A Competency‐Based Perspective on Entrepreneurship Education: Conceptual and Empirical Insights
Morris, M.H., Webb, J.W., Fu, J. and Singhal, S. (2013), Morris et al.. Journal of Small Business Management, 51: 352-369.
ABSTRACT: Competencies necessary for entrepreneurial action are investigated. Building on structuration theory, competencies are approached as an outgrowth of the learning of scripts deriving from interactions between the individual and environment. Managerial and entrepreneurial competencies are distinguished, with the latter helping to define the domain of entrepreneurship education. Employing a elphi methodology, evidence is provided of a core set of 13 entrepreneurial competencies. Measures are then developed with a pilot study involving students in an international education program. Based on pre‐ and post‐measures, findings demonstrate significant improvement on the competencies. Implications are drawn for the role of entrepreneurship education in competency development.
Comparing and Contrasting Models
Gianesini, Giovanna & Cubico, Serena & Favretto, Giuseppe & Leitão, João Carlos. (2018). Entrepreneurial Competences: Comparing and Contrasting Models and Taxonomies. 10.1007/978-3-319-89336-5_2.
ABSTRACT: The emphasis on competences as capturing key aspects of entrepreneurship is relatively recent and quite distinct from research on entrepreneurial traits or cognitive styles in that competences represent observable and measurable knowledge, behaviour, attitudes and skills. Many competency taxonomies and models have been proposed by scholars, as frameworks organized into tiers of competences including descriptions of the activities and behaviours associated with that competency (Chouhan and Srivastava, IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 16(1): 14–22, 2014). However, no comprehensive set of entrepreneurial competences has emerged from these distinctions and no or little empirical evidence has been provided to validate these categorizations (Morris et al., Journal of Small Business Management 51(3): 352–369, 2013). This study compares and contrasts three traditional models (Morris et al., Journal of Small Business Management 51(3): 352–369, 2013; Bartram’s, Journal of Applied Psychology 90(6): 1185–1203, 2005, with the EU Entrepreneurship Competence Framework; Bacigalupo et al., EntreComp: the entrepreneurship competence framework, EUR 27939 EN, Publication Office of the European Union, 2016) previously empirically validated by the authors.. Gianesini, Giovanna & Cubico, Serena & Favretto, Giuseppe & Leitão, João Carlos. (2018). Entrepreneurial Competences: Comparing and Contrasting Models and Taxonomies. 10.1007/978-3-319-89336-5_2. The emphasis on competences as capturing key aspects of entrepreneurship is relatively recent and quite distinct from research on entrepreneurial traits or cognitive styles in that competences represent observable and measurable knowledge, behaviour, attitudes and skills. Many competency taxonomies and models have been proposed by scholars, as frameworks organized into tiers of competences including descriptions of the activities and behaviours associated with that competency (Chouhan and Srivastava, IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 16(1): 14–22, 2014). However, no comprehensive set of entrepreneurial competences has emerged from these distinctions and no or little empirical evidence has been provided to validate these categorizations (Morris et al., Journal of Small Business Management 51(3): 352–369, 2013). This study compares and contrasts three traditional models (Morris et al., Journal of Small Business Management 51(3): 352–369, 2013; Bartram’s, Journal of Applied Psychology 90(6): 1185–1203, 2005, with the EU Entrepreneurship Competence Framework; Bacigalupo et al., EntreComp: the entrepreneurship competence framework, EUR 27939 EN, Publication Office of the European Union, 2016) previously empirically validated by the authors.
Improving entrepreneurial competencies in the classroom: an extension and in-study replication
Glackin, Caroline & Phelan, Steven & McCrowre, Rodney. (2017). Improving Entrepreneurial Competencies in the Classroom. SSRN Electronic Journal. 10.2139/ssrn.3152912.
Abstract:
Purpose
A recent paper by Morris et al. (2013b) presented evidence that students can develop entrepreneurial competencies through international fieldwork. This paper explores whether the same results can be developed in a traditional classroom setting.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is a systematic replication of the Morris study with the addition of a matched pair, quasi-experimental design, with a self-replication. Data were collected on 13 self-reported competencies at the start of a semester from two groups using the Morris instrument. The treatment group was exposed to a curriculum designed to teach entrepreneurial competencies, and both groups were re-surveyed at the end of the semester. The process was then repeated with a different cohort, one year later, to replicate the initial study.
Findings
Five competencies saw significant increases in the first treatment group. However, only three of these competencies increased more in the treatment group than the control group. In the replication study, only one competency was significantly higher in the treatment group, and that competency was not one of the original three.
Practical implications
Educators and policymakers should select a curriculum that is valid and reliable. Entrepreneurship educators and policymaker should devote more time to evaluating the effectiveness of different pedagogical techniques for improving entrepreneurial competencies.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies in entrepreneurship education to undertake a matched pair, quasi-experimental design with an in-study replication. The results indicate that serious inferential errors arise if simpler designs are used, even though such designs are the norm in entrepreneurship research.