Search results

Entrepreneurship is a source of innovation, job creation, and vibrancy for local and regional economies. As a direct result, there is a profound interest in creating an infrastructure that effectively encourages entrepreneurship and incubates entrepreneurial endeavors. Western State University has responded to this call by developing the Harvey Entrepreneurship Program, which is integrated in the Enterprise Residential College.The Harvey program provides a socially embedded experiential learning approach to entrepreneurial education. Faculty, students, entrepreneurs, and technical experts are drawn together in an environment that provides space for business incubators and an entrepreneurially focused curriculum. In this article, we present a case study in which we use qualitative research methods to explore the benefits and challenges of creating such a program.The delivery model that Enterprise Residential College provides for entrepreneurial education is examined through the perspectives of program administrators, faculty, and students. The findings reveal evidence that a residential college can form a powerful nexus of formal instruction, experiential learning, socialization, and networking to influence entrepreneurship. We discuss relevant findings that may aid others considering similar endeavors.

This article examines entrepreneurship courses offered by engineering faculties in Canada. The venturing rate of engineering students, whether the venturing rate increases if students have taken a course in entrepreneurship, and the type of ventures created are also explored. A recent census and an empirical study of two groups of engineering graduates from a Canadian university were utilized. Findings have implications for educators and administrators and for policy-makers interested in encouraging economic growth.

The Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business at Shenandoah University engaged in an intense planning process in the fall of 2004. In addition to clarifying its mission and strategic directions, the Byrd School clearly articulated its vision: to become recognized as a provider of individualized business education driven by entrepreneurial thinking, global understanding, and ethical practice. The development of the Institute for Entrepreneurship described in this article is a critical step in actualizing this vision.

Despite growing interest in the difficulties encountered by ethnic entrepreneurs, very little research has yet been done on the subject. This article attempts to fill the gap. A total of 715 Chinese, Italian, Indian/Sikh, Jewish, and Vietnamese entrepreneurs from Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver were surveyed for the research. The results show that ethnic businesses tend to face the same problems as other businesses, which consequently does not appear to justify the development of support programs specifically for ethnic entrepreneurs. However, this study of established businesses does not consider failed or nascent businesses, which may have experienced additional problems. Further research is required to examine these issues. Also, given the unique social and business dynamics that exist within the ethnic communities studied, support programs should be directed through the networks of these communities.

While the literature has described social entrepreneurs as overwhelmingly occupying a pivotal role in social entrepreneurship (S-ENT) process, there is a high inconsistency prevailing with respect to entrepreneurial traits, attitudes and skills of social entrepreneurs. One explanation for this may be the lack of a suitable scale measuring entrepreneurship orientation of social entrepreneurial individuals. The purpose of this study is to address this gap by proposing an initial assessment tool for individual S-ENT orientation (ISEO).

A mixed methods research design, along with a two-stage Delphi process, helped in generating appropriate constructs for ISEO. While the items for the first dimension of scale were directly derived from the Delphi study, the items of the remaining dimensions were mainly found based on the three individual entrepreneurial orientation dimensions presented by Bolton and Lane. By means of exploratory factor analysis, the final examination of the ISEO items was undertaken through a survey of 71 social entrepreneurs across India. The process eventually resulted in reliable and valid measures for four dimensions of ISEO.

The scale-development process eventually resulted in a 13-item scale, measuring four dimensions of ISEO (social passion, innovativeness, risk-taking and pro-activeness). By developing a set of relevant ISEO indicators, the study answers the call for a scale development of ISEO in S-ENT literature.

There is a need to further validate this instrument among other stakeholders (students) as well as in samples with different demographic characteristics across different regions of the country and the world. To further evaluate the reliability and validity properties and to confirm the newly established subscales and their relationship with the ISEO construct, there is need for conducting a confirmatory factor analysis using larger sample sizes.

The measurement of SEO at an individual level will assist in S-ENT education, training and development of present and prospective social entrepreneurs, as well as assist individuals who want to assess the strength of their orientation towards S-ENT. The understanding of ISEO at the individual level will be equally useful for S-ENT incubators, the government and other S-ENT stakeholders who are considering supporting S-ENT proposals.

The paper is the first to develop an ISEO scale which is based on empirical data in S-ENT field.