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This chapter explores the relationship between entrepreneurship skills and decent work (DW), and how policy can help achieve this. We review the entrepreneurship skills literature in the context of DW, highlighting the key entrepreneurship skills needed in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thereafter, we extract lessons from selected policy initiatives in countries with broad similarities (Australia, Canada, United States and England), through the lens of DW. Our review draws on peer-reviewed journals and key United Nations and global entrepreneurship platform publications. Entrepreneurship skills deficiencies have a detrimental impact on the success and sustainability of SMEs. Yet, SME's survival and growth is currently crucial, whereby organizations need to transform in response to changing environmental, political, technological and consumer needs. This is intensified by the challenges of Covid-19, severely affecting DW and productivity. To develop and retain even a semblance of ‘decent work’, entrepreneurs need to develop appropriate skills and there is a need for suitable policy addressing this. In this chapter, we present lessons learnt based on our review and provide recommendations for entrepreneurship skills development policies aligning with DW.

This study aims to analyse the influence of the pillars (hard and soft skills) of digital academic entrepreneurship on students' entrepreneurial intention.

This was done by adopting a quantitative methodology involving empirical research with a sample of 761 university students from two countries and adopting structural equation analysis to validate the theoretical model proposed.

The results indicate a direct influence between hard and soft skills and entrepreneurial intention, and a positive, indirect influence between these and entrepreneurial intention mediated by the dimensions of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) – entrepreneurial attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. Therefore, the pillars of digital academic entrepreneurship have a direct and indirect influence on university students' entrepreneurial intention.

This study also contributes to better operationalization of entrepreneurial education in university environments, since the development of hard and soft skills can be planned better based on the model proposed here. Considering the relations between the dimensions of hard and soft skills and those of TPB, this study shows there can be an influence on students' entrepreneurial intention.

In this study, a new and innovative construct is inserted in the model of entrepreneurial intention: “structural pillars of digital academic entrepreneurship” through structural equation modelling, to determine the degree of influence of these pillars (hard and soft skills) constructs on HEI students' entrepreneurial intention.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that defining, measuring and developing skills are crucial to successful entrepreneurship and that being able to do so can help to build strong rural entrepreneurial ecosystems.

The literature on entrepreneurship success and entrepreneurial skills is reviewed, and this knowledge is used to create and describe the Entrepreneurship Skill-building Framework (ESBF), which provides a scaffold for thinking about the identification, measurement and development of essential entrepreneurship skills. The same literature is used to develop a tool for effectuating the ESBF, called the Readiness Inventory for Successful Entrepreneurship (RISE), which assesses entrepreneurship skills using the communimetrics theory of measurement.

Both the ESBF and the RISE are detailed, and they are applied to the successful development and maintenance of rural entrepreneurial ecosystems, with an example from practice. Specific implications for rural entrepreneurship-focused economic development are also discussed.

The ESBF represents a new way of framing entrepreneurship skills and their development. The RISE is a skills assessment tool that is clinical, not predictive, utilizing an innovative theory of measurement. Together, they offer a fresh approach to thinking about the purpose and effective implementation of entrepreneurial ecosystems.

This study aims to test the impact of digital skills on the entrepreneurial intentions of last-year undergraduate students in Jordanian universities, especially after the Coronavirus disease pandemic and the digital transformation in education and business patterns. In addition, it aims to assess the role of entrepreneurial alertness as a mediator and entrepreneurship education as a moderator in the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

The quantitative study used a questionnaire distributed to 401 students from different Jordanian universities. The data was collected over 2 months and two structural equation models were developed using AMOS 25 to examine the relationship.

A significant negative relationship was found between digital skills and entrepreneurial intentions of last-year undergraduate students in Jordanian universities post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A fully mediating role of the alertness variable has appeared in addition to a significant moderating role of entrepreneurship education.

This is the first study that attempts to investigate the impact of digital skills on students' entrepreneurial intentions in Jordan after the COVID-19 pandemic, In addition, it is one of the few studies that assess the mediator's and moderator's effects on the same conditions. Finally, the study provided a review of the definitions and models used as part of the contribution to upcoming reviews.

Social entrepreneurship is gaining increased attention from academia and practitioners worldwide. Owing to its financing challenges, academic pedagogies are seeking methods to strengthen the social financing dimension of this emerging discipline. This paper bridges the gap in social entrepreneurship education by portraying diverse perspectives on this topic from multiple actors in two cross-cultural contexts.

