Dissertations / Theses: 'Challenges of entrepreneurship education'

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Ritter, von Marx Susanne [Verfasser]. "Identifying Domain-Specific Challenges for Entrepreneurship Education Programs – Empirical Analyses / Susanne Ritter von Marx." München : Verlag Dr. Hut, 2018. http://d-nb.info/1168535042/34.

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Steenekamp, André Gerard. "An assessment of the impact of entrepreneurship training on the youth in South Africa / A.G. Steenekamp." Thesis, North-West University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/9698.

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At the bottom tip of the African continent lies South Africa – the economic powerhouse of the continent complimented by its rainbow nation with a myriad of cultures and even more opportunities, but an equal number of pressing challenges: Poverty, inequality, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, a shortage of skilled people (or rather a surplus of unskilled people), poor quality of basic education, unemployment, and of particular importance for this study, youth unemployment. In September 2011 more than 1.3 million young South Africans aged 15 to 24 years were unemployed, and 1.85 million aged 25 to 34 years were without jobs. Combined these figures represented 71 percent of total unemployment in the third quarter of 2011. As a result, the problem statement central to this study is the expectation that the poor quality of general (basic) education and the lack of purposive entrepreneurship education and training in South African schools will continue to contribute towards high levels of youth unemployment and poverty, as well as the proliferation of dysfunctional communities and increased levels of state dependency among a large part of the country’s population. This study set out in search of answers – answers to questions regarding the impact of entrepreneurship training on the youth in South Africa as the primary objective and the potential for entrepreneurship to serve as the panacea for many of the country’s ills. The end result is a rendering of more than three years of intensive research culminating in valid conclusions and practical, attainable recommendations to promote entrepreneurial activity in the country. The study examines the theories and definitions of entrepreneurship and concludes that entrepreneurship is a combination of opportunity and risk in the presence of extraordinary levels of ‘want’ (desire) to promote self-interest, whether it being monetary reward or the attainment of personal fulfilment, as the main motivational factor driving entrepreneurial behaviour (Schumpeterian theory). The contemporary challenges facing South Africa are expounded to create a platform for the presentment of entrepreneurship as the ‘magical genie’, captured in the ‘bottle’ that is mainly the small and medium sized enterprise (SME) sector in the country, and capable of redressing many of the country’s ills by empowering the youth to take both charge of and responsibility for their own future. The concomitant discussion shows that the ‘genie’ is held firmly in the confines of its ‘bottle’ by barriers obstructing the free flow of an enterprising spirit, confirming that the release of an enterprising spirit among South Africans faces many obstacles to be overcome before the ‘genie’ can be released successfully to work its ‘magic’. The concept of entrepreneurship education is examined to determine whether it is a reality or a myth. The discussion concludes that entrepreneurship is indeed a learnt phenomenon – it can be taught successfully. It is put forward that it can only be deemed a reality to the extent in which measurable evidence of its positive impact on learners exists. This conclusion sets the tone for the empirical research in later chapters by questioning the capacity for effective entrepreneurship education in South Africa. The empirical research conducted for this study includes a pilot study and a national main study focused on examining the impact of entrepreneurship training on young learners in South African secondary schools. It is based upon the attitudinal and intentional approaches to entrepreneurship research and employs six validated entrepreneurship surveys suitable for use with young individuals to respectively measure entrepreneurial attitudes, entrepreneurial intentions, general enterprising tendencies, subjective personal wellbeing, adaptive cognition and innovation skills. A total of 342 learners from secondary schools in the Harrismith region (Free State province) participated in the pilot study, followed by 898 respondents in the pre-testing phase and 751 in the post test phase of the AEG-3 main study and 910 respondents in the pre-testing phase and 749 in the post test phase of the PMY-3 main study. Participants in the main study originated from seven of the nine provinces of South Africa and were mainly female black Africans aged 15 to 17 years attending grades 10 and 11 at secondary schools. The datasets gathered from both the AEG-3 and PMY-3 studies were subjected to extensive statistical analyses by Statistical Consultation Services of the North-West University (Potchefstroom campus). The results lead to the conclusion that the Mini-Enterprise Programme (MEP) of Junior Achievement South Africa (JASA) did not have any visible or practically significant impact on the entrepreneurial attitudes, entrepreneurial intentions, subjective personal wellbeing, adaptive cognition and innovation skills of learners in either of the two samples examined in the empirical research project. This conclusion reaffirms the challenges and barriers associated with releasing the spirit of enterprise among the South African youth. Although entrepreneurship can be taught effectively, it is dependent on long-term strategies providing adequate support to learners with the attitude and aptitude to become competent entrepreneurs, as well as suitable methods for continuous assessment and improvement. It further demands entrepreneurial learning enhanced by an extended period of deliberate practice (the ‘Eureka’-factor proposed in this study) flowing from ‘want’ (desire) on the part of the learner to have any chance of being truly effective. The study concludes that content and methodology borrowed from other countries may not be suited for the South African context. This conclusion exclaims the need for purposive South African entrepreneurship education and training programmes assessed with purposive South African entrepreneurship measuring scales. These conclusions are subsequently used to formulate practical and attainable recommendations for the promotion of effective youth entrepreneurship education and training in the country, including the need to get rid of high expectations, to never give up, stricter selection of learners for enrolment in entrepreneurship education and training programmes (other than those included in basic education), the need for continuous research, embracing the ‘power of one’, and finally, adopting an entrepreneurial solution for what is evidently an entrepreneurial problem. The outcome of this study brings forward the message that the challenge in South Africa is to create entrepreneurs, not young people with the capacity to perform entrepreneurial tricks. True entrepreneurs are not ordinary people, regardless of whether they are born or ‘made’. Although entrepreneurship can be learnt by any person, it takes a very special kind of ‘want’ (desire), determination and practise to become a successful entrepreneur, and even more ‘want’, determination and practise to become an expert entrepreneur.
Thesis (PhD (Business Administration))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

