Success Through Failure: Towards a Problem-Based Approach to Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Investments in entrepreneurial education have failed to develop educational programming that increases entrepreneurial activity. We hypothesize that foundational issues reside within the pedagogical approaches used in entrepreneurial education programming specifically as it relates to millennial students. Using the theory of planned behavior as a theoretical framework, we investigated the effectiveness of process-based learning such as courses that focus on developing business plans and models against problem-based learning that uses action-learning methodologies in the development and delivery of an Introduction Entrepreneurship course. We use both within-group and between-group research designs. We collected data at three points: at the start of the course (T1), mid-term (T2), and the end (T3). Results support our hypothesis. First, after exposing students to the challenges of entrepreneurship in the problem-based course that there is a statistically significant decrease in attitudes, subjective norms, perception of behavioral control, and intention to become an entrepreneur at midsemester (T2) and that scores will rebound by T3. Second, the students in the process-based course will have a statistically significant decline in attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions after the course. Implications for the design of entrepreneurship curricula are presented and discussed.

The Differential Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on the Entrepreneurial Intentions of Segments of Students

“…Current explanations for inconsistent findings concerning EI, self-efficacy, and attitudes include methodological, contextual, and conceptual differences among the studies (e.g., Dobson et al, 2019;Martin et al, 2013). Fayolle et al (2006b) suggest what may really be going on is that both effects and counter-effects of EE co-exist within cohorts of students, such that students with different entrepreneurial predispositions may be influenced differently through their EE experiences.…”

The Entrepreneurial Landscape and Impacts of Covid-19

“…What we do know, is that many small businesses and industries, government entities, and economies-in fact the entire global economy-has been hit hard; individuals in all walks of life have tried to adapt; some have failed to do so altogether, and others have demonstrated resiliency to some degree or another. We also know that history has demonstrated that there is often opportunity in times of adversity (Bacq, Geoghegan, Josefy, Stevenson, & Williams, 2020;Dobson, Nieto, Dobson, & Ochoa, 2019;Greene & Rosiello, 2020).…”

The Entrepreneurial Landscape and Impacts of Covid-19

“…What we do know, is that many small businesses and industries, government entities, and economies-in fact the entire global economy-has been hit hard; individuals in all walks of life have tried to adapt; some have failed to do so altogether, and others have demonstrated resiliency to some degree or another. We also know that history has demonstrated that there is often opportunity in times of adversity (Bacq, Geoghegan, Josefy, Stevenson, & Williams, 2020;Dobson, Nieto, Dobson, & Ochoa, 2019;Greene & Rosiello, 2020).…”