A qualitative case analysis was conducted to explore financing aspects of social entrepreneurship in France and the United States. The authors interviewed academicians and practitioners to learn about their current experiments and thoughts on integrating finance into the curriculum for social entrepreneurship.

The authors found multiple facets of the social entrepreneurship finance construct, focused not only on specific financial skills but also on a general approach to venture designs. Multidisciplinary knowledge is sought not just on the topic of finance but also in other disciplines that can broaden its scope of financing to a larger investor domain. While in France, this came out as a need for integrating the financial communication skills to personify the social value creation process; in the US, it was pointed out as the need for having a contractual knowledge to differentiate investment opportunities and comprehend their risks levels.

By bringing perspectives from multiple actors who have had experience in social entrepreneurship financing in regions with the fastest development, this paper is seminal in bridging the financing skill gaps that exist in social entrepreneurship discipline. The main theoretical contribution of this article concerns the skills, financial and otherwise that are useful in social finance.

Start-up intention among university students is related to the image of entrepreneurship as a career alternative. University is critical in developing the levels of motivation and capabilities of graduates to effectively engage in entrepreneurial activity. The purpose of this paper is to propose an entrepreneurial intention model focussing on higher education and the implementation of the model as a practical digital application which can be used in universities to improve the entrepreneurial intention of students enrolled in different courses.

This paper first discusses the importance of entrepreneurial intention in graduate entrepreneurship. Then, it proposes an entrepreneurial intention model based on the four propositions identified from the literature. Finally, the model is implemented as a practical digital application focussing on self-skill awareness, entrepreneurial resources and entrepreneurial support network. A survey is conducted with students to evaluate the model and the application.

Entrepreneurial awareness found to have a positive effect of entrepreneurial intention. Besides the conceptual model, this study has developed a digital application to enhance entrepreneurial intention of students focussing on information technology discipline. The application is evaluated through an online survey and the results show that the application can significantly improve entrepreneurial intention.

The proposed entrepreneurial intention model and the digital application offer guidance to universities as to how online systems can be used to create an environment that fosters individual intentions to select entrepreneurship as a career option, even for students doing non-entrepreneurial courses.

Entrepreneurship Education (EE) has received substantial attention, both in the popular press, as well as in academia, owing to the socio-economic impact it holds. However, while the importance of entrepreneurship is universally acknowledged, specific higher-order outcomes EE aim to achieve have not received the same level of attention. This study aims to fill this void by analysing teaching and learning approaches to EE in Africa, as well as the competencies that these EE initiatives aim to build. The study makes use of a qualitative research approach in the form of a systematic review of EE studies conducted in Africa. The systematic review aimed to uncover which approaches and competencies EE initiatives apply. Results indicated that teaching and learning of EE in Africa are mainly focussed on learning for and about entrepreneurship, and to a lesser degree through entrepreneurship. The study therefore proposes the development of higher-order competencies in the form of envisioning and constructing. The study contributes in practice by proposing a shift in the approach to EE by building competencies in the areas of visionary thinking and market expansion, rather than gaining market share. The study also makes a theoretical contribution by critically reviewing teaching and learning approaches on EE and developed competencies, and expands the role that EE can play in market development and opportunity creation.

Entrepreneurship-oriented courses are increasingly being offered in higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world. However, in the case of Oman, where this study was conducted, little or no research has been conducted, to date, to explore the perceptions of students and faculty members regarding the entrepreneurship-oriented courses they participate in, which is a serious gap in the literature. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the beliefs and conceptions that learners and faculty at a private HEI in Muscat, Oman, had about the course entitled Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation (ENVC).

The primary and secondary research questions are addressed using a mixed-methods approach that includes an online student questionnaire answered by 110 students who had studied the ENVC course, a focus group discussion with eight students facilitated by MS Teams and semi-structured interviews with two faculty members.

The findings revealed that the study participants had a very positive view of the ENVC course discussed here as they pointed to several benefits, including improved knowledge of business and entrepreneurship concepts, increased familiarity with the local business environment, development of entrepreneurial intention and improvement of their critical thinking, creativity and innovation skills. In addition, the results revealed some concerns among the participating students, particularly regarding the lack of adequate training sessions on risk management and financial planning. The participants also requested hands-on experience through industrial entrepreneurship training and in-residence-entrepreneurship programs.

