Business Commons^™

Meeting The Sustainability Challenges: An Assessment Of Entrepreneurial Education, Anna Zherdeva, Intesar Madi, Abrar Alzankawi, Lucia Morales Dr, L. Pop, A. Soler-Dominguez, J.C. Saez

Conference papers

The importance of sustainability and entrepreneurship education is highlighted in this study. The world economies are facing significant challenges as they try to enable the transition towards more sustainable economic and business models. Therefore, at the centre of the transition process, it is critical to consider the role that business education can play and, more specifically, the role of business schools in integrating and supporting the development of skills and competencies that align with our contemporary society's needs. In this paper, we initially assess the need to connect entrepreneurial and sustainability education by exploring the educational offerings at Technological University …

Using Sequential Mixed Methods To Evaluate The Contribution Of Absorptive Capacity (Acap), Anthony Paul Buckley, Francis Martin Behan

Conference papers

How might Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) (Cohen & Levinthal 1990,,Song et al. 2018) contribute to indigenous firm innovation and growth and how might the effects of this construct be evaluated at both firm and policy level? This paper demonstrates how a mixed methods research design and data analysis strategy can address the research question outlined above. Within the ‘mixed methods’ research genre, the design approach argued for here is for a ‘sequential mixed methods research’ approach. This is where one methodology is followed sequentially by another to add robustness to the overall findings from a study. The approach can also be …

Design As Entrepreneurship: Towards A Design-Specific Entrepreneurship Framework, Con Kennedy

Conference papers

Current thinking on entrepreneurship states there is no specific link between the entrepreneur and their enterprise. Design is an individual creative act; therefore, the practitioner is not separate from their idiosyncratic process. The Designer is the product offering. Designers form Design Enterprises, meaning that with this aspect of inseparability, the Design Entrepreneur is a different kind of entrepreneur than currently discussed. The literature on the topic discusses design as a creative output, not as entrepreneurship output. Like any enterprise, Design Enterprises must be profitable. There are many entrepreneurship processes, none of which seem to address the needs of the Design …

Embedding Ethical And Sustainable Thinking In The Entrepreneurial Mindset, Kathleen Farrell

Conference papers

“Entrepreneurship education is essential not only to shape the mindsets of young people but also to provide the skills, knowledge and attitudes that are central to developing an entrepreneurial culture” (European Commission, 2016, b p. 9). The recent financial crisis has focused our attention more on the importance of ethics in business and management. EntreComp, the European Commission Competence Framework (2016) defines entrepreneurship as a transversal competence. The research question has to do with whether the European Commission is right in proposing ethical and sustainable thinking as an entrepreneurial competence. What support is there in the literature for putting forward …

Examining Best Practice For A Post-Graduate Module In Food Entrepreneurship, Kathleen Farrell

Conference papers

As a lecturer in entrepreneurship education, the challenge of embedding an entrepreneurship mindset in my students is of great interest. A traditional lecturing approach is inadequate and there is a call for more creative teaching and a more experiential learning approach. In the words of Plutarch

“Minds are not vessels to be filled, but fires to be ignited”

The author decided to evaluate an existing Masters module on food entrepreneurship in the light of best practice. The approach involved a review of the literature and both EU and national policy documents. The syllabus, teaching methods and assessments on the Masters …

Teacherpreneurs: From Vocation To Innovation, Anthony Paul Buckley, Kisito Futonge

Conference papers

The global market for e-learning is projected to reach $255 billion by 2017 with a compound growth average of 23% since 2012 (GSV Advisors, 2012). The shift towards digital learning has attracted a wave of digital entrepreneurs who are creating e-learning content, learning platforms, educational apps and online marketplaces. Nowhere is this more evident than in the online 'K-12' market (50 per cent share of the global e-learning market). The term K-12 refers to 12 years of formal primary and secondary education from kindergarten (K) or nursery – essentially pre-university level education. The purpose of this paper is to investigate …

Evaluating The Contribution Of Technology Start-Up Incubators – Exploring Methodological And Data-Related Conundrums., Anthony Paul Buckley, Stephen Davis

