Teaming up in entrepreneurship education: does the team formation mode matter?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan P. Warhuus ◽  
Franziska Günzel-Jensen ◽  
Sarah Robinson ◽  
Helle Neergaard

PurposeThis paper investigates the importance of team formation in entrepreneurship education, and the authors ask: how do different team formation strategies influence teamwork in higher education experiential learning-based entrepreneurship courses?Design/methodology/approachEmploying a multiple case study design, the authors examine 38 student teams from three different entrepreneurship courses with different team formation paths to uncover potential links between team formation and learning outcomes.FindingsThe authors find that team formation mode matters. Randomly assigned teams, while diverse, struggle with handling uncertainty and feedback from potential stakeholders. In contrast, student self-selected teams are less diverse but more robust in handling this pressure. Results suggest that in randomly assigned teams, the entrepreneurial project becomes the team's sole reference point for well-being. Seeking to protect the project, the team's ability to deal with uncertainty and external feedback is limited, stifling development. In student self-select teams, team well-being becomes a discrete reference point. This enables these teams to respond effectively to external project feedback while nurturing team well-being independently.Originality/valueEducation theories' implications about the benefit of team diversity may not apply to experiential learning-based entrepreneurship education's typical level of ambiguity and uncertainty. Therefore, educators may have to reconsider the unique dynamics of team formation strategies to ensure strong teamwork and teamwork outcomes.

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1311-1333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giustina Secundo ◽  
Gioconda Mele ◽  
Giuliano Sansone ◽  
Emilio Paolucci

PurposeEntrepreneurship Education (EE) is increasing throughout the world. In 2012, the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) financed Contamination Labs (CLabs), which are laboratories that are aimed at developing entrepreneurial mindsets in all university students. This study analyses the entrepreneurial learning process mechanisms adopted in these CLabs.Design/methodology/approachAn ethnographic case study was performed in two Italian CLabs from October 2017 to December 2019.FindingsFindings demonstrate that the CLabs in Italy are promising Entrepreneurship Education Centres which create programmes to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in students with different educational backgrounds and levels. Interdisciplinarity in the composition of the student teams, virtuous contamination of knowledge and experience between the students and the stakeholders from the entrepreneurial ecosystem are the key pillars to foster an entrepreneurial mindset in all the students.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of this work regard the need to expand the analysis to all the other CLabs created in Italian universities.Practical implicationsThe findings provide indications that may be used to guide a university faculty in the design and management of Entrepreneurship Education Centres in collaboration with entrepreneurs, corporations, student clubs, incubators and representatives of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Moreover, the results point out a need to develop interdisciplinary entrepreneurial programmes.Originality/valueThe originality resides in the analysis of a novel type of Entrepreneurship Education Centre in Italian Universities created as the result of an ad-hoc Italian policy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 1394-1409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenzhi Zheng ◽  
Miaomaio Xu ◽  
Xiaochen Chen ◽  
Yan Dong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the institutions involved in providing experience to entrepreneurs in China and analyzed the types of experience they provide. Moreover, the abilities of related organizations to shape experience were analyzed. Design/methodology/approach By using a multiple case study method, this qualitative study examined various entrepreneurial experience providers (namely incubator, entrepreneurship training institution, franchise store, entrepreneurship training network, and family business experience transfer) to understand the experience types and their supplying competencies. Findings On the basis of the types of entrepreneurial experience and the criteria for entrepreneurial competency assessment, the study results showed that the primary providers in China are the Start Your Business (SYB) program, incubators, and family businesses. Furthermore, for-profit social training organizations provided less experience than did governmental or private ones. The five providers mainly provided “know-what” entrepreneurial experience. Among the providers, family businesses and SYB offered experience that was conducive to entrepreneurial learning. Research limitations/implications Entrepreneurs are the subjects of entrepreneurship education, while this study mainly focused on analyzing the experience supplying competencies. Thus, future studies should explore the required abilities that are developed during entrepreneurship for various learners. Practical implications This study interpreted how to achieve Chinese mass entrepreneurship and innovation strategy in the context of the low development of entrepreneurship higher education. To improve their competencies in providing experience, providers must focus on developing proper curricula, effective transfer methods and teacher resources, and incorporating entrepreneurship education. Originality/value On the basis of social learning theory and human capital theory, this study developed a set of criteria for the assessment of the ability of entrepreneurial experience providers. This study analyzed how related institutions enhanced entrepreneurial experience, thereby expanding the relevant learning channels and providing options for entrepreneurs to accumulate experience in China.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zarina Waheed ◽  
Sufean Hussin ◽  
Megat Ahmad Kamaluddin Bin Megat Daud