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Konayuma, Gabriel Syantema. "A study of the enablers and challenges in the implementation of e-learning policies in technical education, vocational and entrepreneurship training colleges in Zambia." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20063.

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This study investigated the enablers and challenges in the implementation of e-Learning policies in public technical education, vocational and entrepreneurship training (TEVET) institutions under the Ministry responsible for Vocational Education and Training in Zambia. The aim of this study was to explore how implementation of e-Learning policies in a developing context could be enhanced so as to lead to improved access to TEVET. The study was guided by the following research questions: what knowledge do managers and lecturers have of e-Learning; what are the key enablers and challenges in implementing e-Learning policy; what criteria do individuals/institutions use to make the decision to adopt or reject e-Learning innovations and how are decisions made in the implementation of e-Learning in the TEVET sector. The study used the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory to answer the main research question in the study. The theory was used to gain insights into TVET implementers and policy makers motivations and actions. The study was qualitative with seven (7) individuals interviewed. In the study, interviews of TEVET managers and lecturers were conducted to provide the data required to answer the research questions.

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Imedashvili, Sopiko, Ani Kekua, and Polina Ivchenko. "Rural Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Opportunities." Thesis, Högskolan i Jönköping, Internationella Handelshögskolan, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-21482.

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According to World Bank Report published in 2012, the rural population in Sweden is 15.3 %. Rural population is calculated as difference between total populations minus urban population. 15.3 % clearly shows how important rural areas are for Sweden’s future development. Entrepreneurship plays the integral role in rural area development. However, earlier research has shown only economic perspective of rural development. On the other hand, the new ways to discover the challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs in small firms were needed.

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Nsengimana, Simon. "Challenges to women entrepreneurship in Kigali, Rwanda." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2589.