Conference papers

Policy makers in developed economies see merit in supporting the innovative abilities of technology entrepreneurs. It is hoped that from these highly–educated entrepreneur(s), new technology and service–based firms (NTBFs) can emerge. Indeed empirical evidence suggests that it is fast-growing young firms (Gazelles) which provide the bulk of new employment growth (Henrekson & Johansson, 2010; Storey & Greene, 2010). Technology start-up incubators are one of a number of micro-policy interventions with which the state attempts to support these technology entrepreneurs to develop and commercialise their innovations. Incubators offer a range of services such as shared office accommodation, shared support services, business …

Exploring The Role Of Entrepreneurship In The Growth And Development Of The Smaller State., Anthony Paul Buckley

Conference papers

The median sovereign state size in the world has a population of 6.2m with 73 per cent of the states having a population under 20m (World Bank, 2014). Despite this, the mainstream literatures in most academic disciplines have chosen to neglect the unique determinants of smaller state growth and development. The purpose of this exploratory paper is to investigate whether smaller developed states actually perform better than other states and why? More specifically it investigates the role that entrepreneurship plays in this performance. This paper utilises an exploratory ‘cross-case’ analytic approach (Yin, 2014) in attempting to identify cross case patterns …

Publically–Funded Technology Start-Up Incubators – Evaluating Their Role And Contribution., Anthony Paul Buckley, Stephen Davis

Conference papers

Technology start-up incubators are one of a number of micro-policy interventions with which states attempts to support technology entrepreneurs. This paper outlines the challenges associated with evaluating start-up incubator services and advocates theory-based evaluation (TBE) methodology as a possible solution for effective evaluation in complex research settings such as this. An exploratory case study is used to illustrate the proposed TBE approach.

Internationalising Family Run Business: Overcoming Conflict, Embracing Cohesion And The Role Of Entrepreneurship, Marty Reilly, Pamela Sharkey Scott

Conference papers

Family run businesses, despite their importance to both local economies and at a broader national level have traditionally received significantly less attention in business research than either Small to Medium Enterprises (SMES) or new venture business start-ups.

The study proposes to examine the internationalisation of family run businesses with a focus on cohesion, leadership and the role of entrepreneurship, both during and directly thereafter the critical interim of expanding operations across international borders.

Proposing a multiple case study methodology, we intend to explore the practicalities of how family run enterprises expand beyond their national borders and embrace wider, international markets. …

Understanding The Relationship Between Entrepreneurship Education, Experiential Learning And Business Ethics, Kathleen Farrell, Thomas Cooney, Christina Benson, Gary Palin

Conference papers

Recent cognitive research in entrepreneurship describes the entrepreneur as a ‘motivated tactician’, who can be characterized as a “fully engaged thinker who has multiple cognitive strategies available” (Haynie et al., 2010: p18), and the ability to shift and choose rapidly from among them based on specific goals, motives, needs and circumstances, leading to the ability to act (or not) in response to perceived entrepreneurial opportunities. The Association for Experiential Education broadly defines experiential education as: “a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills and …

Returning To Ulysses: The Need For Ireland's Higher Education Institutions To Re-Imagine The Provision Of Entrepreneurship Education, Thomas Cooney, Kathleen Farrell, Paul Hannon

Conference papers

This paper is a detailed analysis of entrepreneurship education in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on the island of Ireland based on a survey of all twenty-six institutions. The paper examines the number and types of courses and activities currently being offered to students and concludes that the vast majority of the existing provision is quite traditional in its approach. It is further argued that entrepreneurship education needs to be re-imagined if it is to meet the needs of Ireland’s current economic and social challenges, and that educators should seek inspiration from some of the island’s most creative artists from its …

The Role Of Academic/Industry Partnerships In The Development Of Supply Chain Managers, Edward Sweeney

Conference papers

The need for improvement in the logistics and supply chain management capability of companies in Ireland is becoming increasingly recognised. One of the main bottlenecks currently is the shortage of supply chain management professionals. Education and training has a fundamental role to play if the supply of suitably qualified human resource is to be addressed in a meaningful way. Recent research indicates that demand for people with the right knowledge and skills greatly exceed supply. There are numerous techniques and technologies which can facilitate improvement in a company’s supply chain capability. However, experience has shown that these tools alone can …