Search results

The location of entrepreneurship centers on university campuses has been the subject of debate as the traditional model of business school centers has been challenged by development of centralized structures. The purpose of this chapter is to explore some of the benefits and challenges when a center transitions from a college-based structure to one that is centrally controlled. This chapter provides a qualitative case study of the transition of an entrepreneurship center from a business college to a centralized model housed under a campus-wide office of research and innovation. It argues that a centralized entrepreneurship center can promote campus partnerships on programming, connect the center more effectively with other centralized resources, increase participation from students and faculty from a wider range of colleges, and provide a platform for cross-college collaboration. A key challenge can be the potential separation from faculty research and curriculum development.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the developmental level of entrepreneurship education within the context of Jordanian higher education. The level of development in such education is investigated based on two areas: the educational courses and programs themselves and the formal structures within which they are embedded.

The quantitative approach is based on a survey scan of all 29 Jordanian universities, including their course plans, educational programs, departments and centers. A list of entrepreneurship centers, programs and course subjects is provided and analyzed.

The main findings of study are: in Jordan, entrepreneurship education is still at an early stage of development, and its offerings are limited to a few courses covering some introductory subjects in small business and entrepreneurship courses. Of the Jordanian universities, one university offers a major educational graduate program in entrepreneurship and 27.5 percent have centers for innovation and entrepreneurship, but lack any entrepreneurship departments. Entrepreneurship education is new in Jordan: the first provided course was a small business management; the first center was established in 2004 and later in 2012, it offered the first educational programs in entrepreneurship.

This paper assists all stakeholders in higher education to build an understanding of the nature of entrepreneurship education in Jordan and supports the design of appropriate strategies for encouraging entrepreneurial subjects to be incorporated into the country’s universities educational programs.

The value of this study stems from its aim to provide an overview of the status of entrepreneurship education in Jordanian universities. It also makes a contribution to knowledge as the first nationwide study in this context.

This paper analyses whether the entrepreneurship education centres introduced by the Italian Ministry of Higher Education and Research in 2012 (the Italian Contamination Labs – CLabs) are effectively adopting the emergent digital technologies for nurturing their entrepreneurship education activities and dissemination of knowledge contamination practices among university students.

An in-depth analysis of italian entrepreneurship education centres provides evidence about the direct role played by digital technologies in supporting and enhancing the entrepreneurial processes, as well as on their indirect role in stimulating entrepreneurship activities of nascent student entrepreneurs.

Findings provide some insights into the strategic role of some categories of digital technologies inside the CLabs. The main results show still a weak use of digital technologies in CLabs except for social media and digital platforms, mainly used for promotion scope and communication of the entrepreneurial outputs achieved by the students.

Limitations of the study consist of the need to expand the study to all the other CLabs belonging to the CLabs Italian Network and to derive a set of “invariance” among the cases in terms of digital technologies support for student entrepreneurship.

New ways of managing entrepreneurship centres will involve a more massive adoption of digital technologies to support and transform some processes realized inside the CLabs, even if the governance of such centres must develop new digital skills.

The originality of the work regards the contribution to the emerging role of digital technologies on the student's entrepreneurship.

In 2004 and 2007, the Kauffman Foundation awarded 18 universities and colleges $3–5 million dollars each to develop radiant model entrepreneurship education programs and campus-wide entrepreneurial ecosystems. Grant recipients were required to have a senior level administrator to oversee the program who reported to the Provost, President, or Chancellor. Award recipients included Syracuse University (2007) and the University of Rochester (2004). Cornell was not a Kauffman campus. This chapter explores three case studies in the radiant model of university-wide entrepreneurship education as deployed at Cornell University, The University of Rochester, and Syracuse University. The authors examine the history, accelerators, and challenges of the radiant model of university-wide entrepreneurship education.

