheres of life. In this context, it must be considered that the environment influences the entrepreneurship activity of a place and the lifecycles of the business ventures that belong to it. Then, the likelihood of entrepreneurs to succeed is affected by a larger number of factors such as availability of capital, skilled personnel, governmental policies and the communications and transportation infrastructure. Among these elements, the role entrepreneurship education must play is one of the core issues. The relevance policies are granting to entrepreneurship education is clear, but complex questions arise: What entrepreneurial skills should be taught? What is the best methodology to teach them? Is success related to these skills? Are the same competences of equal relevance in the different stages of an entrepreneur? Should they be part of educational programs at all ages and levels? Given the number of challenges around entrepreneurship education and skills, the aim of this thesis is to contribute to this complex and relevant debate by particularizing the exploration of how entrepreneurship education programs could increase entrepreneurship intention in the early stages of the entrepreneurship process through the development of specific competences. As a response to these research challenges, the present thesis is structured in five main sections: • Chapter 1 provides and introductory overview of the concept of entrepreneurship and some of the core constituents to understand its conception from an economic activity to a personal skill that can be thought and learned. • Chapter 2 provides the theoretical framework for reviewing the evolution of entrepreneurship education and the complexity of cover, under the same concept, different purposes for different audiences. Focused on early entrepreneurship stages, entrepreneurship intention predictors are explored. The section is completed with a discussion about the influence of entrepreneurship competences and the different frameworks that previous studies have proposed. • Chapter 3 includes the operationalisation of the research questions addressed in the thesis and the hypotheses that lead the experiments that are conducted. • Chapter 4 details the methodology followed, describing the selected theoretical frameworks for the research, the sample selection, the operationalisation of the variables for the elaboration of the questionnaire, the procedure for gathering the primary data and the method of analysis that is used. • Chapter 5 gathers the results and discusses the role of entrepreneurship competences as predictors of entrepreneurship intention, the particular competences that results show are the most relevant, and their evolution in the selected entrepreneurship education programs in the experiments. • Finally, Chapter 6 compiles the main conclusions and implications of the thesis, as well as the identified limitations and further avenues for research. In a summary, as one of the outcomes pursued for most of the entrepreneurship education programs, this research contributes to an understanding of which competences are more closely related to higher entrepreneurship intention. Therefore, results can contribute to the design of entrepreneurship education programs, tailoring contents and methods to actual students’ needs, and orienting best practices that really impact in their intention and future behaviour.