Both assessment of the physical, economic and social impacts of enlargement and monitoring the implementation of policy directives are vital to future European Union operation. This paper investigates tourism development within relatively underdeveloped regions within Ireland and Poland, and it suggests implications for tourism operations. Comparison is made between product and service offerings in both regions. Strong similarities exist between the profiles of operators, operator motivations differ, and business diversification depends on regional resources and dependency on tourism markets. The level of diversification ultimately determines rural tourism development. The value of using Ireland as a reference model for Polish development and critical issues for tourism advisors and policy makers are discussed.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the approach to embedding entrepreneurship within third level education in Northern Ireland by assessing the perceptions of lecturers and learners and monitoring the effectiveness of teaching methods.Design/methodology/approachSurveys and focus groups were conducted with lecturers and learners from different disciplines as part of a pilot investigation under the Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT) with a view to establishing a longitudinal study.FindingsEvidence suggests that NICENT has increased interest and positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland. E‐learning can meet high demand, intensive programmes are equally effective in improving the skills set. Entrepreneurship education needs sub‐sequential support.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provided preliminary findings for entrepreneurship teachings in different disciplines. Further dissecting of lecturer/learner analyses by course/year etc. is possible. Effectiveness could be assessed through graduate behaviours in the future in order to build longitudinal data.Practical implicationsThe results prove that lecturers/learners are willing to embrace new subjects (entrepreneurship for scientists) and new teaching methods when blended with traditional approaches. Whilst WebCT environment can facilitate a comfortable action‐learning zone, entrepreneurship education needs personalisation and industry engagement.Originality/valueThe study reports from the developing face within Northern Ireland and provides insightful observations of new subject adoption, the learner's curve and changing cultural attitudes within tertiary education.
Purpose -Entrepreneurship can refer to business start-up, but now sometimes has wider connotations. This paper aims to explore what entrepreneurship means for the promoters of entrepreneurship education and what might be appropriate for the students who consume it. Design/methodology/approach -The paper assesses the work of NICENT (The Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship) in the University of Ulster in its approach to addressing the requirements of both its funders and its consumers. Findings -Funders often want to pursue entrepreneurship as part of a business creation agenda but even the word "entrepreneurship" can be off-putting to students. NICENT, therefore, asked not "How to teach entrepreneurship?" but "What do students need?" As a result NICENT broadened its approach from "enterprise for new venture creation" to "enterprise for life". This, NICENT believed, was more appropriate to the needs of the majority of students and was a foundation on which "enterprise for new venture creation" could later be built. Practical implications -NICENT funders had an economic development focus, and wanted to see new high-growth businesses. However, to spread entrepreneurship education throughout the university, NICENT had to "sell" its services to university staff and, in turn, to their students: who want respectively to deliver and receive an enhancement to future life and work effectiveness. Originality/value -This paper explores the different requirements of the various stakeholders involved in entrepreneurship education and considers the need to reconcile them.
PurposeWith the unbridled demand for entrepreneurship in higher education, the purpose of this paper is to identify how pedagogy can inhibit students in making the transition to graduate entrepreneurship. Along the way, the concept of what and who is a graduate entrepreneur is challenged.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reports upon the pragmatic development of enterprise programmes in Ireland and Australia. Despite different starting points, a convergence of purpose as to what can be realistically expected of enterprise education has emerged.FindingsThis study reinforces the shift away from commercialisation strategies associated with entrepreneurial action towards developing essential life skills as core to any university programme and key to developing entrepreneurial capacity among students. Despite similar government intervention, university policy and student demand for practical‐based entrepreneurial learning in both cases, graduates tend not to engage in immediate entrepreneurial action due to the lack of fit between their programme of study and individual resource profiles, suggesting that graduate entrepreneurship is more than child's play.Practical implicationsThere are practical implications for educationalists forced to consider the effectiveness of their enterprise teachings, and cautionary evidence for those charged with providing support services for graduates.Originality/valueGiven the evolutionary approaches used at the University of Tasmania to develop students as “reasonable adventurers” and at the University of Ulster to develop “the enterprising mindset” the paper presents evidence of the need to allow students the opportunity to apply entrepreneurial learning to their individual life experiences in order to reasonably venture into entrepreneurial activity.
PurposeAgainst a backdrop of global economic recession, high production costs and increased international competition, the performance, survival and growth of small businesses is high on the global political agenda. However, like many other nations, Ireland is lagging behind in terms of a co‐ordinated approach to the specific challenge of supporting women‐owned ventures, hence possibly reducing their opportunity to act as economic agents. Based on a review of growth‐oriented support programmes for women in business in Ireland, this short viewpoint seeks to identifiy a number of gaps in the current support system and to propose a range of possible alternative intervention strategies that the authors believe can help facilitate business growth.Design/methodology/approachUsing secondary data, a review of the current government support programmes was carried out. Further, evidence obtained through an in‐depth qualitative study of 33 women entrepreneurs in Ireland and Northern Ireland which identified a number of specific barriers inhibiting the development of these firms was used.FindingsThe analysis of current government practices revealed that whilst women are making progress in starting more businesses in Ireland, the current statistics indicate that they still tend to start small and stay small. This points towards a need to reassess and understand the issue of growth among women entrepreneurs and, in doing so, develop new mechanisms that can have real impact on growth‐oriented women‐owned firms whilst also respecting and supporting those who choose not to grow their business. The qualitative study identified a number of specific barriers, which hinder the development of their firms. These included financial, regulatory and employability challenges; a lack of management skills and confidence. Motherhood and personal goals were also found to be inhibiting factors for women entrepreneurs.Practical implicationsThe paper proposes a number of possible government and personal intervention strategies to overcome the identified barriers. These include encouraging lending within the small growth sectors, conducting a regional skills audit, reducing the administration and paperwork associated with trading and accessing support and develop customised training and up‐skilling designed to meet the specific needs of women entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThe paper argues that government agencies in Ireland must now act on the evidence provided and confront the issues affecting women entrepreneurs.
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