Christine Volkmann

Entrepreneurial studies in higher education

Entrepreneurship is relatively new as a subject of formal study in universities. Its teaching can be traced back to 1947. Since then, the subject has caught on, and in the 1980s and 1990s, there was a veritable explosion in such offerings at universities in the United States. The subject came to Europe rather late, but here, too, courses and programmes are becoming increasingly numerous, particularly in the United Kingdom but also, now, in Belgium and in Germany. University programmes in Entrepreneurship can be “focused” or “university wide”. University‐wide programmes can be “magnet programmes” or “radiant programmes”. The author presents and describes these different kinds of programmes and cites examples of their implementation in different universities in Germany and abroad. Such education, she feels, will gain great importance in the Twenty‐First Century; however, courses will require innovative funding methods and, particularly, a great deal of private funding.

Development and Prospects of Academic Entrepreneurship Education in Germany

This contribution deals with the development of entrepreneurship education at university level in Germany. Starting with a definition of the concept, the article focuses on relevant issues of entrepreneurship education, such as target groups and teaching formats. With particular emphasis on empirical studies carried out by the German Association for Promoting Academic Entrepreneurship Research (FGF), noteworthy milestones in the development of entrepreneurship education in Germany will be discussed, along with those trends that are likely to be important in the future.

Social Entrepreneurship Research as a Means of Transformation: A Vision for the Year 2028

Abstract In this essay we suggest directions and perspectives for social entrepreneurship research that could result in a state in which social entrepreneurship would have become mainstream. This includes the need to delineate and define social entrepreneurship vis-à-vis commercial entrepreneurship, the question of growth and scaling up of social ventures, the role of social entrepreneurship on a macroeconomic level, and the use of critical theory as a theoretical lens. Our recommendations are inspired by a Professional Development Workshop on ‘Social Entrepreneurship: Future Directions in Education and Research’ organized by the authors at the Academy of Management Conference 2010 in Montréal.

Growth strategies for young e-ventures through structured collaboration

The present paper deals with the representation, analysis, and employment of structured and unstructured collaboration as collaborative growth strategies of young e-ventures, focusing on the section of technology-orientated and technology-induced growth strategies. Based on this approach, the argumentation is investigated with regard to its relevance as potential growth strategy with the help of technological developments in the collaborative business and its characteristic forms of unstructured and structured collaboration with particular emphasis on web services. The line of argumentation is supported and illustrated using some successful examples.

The Scientometrics of Social Entrepreneurship and Its Establishment as an Academic Field

This paper provides an overview of the state of art of research on social entrepreneurship and the establishment of this topic in the academic world. It uses scientometric methods in measuring the maturity of social entrepreneurship research. The empirical part reveals the exponentially growing number of papers, the institutionalization of social entrepreneurship in seven dimensions, the emergence of thematic clusters, and methodological issues. The paper makes concrete suggestions on how to overcome methodological challenges. Furthermore, we provide a ranking of the 22 most cited academic contributions in social entrepreneurship. Surprisingly, almost half of the most cited papers have not been published in journals but in books, raising doubts about the current (over‐)rating of journal publications.

Soziale Innovationen und Social Entrepreneurship

Unternehmen sehen sich im Kontext der Globalisierung einem immer schnelleren Wandel hinsichtlich technischer bzw. technologischer Moglichkeiten, des verfugbaren Wissens oder aber differenzierter Anspruche und Wunsche von Wirtschaftssubjekten konfrontiert. Ausgelost und begleitet durch die Moglichkeiten der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie hat sich der weltweite Wettbewerb verscharft. Verbunden ist dies mit der Herausforderung fur Unternehmen, verstarkt Ideen zu generieren und Innovationen hervorzubringen. Die Geschwindigkeit des wirtschaftlichen Wandels kann als Chance fur neue Geschaftsideen bzw. Geschaftsfelder gesehen werden. Im Entrepreneurship- Kontext wird das Erkennen und Wahrnehmen von unternehmerischen Gelegenheiten als Opportunity Recognition bzw. Opportunity Exploitation bezeichnet.

Organization and Personnel

Specific questions of organization and personnel planning and management are not relevant for all newly founded enterprises. However, for those start-ups aiming at growth, organizational and personnel aspects are of central importance within the context of a target-oriented and systematic growth management. Generally speaking, for all emerging enterprises, initial organizing activities seem to be critical to their survival [Brush et al. (2008)].

Social Entrepreneurship Across the European Union: An Introduction

Social entrepreneurship has become an indispensable part of the economy and it is now regarded as the driving engine of social economy. The present chapter presents a short introduction into social entrepreneurship (key definitions, concepts and theory) in order to create the setting for detailing the emergence and development of social entrepreneurship in various countries within the European Union. The next sections provide insights into the scale and legislative, social and economic framework regarding social entrepreneurship at the level of the European Union and across some of its member states in an attempt to establish whether social entrepreneurship is harmonised both from the standpoint of regulatory bodies and practitioners. Moving on, we get the readership familiarised with different initiatives of social entrepreneurship at academic level but also at the level of practitioners and regulatory bodies. The closing section presents one case study from a European country in order to improve the understanding of the idea and the implementation of social entrepreneurship in the European Union and to underline the potential challenges that might arise within this context.

Insights for Entrepreneurship Educators, Education Managers, and University Leaders

The final chapter of this book aims at highlighting lessons learned from the 20 examined cases on higher education institutions in Europe. Selected implications are derived in the areas of curricular and extra-curricular offers as well as institutional aspects and stakeholder management of EE. Knowledge on EE can be relevant for educators, university managers, politicians and entrepreneurs alike. The insights provided in this book serve to stimulate exchange of best practices, discussion and constant development of EE in Europe.

Is Managers Strategy Culture Bound? International Differences in Strategy Choice

This paper links causal and effectual strategy with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and discusses implications for managers’ decision-making and cognition. This investigation is theoretically and pr...