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the best practices of school leaders, teachers, pupils, parents and the community in selected transformed schools in Selangor, Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative multiple-case study explores the best practices in two selected transformed schools through in-depth interviews, observations and document reviews. The data were collected from 2 school heads, 6 teachers with administrative responsibilities and 20 teachers. The themes were elucidated via open, axial and selective coding based on the grounded theory approach. Findings The analysis identified various best practices exhibited by school leaders, teachers, pupils, parents and the community. Four themes were found to be common as best practices in both selected schools, which were adaptive and multi-dimensional leadership, winning-the-hearts, extensive use of Information and Communication Technology in school operations, and a culture of acquiring and sharing professional knowledge. The unique theme for School A was the emphasis on the social, emotional and ethical well-being of the students, while extensive parental involvement and support was a unique theme identified in School B. Research limitations/implications The findings of this paper may be used as guidance tool for policy makers and educational planners regarding school transformation in Malaysia, and as well as in other countries. Such practices can be learned, adapted and replicated by other schools in order to transform. The findings also have direct implications to current teachers, school leaders, parents and the community. Originality/value This study contributes to the growing body of research on the best practices and school transformation in Malaysian transformed schools. There is a decisive need to explore the best practices of transformed schools in Malaysia based on their own cultural and contextual needs in order to help schools that aspire for transformation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Vilaça

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss teachers’ practices, barriers and facilitating factors associated with a regional school-based action-oriented sexuality education (SE) project with the use of information and communication technology. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative research was anchored in a constructivist paradigm, set up as a multiple case study (six schools) with exploratory aims. Observation, teacher group interview, online class-diaries and contents of the project website were used for data collection. Cross-case analysis was carried out following single case analyses. Findings It was found that when teachers attend in-service teacher education and training they develop professional competences to act as facilitators of students’ inquiry-based learning on action-oriented knowledge and on carrying out collective actions to promote sexual health and well-being. Collaborative and reflexive work among teachers emerged as a facilitator factor and SE integration in the school curriculum as the principal barrier. Research limitations/implications The results of the cross-case analysis of this qualitative research based on single cases developed in their own social contexts can only be generalized with caution to other similar contexts. Practical implications Despite the limitations of this study, it has great importance for both research and practice as it contributes to the evidence regarding the implementation of the combined action of the democratic approach (participatory and action-oriented) and the use of ICT on SE. Originality/value This paper provides important information for those working on school health education projects, particularly considering how action-oriented SE is applied in different contexts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1163-1180
Author(s):  
Piotr Wójcik ◽  
Krzysztof Obłój ◽  
Aleksandra Wąsowska ◽  
Szymon Wierciński

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the emotional dynamics of the corporate acceleration process, using the systems psychodynamics perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe study applies inductive multiple case study of embedded 10 cases of corporate acceleration, covering both incumbent and startup perspectives, occurring in the context of a corporate accelerator.FindingsWe find that (1) the process of corporate acceleration involves three phases, each of them is dominated by a different emotional state (hope, anxiety and acceptance), triggering different behavioral responses; (2) as a means to deal with negative emotions, entrepreneurs and corporate acceleration program's team members develop different mechanisms of dealing with contradictories in subsequent acceleration phases (defense and copying mechanisms), which are reflected in their behaviors. Coping mechanisms with goal reformulation (i.e. refocus from the officially declared “open innovation” goals toward mainly symbolic ones) is an effective strategy to manage negative emotions in third phase of the acceleration.Research limitations/implicationsOur sample is limited to two relatively similar accelerators established by telecom companies, and therefore, our theoretical and practical conclusions cannot be generalized.Practical implicationsWe supplement the studies of corporate accelerators that imply how to design them better and improve decision-making rules with recommendation that in order to improve their effectiveness in terms of learning and innovations, their managers need not only to learn how to manage structural and procedural differences but also how to overcome social defenses triggered by corporate–startups cooperation.Originality/valueBy documenting a multidimensional impact of acceleration process, and especially shedding light on psychodynamic aspects behind such liaisons, this paper contributes to richer understanding of corporate–startup relationships, typically examined through a rationalistic lens of strategy literature. The study contributes to interorganizational research and open innovation literature, by showing that corporate acceleration process is marked by phases based on the type of emotions intertwined with the nature and dynamism of its life cycle. It indicates how these emotions are managed depending on their type.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Jones

Purpose – This paper aims to to explore power and legitimacy in the entrepreneurship education classroom by using Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological and educational theories. It highlights the pedagogic authority invested in educators and how this may be influenced by their assumptions about the nature of entrepreneurship. It questions the role of educators as disinterested experts, exploring how power and gendered legitimacy “play out” in staff–student relationships and female students’ responses to this. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple-method, qualitative case study approach is taken, concentrating on a depth of focus in one UK’s higher education institution (HEI) and on the experiences, attitudes and classroom practices of staff and students in that institution. The interviews, with an educator and two students, represent a self-contained story within the more complex story of the case study. Findings – The interviewees’ conceptualization of entrepreneurship is underpinned by acceptance of gendered norms, and both students and staff misrecognize the masculinization of entrepreneurship discourses that they encounter as natural and unquestionable. This increases our understanding of symbolic violence as a theoretical construct that can have real-world consequences. Originality/value – The paper makes a number of theoretical and empirical contributions. It addresses an important gap in the literature, as educators and the impact of their attitudes and perceptions on teaching and learning are rarely subjects of inquiry. It also addresses gaps and silences in understandings of the gendered implications of HE entrepreneurship education more generally and how students respond to the institutional arbitration of wider cultural norms surrounding entrepreneurship. In doing so, it challenges assertions that Bourdieu’s theories are too abstract to have any empirical value, by bridging the gap between symbolic violence as a theory and its manifestation in teaching and learning practices.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariachiara Barzotto ◽  
Giancarlo Corò ◽  
Mario Volpe