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Thesis (MTech (Business Administration (Entrepreneurship))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017.
Given good conditions, women can run businesses, support their families and the community, and contribute to economic growth. The lack of women’s involvement in entrepreneurship is a huge loss to the nation and society. Women make up 51.83% of the population in Rwanda, but are underrepresented in business – largely due to social customs, religion, and cultural beliefs. Society perceives women as too weak to conduct business, and prefers them to be confined to housekeeping activities and dependency on men. Interestingly, literature indicates that involving women in entrepreneurial activities help. Despite this, women in Rwanda have broken the barrier and started up business. However, they face many challenges; their businesses remain small scale compared to their counterparts. The aim of this study is to determine the challenges experienced by women entrepreneurs in Kigali. This research is significant because it attempts to identify the challenges to entrepreneurship in Kigali, by allowing the voices of women entrepreneurs to be heard. The study uses a quantitative descriptive approach. The target population was women in formal and informal business in the districts of Gasabo, Kicukiro, and Nyarugenge in the city of Kigali. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from 398 women entrepreneurs after obtaining their informed written consent. The data was analysed using recent Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. Findings were interpreted and discussed in a numerical narrative featuring frequency, percent, valid percent, cumulative percent, mean, and standard deviation. The results show that women entrepreneurs in Kigali experience more challenges, among others including: High shop rentals, lack of start-up capital, lack of collateral to obtain a loan, high taxes, high interest rate and high transport, and a lack of information technology skills. This study has uncovered that women entrepreneurs face a lot of challenges while running their business in Kigali. Fortunately, the solution is within reach. For instance, women entrepreneurs themselves, family, society, government, stakeholder, and researchers should work together to eradicate these challenges. Women entrepreneurs should work together in cooperatives to minimise shop rentals, possible access to capital and so forth. In addition, they can leverage their experience and know-how.

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Gutoi, Paula Antonia, and Ifra Abbas. "Student entrepreneurship in Sweden : Motivation & Challenges." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för organisation och entreprenörskap (OE), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-104677.

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Entrepreneurship today is an attractive option for future graduates due to various perks and benefits. However, there are also challenges and disadvantages that come with being an entrepreneur. This study is aimed at investigating the motivating factors and challenges that student entrepreneurs are facing when starting their own business in Sweden. For this study, a qualitative approach is chosen, and semi-structured interviews are used on six student entrepreneurs that live in Sweden. The results are analyzed by using thematic analysis and the study concluded that student entrepreneurs are motivated by the desire of independence, flexible schedules, following family traditions or parental self-employment, the desire to turn their hobby into a money-making enterprise, creativity, the fear of unemployment, social status, motivating others, personal skills and entrepreneurial capabilities. Moreover, the study also discovered three new motivational factors such as support from their previous employer, influence from friends and other people on the internet and the desire to experience new and exciting things. When it comes to challenges, student entrepreneurs are facing difficulties such as lack of resources, being a student while running a business, lack of networks, lack of knowledge, lack of entrepreneurial and administrative skills, lack of support from family/ business partner, lack of legal/formal help, negative personality traits and dealing with tax systems. Furthermore, two new challenges are also identified in the study that are the lack of credibility and the cultural differences and language barriers.

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Mansberger, Paul, and Filip Projic. "Survival Challenges of Environmental Entrepreneurs." Thesis, Högskolan i Jönköping, Internationella Handelshögskolan, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-39687.

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Environmental entrepreneurs are considered to be important drivers for an environmentally sustainable development. As other entrepreneurs, they face survival challenges while operating their businesses. Due to the increased importance of environmental entrepreneurs in counteracting environmental issues we argue that it is necessary to gain an understanding of their specific challenges of survival. In this thesis, we build theory based on environmental venture cases located in Sweden. We provide an extensive overview of the current literature and contribute by identifying an institutional dimension being of high relevance in this field. Our findings are of particular interest for policy makers, public institutions, environmental entrepreneurs and their advisors. Additionally, we provide further necessary access to this relatively new research field and suggest future research directions.

