How action-oriented entrepreneurship training transforms university students into entrepreneurs: Insights from a qualitative study

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

This paper provides insights into how action-oriented entrepreneurship training transforms university students into entrepreneurs. Understanding the process through which students become re-orientated to change their mindsets from expecting to get formal employment to embracing self-hire and actually starting their own businesses is important for motivating researchers and policy-makers to support action-oriented training. We qualitatively explored the effect of STEP (Student Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion), an action-oriented training program delivered to university students. We conducted seventeen semi-structured interviews with STEP recipients. We applied an inductive approach to the analysis of qualitative data. Findings revealed that transformation occurred through a step-by-step process with participants first experiencing empowerment due to the human and psychological capitals developed during the training. This empowerment coupled with appreciation of entrepreneurship and confirmation of its do-ability motivated recipients to adopt of a new career perspective and ignited in them a commitment to stay the course. We conclude that action-oriented training can transform recipients into real entrepreneurs through empowerment, appreciation, and confirmation of do-ability. The implication is that action-oriented training should be emphasized as an integral aspect of a strategy to address the problem of youth unemployment and general expansion of economic activity. Suggestions for future research are given.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Volume35
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)787-814
Number of pages28
ISSN0827-6331
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.05.2023

Bibliographical note

We thank the three anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. We particularly thank the associate editor, Étienne St-Jean for thoughtful advice. We are also grateful to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for funding this research.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Journal of the Canadian Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship/Conseil Canadien de la PME et de l’entrepreneuriat.

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. The value of sub-national data
  2. Chapter 9: Particular Remedies for Non-performance: Section 3: Termination of Contract
  3. Knowledge Production in Consulting Teams: A Self-Organization Approach
  4. “Smart is not smart enough!” Anticipating critical raw material use in smart city concepts
  5. Gehen in der Datenbank – Der BMLwalker
  6. A Smart Sensing Architecture for Misalignment Measurements
  7. Quality and time-related indicators in inceptive plans
  8. Personalized Transaction Kernels for Recommendation Using MCTS
  9. Synthesis, self-assembly, bacterial and fungal toxicity, and preliminary biodegradation studies of a series of L-phenylalanine-derived surface-active ionic liquids
  10. Implementing inquiry-based science education to foster emotional engagement of special-needs students
  11. Technological governance - technological citizenship?
  12. The Values in Crisis Project
  13. All new and all outcome-based?
  14. Generalizing Trust
  15. Incremental contribution of pollination and other ecosystem services to agricultural productivity
  16. Modeling Bolt Load Retention of Ca modified AS41 using compliance-creep method
  17. Article 15 Scope of the Law Applicable
  18. Inventory of biodegradation data of ionic liquids
  19. Communication spaces - memory spaces. Articles on transcultural encounter in Africa
  20. Towards an Intra- and Interorganizational Perspective
  21. A Robust Decoupling Estimator to Indentify Electrical Parameters for Three-Phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors
  22. Abiotic and biotic drivers of tree trait effects on soil microbial biomass and soil carbon concentration
  23. Feedback Systems
  24. Leaf Nutritional Content, Tree Richness, and Season Shape the Caterpillar Functional Trait Composition Hosted by Trees
  25. Thinking with Diagrams
  26. Does Carbon Disclosure Drive Carbon Performance