Thomas Lans

Analysing, pursuing and networking: Towards a validated three-factor framework for entrepreneurial competence from a small firm perspective

Moving beyond general personal traits as predictors for success, a growing volume of research acknowledges that entrepreneurial core processes are enabled by specific competencies which can be learned, further refined and developed. The research objective of this article is to develop a framework for entrepreneurial competence in a well-defined small firm sector by elaborating and empirically validating an existing categorization of entrepreneurial competence. The dataset includes 348 small firm owner-managers who participated in an educational programme, established to pursue new business opportunities in the Dutch agri-food sector. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis revealed that three domains constitute the heart of entrepreneurial competence in this small firm context: ‘analysing’, ‘pursuing’ and ‘networking’. These three competence domains provide professionals active in sector development, small business support and (vocational) education with an empirically valid framework of clearly discernible elements of entrepreneurial competence. This framework also encompasses insights on education and learning.

Show me your network and I'll tell you who you are: social competence and social capital of early-stage entrepreneurs

Recognizing that detailed work on social competence in the context of early entrepreneurial processes is still scarce and, at the same time, building further on existing work, we investigated how and to what extent social competence influences social capital among students with latent entrepreneurial ambitions. For this purpose, an empirical study was carried out among 131 Masters students following a university entrepreneurship education programme. Hierarchal regression analysis showed that social competence, as a composite variable, had a significant effect on the social capital of early-stage entrepreneurs. In particular, social competence directly influenced (structural) aspects of social capital, namely the number of people the early-stage entrepreneur had access to via strong and weak links, as well as the range of occupations these people represented. Thus, social competence increased not only the number of ties (either strong or weak), but also the range of occupations the entrepreneur had access to. Additional analyses – adding social competence as five separate underlying social skills – showed a more differentiated picture, suggesting that the whole (e.g. social competence) is more than the sum of its parts (e.g. the individual skills). The outcomes of this research contribute to the scientific literature concerning the role and impact of social competence on social capital in general, and entrepreneurial networking in particular. Furthermore, it provides the first stepping-stones for social competence development in entrepreneurship education programmes.

Effects of role models and gender on students’ entrepreneurial intentions

Purpose – This paper aims to, drawing on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), explore the effects of entrepreneurial role models on entrepreneurial intention (EI) and its antecedents and examines the question of whether the effects vary by gender. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a sample of 331 students at seven universities in Iran. Structural equation modelling and bootstrap procedure were used to analyse the data. Findings – Consistent with the TPB, our results show entrepreneurial role models to indirectly influence EIs via the antecedents of intention. No gender differences in the relationship between perceived behaviour control and EIs were found, but gender did moderate the other relationships within the TPB. Attitude towards entrepreneurship was a weaker predictor and subjective norms a stronger predictor of EIs for female students than for their male counterparts. Furthermore, perceived behaviour control and attitudes towards entrepreneurship were more strongly influenced...

Blurring the boundaries between vocational education, business and research in the agri-food domain

This article discusses the emergence and significance of new knowledge configurations within the Dutch agri-food context. Knowledge configurations can be characterised as arrangements between VET and (often regional) partners in business and research aimed at improving knowledge transfer, circulation or co-creation. Based on a literature review and an empirical study involving 18 knowledge management experts and 11 exemplary ‘knowledge configurations,’ we describe their key characteristics and the factors and guiding principles that contribute to their success or lack thereof.

Fostering Students' Competence in Identifying Business Opportunities in Entrepreneurship Education.

Opportunity identification and, in particular, the generation of new business ideas is becoming an important element of entrepreneurship education. Researchers and educators, however, struggle with how opportunity identification competence can be enhanced. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to test the ability of students to generate new business opportunities when they participated in a redesigned entrepreneurship course with specially developed creativity exercises. Pre- vs. post-test comparisons showed the students who followed the course to subsequently have a higher level of divergent thinking, also with respect to the students who did not enrol in the course. The results also indicate that the course has a significant effect on the students’ abilities to generate a greater number and more innovative business ideas in the experimental group; while the control group showed no significant changes in business idea generation. The implications of the results for developing opportunity identification competence and entrepreneurship education are presented.

Toward a Validated Competence Framework for Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Knowledge, skills, and attitudes to manage sustainable development have become significant components of different career paths. Previous research has explored which competencies are needed for future change agents in the field of sustainable development. Sustainable entrepreneurship can be seen as a promising work context in which these competencies are truly at the forefront and enacted. Several researchers have compiled frameworks of key competencies. However, their work is exploratory in nature and a more in-depth analysis of these frameworks is called for. In this study, an existing competence framework for sustainable entrepreneurship was tested in terms of construct validity, among 402 would-be entrepreneurs. The results suggest the inclusion of six competencies, which constitute a competence framework with a good model fit. Furthermore, a new combination of two existing competencies is proposed. This study has important implications for the debate on which competencies for sustainable entrepreneurship are essential on theoretical and empirical grounds.