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Gherhes, Cristian. "The challenges of entrepreneurship in peripheral post-industrial places." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2018. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/20317/.

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The UK has a long history of spatial disparity in economic prosperity across its regions which, despite periodic shifts in its geographies of economic development governance, have persisted. As such, a key question that continues to preoccupy economic geographers is why some local and regional economies are more capable of renewal and transformation than others which remain locked in decline or underperformance. Research has hitherto highlighted the importance of ‘place’ and institutional context in shaping the outcomes of economic development. At the same time, the role of entrepreneurship as an engine of economic development is widely acknowledged, yet there is significant heterogeneity in the nature and level of entrepreneurial activity across places, with previous research highlighting the key role of institutions in shaping its outcomes. The thesis addresses these debates through a focus on entrepreneurship in peripheral post-industrial places (PPIPs), with the aim of examining the institutional challenges to fostering more entrepreneurial and resilient PPIPs.

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KURZ, ELISA. "Analysis on fashion design entrepreneurship : Challenges and supporting models." Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Textilhögskolan, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-20115.

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Entrepreneurship in the fashion industry is a substantial issue since the fashionbusiness landscape consists of many small actors that compete on the fashion market.On their way to a distinct position in the textile and fashion world, many fashion designentrepreneurs, who start up an own label, are confronted with personal challenges anda multitude of external obstacles. These companies need a structured venture launchand strong business foundations to survive the always troublesome first years of a newentrepreneurial venture. To run a sustained venture within the apparel industry may bemore complex and demanding than one would believe. In the fashion sector severalconcepts exist in order to support entrepreneurial companies’ growth. Three selectedsupportive concepts received by fashion entrepreneurs at early stage have beenexamined and analysed. The supportive models are business incubators for creativeentrepreneurs, the partnership of a designer and business partner and the concept ofan external professional management.
Program: Magisterutbildning i fashion management med inriktning modemarknadsföring

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Agbenyegah, Albert Tchey. "Challenges facing rural entrepreneurship in selected areas in South Africa." Thesis, North-West University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/9493.

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South Africa, unlike other developing countries, is classified as one of the best performing economies in Africa. Unfortunately the economic growth of the country continue to be limited by the general constraints of the small business sector, due to challenges of skills such as managerial skills, lack of global competition and the weak entrepreneurial performance. The primary objective of the study is to investigate the influence of selected challenges on the perceived success of entrepreneurship and small businesses within selected rural areas. The primary objective is aided by other secondary objectives including understanding the concept of entrepreneurship and the identification and assessment of entrepreneurial challenges, amongst others. The study was conducted using the quantitative process with main focus to identify the challenges that limit entrepreneurship in the study areas of John Taolo Gaetsewe and Frances Baard District Municipalities of the Northern Cape Province. Drawing from the findings of the study, an integrated framework was designed to improve rural entrepreneurship and small businesses. The study identified the dependent and independent variables of typical, business and operational, personal and specific challenges. From the empirical study, it emerged that these challenges bear significant relationship to entrepreneurial success. An exploratory factor analysis research was conducted using a convenience sample of 282 owner-managers of small businesses to gather relevant data. Besides, a 7- point Likert scale was distributed to owner-managers (entrepreneurs) of small businesses for data. It was revealed that most of the respondents’, who operated most businesses as a sole proprietorship, were male. The majority of the owner- managers (entrepreneurs) ranged between 40 to 49 years old. Most of the small businesses (63.82%) are established in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality. It further emerged that only 10.28% of respondents were aged between 20 to 29 years. There is the need to embark on serious entrepreneurial education for the youth in South Africa. Generally, most of the owner-managers (entrepreneurs) received some formal level of education; data indicated that 23.05% received matric education whilst 22.70% received education that was below the matric level; 18.09% qualified as diplomats and 7.09% received education as university graduates. The empirical study further indicated that most of the small businesses offered full-time employment opportunities to between four to six employees. According to the report, most of the small businesses are able to survive only for a maximum period of 6 years; the annual turnover of these businesses ranged from R30 000 to R50 000. Throughout the study, all the requirements and the criteria set for a credible study were met. Thus it was possible to realise that the primary and secondary objectives that were set initially for this study were satisfied. As a result, this study provides the owner-managers (entrepreneurs) with different forms of challenges that impact on entrepreneurial activities within rural communities. Drawing from the empirical study, it was also possible to highlight specific recommendations that can be utilised to enhance entrepreneurial success.
Thesis (PhD (Business Administration))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

