Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset: A typology for aligning instructional strategies with three dominant entrepreneurial mindset conceptualizations

Abstract

Entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions (HEIs) increasingly aims at fostering an entrepreneurial mindset (EM) in students. However, large heterogeneity exists in conceptualizations of EM. This is a challenge for educators as it is difficult to develop instructional strategies to foster students’ EM when there is no clarity about what this mindset is. The purpose of the article is to address this challenge. It does so by analysing and synthesizing current literature in the field of entrepreneurship education in HEIs and develops a taxonomy that depicts three dominant conceptualizations of EM, their theoretical origins and the type of attributes typically associated with each conceptualization. The article goes beyond the integrative literature review by reflecting on the consequences for the design of entrepreneurship education of the simultaneous existence of these three dominant conceptualizations. The author develops a typology for aligning instructional strategies with the EM conceptualizations and thus contributes to practice by providing a better understanding of how to achieve coherence between learning outcomes and instructional choices. The article advances the field’s conceptual knowledge about EM and thereby facilitates future theory generation.

Educación universitaria y habilidades para el emprendimiento: el caso de una universidad pública mexicana

“…El EM se considera como un marco para apoyar el desarrollo de capacidades cognitivas y emocionales multidimensionales, competencias y resultados de comportamiento que permitan fomentar una posible actividad emprendedora en una variedad de contextos, no solamente aquellas directamente relacionadas con la creación de una empresa; sino también bajo la forma de intraemprendimiento, empleados que se consideran emprendedores al explotar una área de oportunidad dentro una organización, eventos que pueden suceder en el corto o mediano plazo, mecanismos de creación de valor más amplios (Larsen, 2022), desarrollo de las habilidades "necesarias para vivir una vida productiva, incluso si uno no inicia un negocio" (Neck y Corbett, 2018, p. 10).…”

Challenges of Educating for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Role of the Higher Education Institutions

“…Entrepreneurship does not have a unified and accepted definition. Entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions (HEIs) increasingly aims at fostering an entrepreneurial mindset (EM) in students (Larsen, 2022). Diverse theories have described entrepreneurship differently as dynamic change, novel combinations, exploiting opportunities, innovation, price arbitrage, risk, uncertainty, ownership, new venture formation, asymmetries of information, superior decision-making, personality traits, monopoly formation, or something else.…”

Exploring the Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Mindsets and Business Success: Implications for Entrepreneurship Education

“…Entrepreneurial mindset is a mindset that includes the attitudes, values, and skills needed to become a successful entrepreneur (Daspit et al, 2023). An entrepreneurial mindset is not only important for starting a new business, but also for managing an existing business (Larsen, 2022).…”