Testing the relationship between personality characteristics, contextual factors and entrepreneurial intentions in a developing country

Drawing upon the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), we developed and tested a conceptual model which integrates both internal personality factors and external contextual factors to determine their associations with motivational factors and entrepreneurial intentions (EIs). We then investigated if the model of EI applies in a developing country, namely Iran. We also set out to identify the most relevant factors for EI within this developing country context. Do distal predictors of EI including personality factors (i.e. need for achievement, risk taking and locus of control) and contextual factors (i.e. perceived barriers and support) significantly relate to EI via proximal predictors including motivational factors (i.e. attitudes towards entrepreneurship and perceived behavioural control [PBC])? Data were collected on 331 students from 7 public universities. The findings support the TPB for EI in Iran. All three motivational factors related to EI, but PBC showed the strongest association, which is different than in developed country contexts. Possible explanations for these differences are discussed. All three personality characteristics indirectly related to EI via the proximal attitudes towards entrepreneurship and PBC. Perceived contextual support and barriers indirectly related to EI via proximal PBC while perceived barriers also directly related to EI.

Application of Structural Equation Modelling to Assess the Effect of Entrepreneurial Characteristics on Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions

Entrepreneurship is considered to be an important driver for economic growth. Entrepreneurial intention is, based on the literature, suggested to be a predictor of future entrepreneurial behaviour. Entrepreneurial intention is influenced by several factors including entrepreneurial characteristics. Several studies have examined the relationship between entrepreneurial characteristics and success entrepreneurs. However, there is very little research available on personality factors that drive students’ intentions to start a new business. This study investigates the effect of entrepreneurial characteristics of students at Iranian universities on their entrepreneurial intentions. A survey instrument was designed to measure entrepreneurial intentions as dependent variable as well as entrepreneurial characteristics including need for achievement, risk-taking propensity, innovativeness, self-efficacy and need for independence as independent variables. The sample of 346 students included students studying business, agriculture, and engineering at seven established universities at both graduate and undergraduate levels. Structural Equation modelling (SEM) was employed to test causal relationships among independent and dependent variables. The results indicate that entrepreneurial intention is significantly influenced by entrepreneurial self-efficacy and need for achievement. However, risk taking propensity and need for independence. do not have a direct significant impact on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, the results show that the effect innovativeness is mediated by entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The results of the study provide educators, administrators and policy makers inside and outside universities valuable insights with respect to entrepreneurship education. It may serve students better by increasing its focus on entrepreneurial self-efficacy and need for achievement.

Linking complex problem solving to opportunity identification competence within the context of entrepreneurship

Today’s working life is increasingly characterized by entrepreneurial challenges. Entrepreneurial challenges start at an individual level with the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities, which is acknowledged as one of the key competencies for lifelong learning. Since the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities relies heavily on the opportunity identification competence (OIC) of individuals, understanding the meaning of OIC is relevant. Until now, OIC has been explored in the young entrepreneurship research field. However, entrepreneurship researchers until now have not fully explored OIC. According to several authors, the research on complex problem solving (CPS) in the cognitive research field might contribute to understanding OIC. In this paper, we review the link between OIC and CPS by comparing the cognitive and entrepreneurship research fields. We argue that those who excel in identifying opportunities share core characteristics with high-level complex problem-solvers. We propose to conduct empirical research in the future to investigate the relation between OIC and CPS within a work context in order to gain more insight into OIC. We believe that the cognitive research field contributes to the entrepreneurship research field and provides a deeper understanding of the initial steps of the entrepreneurial process.

Development and application of the opportunity identification competence assessment test (OICAT) in higher education

Abstract Developing and assessing individuals’ competence to identify business opportunities is of increasing importance in the current widespread introduction of entrepreneurship programmes in higher education worldwide. However, performance tests to assess opportunity identification competence (OIC) are scarce in the entrepreneurship education literature. This study elaborates on the development and application of such a performance assessment tool: the opportunity identification competence assessment test (OICAT). In the OICAT participants are asked to generate business ideas in the area of sustainable development. This study investigated how bachelor’s students, and master’s students following entrepreneurial courses, identify opportunities. The results suggest that the OICAT is successful in tracking individual differences in OIC. The OICAT could be used as a learning-oriented assessment, helping students find out both what they already can do and what they need for further improvement.