Education for entrepreneurship and innovation: “Management capabilities for sustainable growth and success”
| Pages | 1-18 |
| Published date | 01 March 2011 |
| Date | 01 March 2011 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/20425961201000001 |
| Author | Michael Lewrick,Maktoba Omar,Robert Raeside,Klaus Sailer |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management |
World Journal of Enterprenuership, Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 6, Nos. 1/2, 2010
1
Copyright © 2010 WASD
Abstract: Entrepreneurship and innovation education has derived from
established university curriculum and the context is set of concepts and tools used
in the corporate world. The challenge of transforming a start-up company into a
business success needs different capabilities. It goes beyond the development of
an idea and writing-up a comprehensive business plan. This study analysed over
200 technology-driven companies which have been created under the formal
requirement of a business plan competition since 1996. The objective was
to identify drivers for innovation and success. From the results, an agenda of
entrepreneurial and innovation education was derived and is discussed.
Keywords: entrepreneurship education; innovation management; business plan
writing; management capabilities; continuous learning.
Michael Lewrick1 , Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Maktoba Omar*2, Edinburgh Napier University, UK
Robert Raeside3, Edinburgh Napier University, UK
Klaus Sailer4, Strascheg Centre for Entrepreneurship, Germany
EDUCATION FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
AND INNOVATION: “MANAGEMENT
CAPABILITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE
GROWTH AND SUCCESS”
INTRODUCTION
Innovation and entrepreneurship are vital
for a flourishing economy. Innovation is
the production, diffusion and use of new
and economically useful knowledge, a
key factor for competitiveness and growth
while entrepreneurship the process of
business start-up, business creation and
growth, the entrepreneurial dynamism
is key to economic renewal and growth.
Stimulating entrepreneurship and practical
invention should play a central role in the
development of business and industry in
our society. Students have to be aware of the
importance of these drivers for prosperity
which create the values and workplaces of
the future. Hence it has become important
1 Department of Business Administration, Munich University of Applied Sciences, Am Stadtpark 20, 81243
München, Germany, e-mail: MLewrick@aol.com
2* School of Marketing, Tourism and Languages, Napier University Business School, Craiglockhart Campus,
Edinburgh, EH14 1DJ, e-mail: m.omar@napier.ac.uk
3 School of Management, Craiglockhart Campus, Napier University Business School, Edinburgh, EH14 1DJ,
e-mail: r.raeside@napier.ac.uk
4 Strascheg Centre for Entrepreneurship, Schachenmeierstr. 35, 80636 Munich, Germany,
e-mail: klaus.sailer@sce-web.de
2 M. Lewrick, M. Omar, Robert R. and K. Sailer
in our knowledge society to guide the
human capital in form of management
capabilities, know-how, and inventive talent
to foster entrepreneurship and continuous
innovation. A report of the European
Commission (2008) on entrepreneurship
in higher education highlighted the
importance of entrepreneurship education
and the need to develop entrepreneurial
capacities and mindset along learners.
Further the report revealed that there is a
gap between the current teaching methods
used and those that are recognised as the
most effective and relevant. In this paper
we aim to show how this gap can be
bridged.
Well known indicators of economic
success are: firm entry and exit (turnover),
and firm survival and growth. However, the
survival and growth curve of new ventures in
Europe often span fairly short periods and
it seems that some entrepreneurs are not
equipped with the capabilities to run and
grow businesses in a sustainable way. We
have observed since the late 1990 the dot-
com bubble bursting, a hype establishing
bio-technology companies and lately a run
of launching businesses in the arena of web
2.0. Companies tend to be established in
areas where growth is promised in a short
timeframe, encouraged by VCs, Business
Angels and strong media influence who
look for a quick return on investment.
How many dot-com’s have survived? How
many companies had the right talent on
board to steer the company in turbulent
times and the capabilities to undergo
processes of continuous change? Useem
(2001) categorised for example the dot-com
business founders as ‘opportuneurs’ rather
than entrepreneurs. The ‘opportuneurs’
objectives are different, decoupling wealth
from contribution, replacing risk taking
with risk faking, and exploiting external
resources instead of following inner vision.
More and more companies are
incubators which found their origin within
university infrastructures triggered by
university business plan competitions and
supplementary centres of entrepreneurship.
Therefore entrepreneurial education must be
two fold: Firstly, it is important to learn from
successful entrepreneurs and enterprises, to
develop this knowledge and transfer it into
education processes. Secondly, learners need
to have contact to founders of companies
which faced the challenges of starting and
growing a business, which failed, changed or
succeed with their vision.
The aim of this paper is to challenge the
context of entrepreneurship and innovation
education. We build our arguments in step
with actual practice analysing data from over
200 innovative companies which have been
created under the formal requirements of a
regional business plan competition between
1997 and 2007. This study explores the crucial
capabilities to start an innovative business
and discuss the capabilities have to be
developed to sustain innovation and business
growth. In this study entrepreneurship is of
relevance to successfully manage innovation
and growth and these two facets should
be seen as combined than distinct. Many
entrepreneurship programmes consider
often the start-up aspect, while neglecting the
capabilities and knowledge needed to manage
the growth phase of small enterprises.
Therefore, it can be hypothesised that
entrepreneurship and innovation education
provided by Universities, Centres for
Entrepreneurship and through coaching by
Business Plan Competitions should focus
on building awareness for the necessity
of innovations and prepare inventors,
entrepreneurs and students for not simply
starting an enterprise but the change process
in growing companies. The questions are not
of whether or not to educate people about
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