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KURZ, ELISA. "Challenges for fashion design entrepreneurship : a study of supporting models." Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Textilhögskolan, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-20138.

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Entrepreneurship in the fashion industry is a substantial issue since the fashion business landscape consists of many small actors that compete on the fashion market. On their way to a distinct position in the textile and fashion world, many fashion design entrepreneurs, who start up an own label, are confronted with personal challenges and a multitude of external obstacles. These companies need a structured venture launch and strong business foundations to survive the always troublesome first years of a new entrepreneurial venture. To run a sustained venture within the apparel industry may be more complex and demanding than one would believe. In the fashion sector several concepts exist in order to support entrepreneurial companies’ growth. Three selected supportive concepts received by fashion entrepreneurs at early stage have been examined and analysed. The supportive models are business incubators for creative entrepreneurs, the partnership of a designer and business partner and the concept of an external professional management.
Program: Magisterutbildning i fashion management med inriktning modemarknadsföring

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Gwija, Saphetha Appie. "Challenges and prospects of youth entrepreneurship in Khayelitsha, Western Cape." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/1788.

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Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Business Administration (Entrepreneurship) in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014
The world’s population continues to grow, while job creation opportunities shrink, particularly among young people. Youth unemployment is among key global challenges that may continue to persist for many years. Recently, the unemployment rate among youth in South Africa was estimated at 70 percent. This could mean that thousands and thousands of young people are living under poverty conditions in this country, which may result in a generation of poverty if this position remains unobserved. Interestingly, entrepreneurship has been adopted world over as a strategic approach to facilitate economic participation among youth. Their engagement in entrepreneurship helps them to achieve economic independence, increase their self-esteem, improve their standards of living, to reduce their dependence on state welfare and improve their emotional intelligence. At the same time, job creation opportunities and a decline in criminal activities as a result of unemployment, will ensure development of economic growth. Despite the above mentioned entrepreneurship benefits, youth in Khayelitsha, where this study is based, may be reluctant in pursuing careers in entrepreneurship, owing to inadequate entrepreneurship development services among them, which appear to the case. The objectives of this study were to find out specific factors that discourage the youth from pursuing entrepreneurship careers, to investigate particular challenges that inhibit expansion of their entrepreneurial ventures, and to describe specific prospects of youth entrepreneurship development in Khayelitsha. The current study adopted a descriptive research design. A quantitative empirical research approach was employed with the help of self-administered questionnaires. A sample of 132 subjects was randomly drawn from a population of 200 youth entrepreneurs who operate and are formally registered as SMMEs within various industries that are registered on the database of a local organisation known as Khayelitsha Youth In Business (KYIB), which promotes and develops entrepreneurship among youth in Khayelitsha. The data that was collected from participants of the current study was captured and analysed with the help of a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, based on 77 questionnaires that were returned. The findings were illustrated in tables, bars and pie charts, and the objectives of the study were achieved. It was found that it was not the case that young people in Khayelitsha do not want to pursue careers in entrepreneurship, but rather it was that youth entrepreneurship development is lacking in this community. The current study also revealed that a major factor that inhibits youth entrepreneurship development was the lack of awareness and inaccessibility of entrepreneurship support structures and initiatives in this community. Interestingly though, this hindrance does not appear to have a negative bearing on the identified growing enthusiasm of youth to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Overall, on the basis of the challenges and prospects revealed, recommendations to improve the current situation were made. This study is an applied research effort and its relevance is linked to the fact that it provides a rare insight into the state of youth entrepreneurship in a large but under-researched township community in the Western Cape. The findings and recommendations therefore bear far-reaching ramifications for all stakeholders who are concerned about developing youth entrepreneurship in this society.