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to explore to what extent being located in a territory is value-relevant for a company. Second, to understand if a company is aware of, and how it can sustain, the territorial tangible and intangible assets present in the economic area in which it is located. Design/methodology/approach – The study presents an empirical multiple case-study, investigating ten mid-/large-sized Italian companies in manufacturing sectors. Findings – The results indicate that the sampled manufacturing companies are intertwined with the environment in which they are embedded, both in their home country and in host ones. The domestic territorial capital has provided, and still provides, enterprises with workers endowed with the necessary technical skills that they can have great difficulty in finding in other places. In turn, companies support territorial capital generation through their activities. Research limitations/implications – To increase the generalisability of the results, future research should expand the sample and examine firms based in different countries and sectors. Practical implications – Implications for policy makers: developing effective initiatives to support and guide a sustainable territorial capital growth. Implications for managers and investors: improving managerial and investors’ decisions by disclosing a complete picture of the enterprise, also outside the firm boundaries. Originality/value – The study contributes to intangibles/intellectual capital literature by shedding light on the importance of including territorial capital in a company’s report to improve the definition of the firm’s value. Accounting of the territorial capital would increase the awareness of the socio-economic environment value in which companies are located and its use.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Bonamigo ◽  
Camila Guimarães Frech ◽  
Ana Carolina Custódio Lopes

Purpose This study aims to empirically investigate how organizations delivering services in business-to-business relations deal with the boundary paradox and knowledge asymmetry in value co-creation. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a qualitative multiple case study strategy. Datas were gathered through 13 semi-structured interviews that were then analyzed through the content analysis. Findings The authors identified three mechanisms that organizations use to deal with the boundary paradox and two strategies to handle the knowledge asymmetry. Research limitations/implications First, no opportunities were afforded to involve more participants. Second, owning to confidentiality reasons, not all organizations provided us documents to be analyzed. Practical implications The findings guide managers in balancing the use of contracts and trust in inter-firm collaborations and fostering the learning of customers. Also, insights to protect knowledge based on the paradox of openness in value co-creation. Originality/value This study’s findings address the gap in value co-creation literature concerning the lack of empirical studies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charmaine Glavas ◽  
Shane Mathews ◽  
Rebekah Russell-Bennett

Purpose Technology has profoundly transformed the international business environment, particularly regarding the flow of information and the way in which knowledge is acquired and shared. Yet, the extent of this transformation is still underappreciated. The purpose of this paper is to examine how small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner/founders acquire and utilize knowledge for internationalization via internet-enabled platforms. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analysis draws on multiple case study methodology to examine 13 Australian SME owner/founders and the knowledge they acquire from utilization of internet-enabled platforms. Findings The analysis reveals four differing types of internet-enabled experiences: “technical internet-enabled experiences,” “operational internet-enabled experiences,” “functional internet-enabled experiences,” and “immersive internet-enabled experiences.” The findings indicate that internet-enabled experiences can generate both explicit and tacit forms of knowledge for the pre, early and later phases of internationalization. Practical implications The findings provide a structured approach by allowing SMEs to “plot” themselves against the classification of internet-enabled experiences to denote their level of technological involvement, and for discerning the types of knowledge that can be acquired. The findings are particularly helpful for owner/founders, highlighting that internet-enabled platforms are affecting the ways in which knowledge can be acquired and applied to international businesses processes. Originality/value The findings extend the conventional notion of knowledge acquisition for international business by highlighting how information and knowledge can be acquired via internet-enabled platforms. The findings lay the necessary groundwork for building an evidence base and theoretically extending the concept of knowledge acquisition via internet-enabled platforms.


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 482-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Sandberg

Purpose – For many retailers organic growth through the opening of new stores is a crucial cornerstone of the business model. The purpose of this paper is to explore the store opening process conducted by retail companies. The research questions cover: first, the role and organisation of the establishment function in charge of the process; second, the activities and functions involved in the process; and third, the coordination mechanisms applied during the process. Design/methodology/approach – This research considers the store opening process as a company-wide project, managed by an establishment function, in which internal functions as well as external suppliers need to be coordinated. A multiple case study of eight retail companies is presented, focusing on the organisation of the establishment function, a mapping of the store opening process and the application of coordination mechanisms. Findings – The role and organisation of the establishment function is described and the store opening process is summarised into 11 main activities to be conducted by either the establishment function or other involved functions. During the store opening process six different coordination mechanisms are utilised, including mutual adjustments and direct supervision, as well as different types of standardisation. Originality/value – This research seeks to improve our understanding for the store opening process and how it can be managed and controlled in an effective manner.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document