This study raises a number of possibilities for further research on this type of course in terms of students’ employability skills, know-how and agency when the time comes for them to enter the real world of business and employment. Future work would benefit from using a longitudinal survey on a group of alumni to triangulate and compare the various findings that were reached here. It would certainly be even more fruitful if conducted at two or more HEIs and with larger population samples to ensure broad coverage, representation and generalization. Work along these lines would certainly refine and extend our findings.

This study has significant pedagogical implications for future graduate students seeking employment, entrepreneurship course developers and faculty. Relatively, the educational outcomes of entrepreneurship education will also rely on the way entrepreneurship is being taught to students. It is recommended that entrepreneurship teaching should focus on cognitive development and active implementation of in-house incubation for well-planned innovative business ideas. This will provide opportunities for students to gain real-life experiences and identify their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the areas and skills that need to be maintained; hence, further research on the effectiveness of in-house incubation could best be considered for the next study. Another concern raised in this study is the lack of training in financial planning. Hence, further research can be considered on how to improve the financial planning skills of students for a start-up journey.

This course is designed in alignment with Oman Vision 2040, which places great emphasis on entrepreneurship as it plays an important role in the planned economic diversification and sustainability, in which innovation derived from entrepreneurship development will be used as the main driver for the development of infrastructure and educational systems that encourage entrepreneurship. Moreover, the ENVC course focuses on the concept of social entrepreneurship. It inculcates a sense of responsibility for supporting the immediate society among students. Learning the perceptions of students and teachers will provide opportunities to achieve their academic goals, which will reap economic and financial returns in the long run. The development of entrepreneurial skills and intentions of students will eventually help in boosting the country’s economy and its social fabric, thus improving the overall quality of life of Omani society.

Even though this study is an exploratory investigation, the framework sets out clear empirical insights into the entrepreneurship course development, its main contents, assessments and learners’ and faculty members’ perceptions of the design, intent, content and delivery of the ENVC course and has crucial implications for all the stakeholders. The originality of this case study lies in the fact that it is the first of its kind in the body of research as it links theory to practice and will be a useful reference for entrepreneurship course developers, higher education faculty and students.

The research aims to investigate the changing skills required for international entrepreneurship (IE) and the awareness of these skills among students and professionals in four European countries. The study intends to investigate students' and professionals' perceptions of entrepreneurial skills and the potential for educational programs to improve their awareness of these skills.

This quantitative cross-sectional analysis uses an online questionnaire to collect data from 75 university students and 75 entrepreneurs in four European countries. Several tests validate the data, and Cronbach's alpha succeeded in measuring internal consistency. The results showed differences in the perception of skills between students and entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs had developed all competencies except access to finance, while students had lower perceptions of their skills, except for collaboration. Students needed to improve significantly in access to finance, business planning, financial skills, knowledge of the labour market and digital marketing. Practitioners only required significant improvement in access to finance and digital marketing.

Education programs should fit the needs of different groups: a broader program for students and more specific courses on access to finance and digital marketing for practitioners.

The present research's original feature highlights the need to monitor and adapt to the constantly changing skills for IE and the importance of hard and soft skills. The paper provides insights into the subject's awareness and perceived standard, with reflections for policymakers and practitioners.

Entrepreneurship education has been largely treated as a pedagogical “black box.” Despite the emergence of popular entrepreneurship models such as business planning, the lean startup, or business model canvas, neither theoretical nor pedagogical foundations are typically evident. This limits the accumulation of useful evidence that could inform better teaching practices. In this chapter, we develop a set of conceptual models anchored in learning theory regarding how entrepreneurship education should be taught to students. These conceptual models are built on the techniques of entrepreneurship pedagogy such as experiential education. They are developed for three groups of students: students without any entrepreneurship experience, students with previous entrepreneurship experience, and students who are currently running their start-ups. A set of potential variables that could be used for course evaluation purposes is also included. The proposed models meet the needs of students with different levels of entrepreneurship experience. Theoretically, we demonstrate that entrepreneurship students should not be treated as a homogeneous group, as they have different levels of startup experience and different educational needs. Lecturers of entrepreneurship programs could choose the suitable model proposed in this chapter in teaching based on the characteristics of their students. The chapter provides novel insights with regard to how entrepreneurship programs should be designed for students with different levels of entrepreneurship experience.