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Bamfo, Bylon. "Capacity building for entrepreneurship development in Ghana : prospects and challenges." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2013. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/365673/.

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Entrepreneurship development is vitally important for the growth and development of all nations. Thus developing countries must put the necessary measures in place to ensure the growth and development of the small business sector. The overarching aim the study was to investigate the prospects and challenges of building the capacities of owner managers and/or entrepreneurs for growth and development. Purposive random sampling technique was used to collect data from forty-one owner managers and nineteen officials of enterprise support organisations. Data collection tools were interviews, documentary analysis and focus group. The main findings of the study were that enterprise support organisations have bespoke programmes aimed at supporting small businesses in Ghana. These programmes were mainly training and financial support. The key challenge they face is the poor attitude of owner managers to their programmes. It was also revealed that the some of the owner managers find it difficult accessing the programmes of the enterprise support organisations because of problems such as inadequate awareness creations, commercialization of training programmes, high cost of accessing finance among others. Apart from these challenges, it was realised that many other challenges such as poor national infrastructure, poor attitude of employees, high rent charges and stiff competition from foreign products. However, the study realised that the owner managers have put measures in place to deal with these challenges in order to survive. It was therefore commended among other things that there should be a central body responsible for the coordination of all activities which are geared towards the development of entrepreneurship. Thus the study contributes to knowledge by developed a framework for entrepreneurship development in Ghana and the developing world. Moreover, there is the application of institutional theory to the study of entrepreneurship development in Ghana, which is unprecedented.

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Roza, Mafalda Correia Larroudé Trigo da. "Mozambikes – The challenges of growth." Master's thesis, NSBE - UNL, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/11610.

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A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
Mozambikes is a Mozambican social enterprise founded in 2009, whose mission is to “transform the lives of rural Mozambicans by providing higher quality bicycles at low market prices throughout the country.”1 The idea of Mozambikes resulted from a roadtrip, in which Lauren and Rui came across many rural Mozambicans walking and carrying heavy burdens on foot. They realized that bicycles would provide a quicker and safer way to reach the cities and improve their standard of living. The co-founders have therefore designed an innovative business model that allows them to accomplish their mission. In December 2011 the first order was dispatched and since then the social enterprise has gained recognition and has created three new business models, different from the initial one, in order to achieve a wider range of customers. At the end of 2012, 1,000 bicycles had been sold. During the next 6 years the co-founders want to expand in order to better achieve Mozambikes’ mission, producing 25,000 bicycles per year. To do this, they need to develop a strategic plan towards a scaling up process.

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Ghaibour, Rim. "Immigrant entrepreneurship challenges in Sweden. : Their obstacles, strategies, and proposed solutions." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för organisation och entreprenörskap (OE), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-104900.

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The wars in some Middle Eastern countries have played an essential role in increasingthe number of immigrants to Sweden in recent years. Some of these immigrants hadean entrepreneurial background in their home country. As former entrepreneurs, theyhave been seeking for opportunities since their arrival in Sweden in order to open theirown business. Our research focuses on the obstacles encountered by seven immigrants from theMiddle East with an entrepreneurial background after their stay in Sweden for at leastfive years, the measures they have taken and are taking to overcome these obstacles,and identifying their views and suggestions for needs. Alternatively, the solutionsneeded for them to overcome these obstacles and start their business. The researchaccording to the qualitative method, the research is conducted based on using the lifestory as a kind of semi-structured interviews to collect empirical data and to obtainwhat is unique in each story. The research was analyzed utilizing thematic analysisand interpretation of the interviewees' explanations. As for the strategies they undertook to overcome these obstacles, they were traditionaland similar to those undertaken by former immigrant entrepreneurs, such as ethnicentrepreneurship and networks, or new, such as early communication with businesssupport organizations, work, training and volunteer, and they showed great flexibilityto adapt and overcome obstacles. Their proposed needs were centred around teachingthe Swedish language and work culture during training or work, working with Swedish entrepreneurs, government support, tax cuts and government encouragementfor them, in addition to the need for effective support when establishing the companyand after incorporation, real analysis of the needs and increased police interest inimmigrant areas and facilitating their access to resources, suppliers and customers.Our group has shown great flexibility to adapt and overcome obstacles and be awareof the majority of obstacles that may arise as a result of ethnic entrepreneurship.