In this chapter, we consider the tensions that arise at the intersection of various organizational units (i.e., academic departments, research centers, and administrative areas) and actors (i.e., professors, graduate students, investors, and secular entrepreneurs) that are commonly involved with academic entrepreneurship and the exploration of the entrepreneurial dimensions of science. Using the premises of organizational boundary spanning (e.g., Aldrich & Herker, 1977; Thompson, 1967; Tushman & Scanlan, 1981), we organize our discussion around the role of university entrepreneurship and innovation centers in facilitating and mediating the interorganizational transactions that most often underpin academic entrepreneurship. Specifically, we illustrate and discuss the role university entrepreneurship and innovation centers play in (1) managing the various agendas and expectations of stakeholders within and outside of the academy, (2) providing clarity of purpose to the entrepreneurial endeavor, (3) clarifying ownership rights throughout the entrepreneurial process, and 4) maximizing the potential of individuals to contribute to venture success.

The purpose of this paper is a micro-level examination of the role and function of cooperative research centers (CRCs) in entrepreneurial universities from a principal investigator (PI) perspective.

This study uses a qualitative research design and is based on 38 semi-structured interviews with PIs who are publicly funded at the Centre for Research in Medical Devices (CÚRAM) based in Ireland. CÚRAM has a multiple mission focus of supporting scientific excellence, industry engagement, educational and public engagement that supports the Irish medical device sector.

The findings reveal that CRCs’ role and function at the micro level constitute a necessary and functional organization architecture that supports PIs who are required to meet multiple scientific, commercialization, educational and public engagement objectives. Specifically, from the micro-level PI perspective, the role and function of CRCs focus on research quality enhancement, brokerage, networks and collaborations, addressing research impact and resource enhancement and appropriation.

This research emphasizes the importance and necessity for the creation of CRCs as part of the entrepreneurial architecture of entrepreneurial universities that provides the necessary appropriate local environmental conditions and enhanced supports to enable micro-level actors to fulfill multiple mission objectives with respect to research excellence, industry, educational and public engagement and impact.

This study contributes to the limited literature on new institutional configurations that support entrepreneurship and addresses recent calls for further research. In taking a micro-level focus, the authors identify the role and function of CRCs from a PI perspective in an entrepreneurial university setting.

At its essence, entrepreneurship has the potential to empower and to transform. The key to both individual and organizational prosperity in a dynamic, threatening and complex world is the ability to think and act in more entrepreneurial ways. A new wave of economic development is sweeping the world, with entrepreneurship and innovation as the primary catalysts. Within the world of education, it can be argued that the at-risk student is the one not prepared for this entrepreneurial age. While every student has the potential, most lack the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and capabilities that define entrepreneurial competence. Over these past four decades, entrepreneurship has grown within universities faster than virtually any other area of intellectual pursuit. And it appears that the pace is accelerating with more universities seeking to develop programs and centers focused on entrepreneurship. Yet, understanding how to build entrepreneurship programs that empower and transform has remained challenging for some institutions. In this chapter, we investigate the development of entrepreneurship programs in universities. More specifically we contend that they should be created for empowerment and transformation across the campus. We describe some of the most common structural forms, outline the different degree programs, and emphasize the empowering and transforming effects of these programs for all the stakeholders of a university.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the entrepreneurship center (EC) in the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurial ecosystems thrive because of complex interdependencies and dynamic relationships between and among its participants. While the university has often been highlighted as a key player in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the role of the EC within the university, despite its strategically influential position in stimulating entrepreneurship, has not received sufficient attention in scholarship.

The authors attempt to address this gap in scholarship using an expert Delphi panel approach to explore the vital role that the EC plays in ensuring the vibrancy of the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. In doing so, the authors tackle the question of sustainability of the EC by outlining a structural framework and key job characteristics of the EC director so that it may thrive beyond the tenure of a transformational leader.

In analyzing the responses of Delphi panelists and reviewing the theoretical foundations, the authors have identified three areas for discussion: the question of whether the EC director ought to be an academic job, the key skills of an effective EC director and how to sustain the EC after the departure of a transformative leader. Considering the vital role that the EC plays in the university and regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, these questions have importance for the future of the practice of entrepreneurship.

The role of the EC in the larger regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and the impact of the EC director are subjects that have been largely unaddressed by current scholarship. This is despite the growing number of ECs, the growth of entrepreneurship as a discipline, the desire to foster entrepreneurial universities and the struggle to find suitable EC leadership talent. The EC is critical for bringing together various actors within the regional entrepreneurship ecosystem, creating and maintaining an entrepreneurial culture and fostering co-curricular learning to develop human capital, key benefits that the university provides on top of its research activity.

Purpose: The prominence of entrepreneurial marketing (EM) as the practice of exploiting market opportunities is becoming increasingly important to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). It has been stated that SMEs lack resources such as finance, knowledge, experience, and information, compared with larger firms that integrate marketing with innovativeness, which is critical to enhancing entrepreneurship. Therefore, this chapter aims at establishing the theoretical foundation that links entrepreneurial orientation with marketing practices in Jordanian SMEs. More specifically, this chapter provides deep recognition of the current status of EM opportunities and challenges in Jordanian SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach: As SMEs are one of the important components in the private sector in Jordan and contribute to the creation of almost half of the GDP. Accordingly, this chapter adopts a critical review of the relevant literature, governmental reports, business studies, and published surveys in EM among Jordanian SMEs. Moreover, this chapter will present a thorough analysis of the published statistics and insights about EM orientations from different sectors of Jordanian SMEs. Based on the reviewed and analyzed secondary data, EM initiatives, opportunities, and challenges can be extracted and highlighted to achieve the purpose of this chapter.

Findings: The expected outcomes of the chapter are to build the theoretical foundation and promote a deep understanding that bridges the knowledge gap about the status of EM in Jordanian SMEs supported by literature and published report evidence. Another outcome of this chapter is highlighting the important entrepreneurial issues and identifying areas for further research in the Middle East generally and Jordan particularly.

Practical implications: The chapter provides relevant knowledge, literature-based evidence, and lessons learned to empower entrepreneurs in SMEs. This chapter also enhances the best practices of EM for entrepreneurs, marketers, and policymakers. Moreover, this chapter proposes how to overcome potential challenges and threats that may be encountered by practitioners, especially in different cultural contexts such as the Middle East and North African (MENA) region.

Originality/value: The chapter proposed a conceptual foundation about EM in SMEs aimed at different cultural contexts like Jordan. Moreover, the chapter provides a critical review of published research that explains entrepreneurs aspirations for growth, expansion, and innovation, which is critical for the growth and sustainability of SMEs. Finally, the chapter concludes by providing policy implications and practical recommendations that can encourage policymakers in formulating and implementing the relevant interventions and strategic trends for enhancing entrepreneurship in Jordan.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and evaluate entrepreneurship education in public universities in Ethiopia.

The study is based on the data obtained from 16 public universities in the country. The undergraduate curriculum of each university was examined to understand the departments in which entrepreneurship course(s) is/are offered. The syllabus for entrepreneurship course was examined to understand the focus areas and objectives of the entrepreneurship education. A questionnaire based on the literature was used to gather information about the background of entrepreneurship instructors, the teaching and evaluation methods employed in entrepreneurship courses.

The results show that entrepreneurship education is in its early phase of development in Ethiopian public universities. Entrepreneurship education was mainly offered in business schools and agricultural colleges, though recently it started to be included in the curricula of other schools too, mainly technology institutes/colleges. Traditional teaching and evaluation methods are dominant in teaching and assessing entrepreneurship courses in Ethiopian universities. Ethiopian public universities are also characterized by a dearth of entrepreneurship promotion centers.

The study is based on the analysis of curricula and course syllabi and the evaluation of academic staff involved in teaching of entrepreneurship. The study would have been more complete had it included the perception of students.

The findings suggest the need for incorporating entrepreneurship education in all disciplines and the need to further improve the teaching and evaluation methods utilized in the courses. The findings also suggest the need to enhance the capacity of academic staff involved in teaching entrepreneurship.

The paper is the first to examine the state of entrepreneurship education in Ethiopian public universities in a detailed way.