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Soepatini. "Entrepreneurship education in Indonesian higher education institutions." Thesis, Birmingham City University, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.633650.

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For a variety of socio-economic and educational reasons, Entrepreneurship Education has become a critical aspect of the Indonesian higher education system. Contemporary Indonesia is characterised by high levels of youth and adult unemployment, low rates of business competitiveness, lack of entrepreneurial skills amongst graduates and negative attitudes towards entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. Most universities in Indonesia that have adopted entrepreneurship education view it as a traditional subject, lacking innovation in its design, delivery and assessment. As a new phenomenon, entrepreneurship education remains an under-researched topic of academic endeavour. The aim of this study is to understand students' and faculty members' perceptions, aspirations and expectations as a basis for the development of entrepreneurship education models for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Indonesia. Developing models of entrepreneurship education specific to the Indonesian context is of great importance for those who are in charge of establishing this new type of education initiative. It also will benefit the Indonesian government as they can use these informed models to make effective decisions on entrepreneurship education policy. The purpose of this study is to discover the different ways students and faculty members conceptualise entrepreneurship education and the logical relationship between these various conceptions. Focussing on this structural framework has been proven to contribute to new understandings of entrepreneurship education field. The research study upon which this thesis is based has employed a phenomenographic approach to the collection, analysis and interpretation of primary data obtained from seven Indonesian HEIs, including seventy semistructured interviews with students and faculty members. To complement the phenomenographic approach, face-to-face interviews were carried out with a sample of seven members of senior management, one in each institution. Due to the relatively small sample size, interpretive analysis rather than phenomenography was employed to analyse the results of these interviews. iii There are a number of important results emerging from this research study. Students indicated more variation in the ways in which entrepreneurship education is being experienced. Interestingly, faculty members appear to share with students the ‘dimensions of variation’ upon which the ‘outcome space’ was constituted. Regarding respondents’ aspirations of entrepreneurship education, variations emerged between students and faculty members in relation to 'themes of expanding awareness'. Both sample groups, however, seemed to accept that preparing students to become successful entrepreneurs should be considered a common aspiration of students and staff involved in entrepreneurship education. In terms of expectations, students felt that a market-driven strategy would be the best way to enhance the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education. In contrast, faculty members highlighted the importance of being part of, and contributing to, an entrepreneurial university. Based upon the result of this research study, three models of entrepreneurship education have been identified in relation to Indonesian HEIs: (i) ‘Traditional University’; (ii) ‘Entrepreneurial University’; and, (iii) ‘Transitional University’. Students' and faculty members' perceptions, aspirations and expectations of entrepreneurship education are the basis upon which these models have been developed. These models offer an original and innovative perspective on how entrepreneurship education should be conceptualised in a higher education context, in developing countries in general and Indonesia in particular.

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Hoominfar, Elham. "Challenges of Monolingual Education." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1404055112.

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Youderian, Christopher J. "Essays on entrepreneurship and education." Diss., Kansas State University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/14068.

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Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Economics
Dong Li
The first essay tests whether the returns to education are different between entrepreneurs and regular employees. If the signaling model of education is correct, entrepreneurs should receive lower returns from education (relative to employees) because they have no need to signal their productivity to an employer. However, this result should only hold if the researcher is able to control for selection into self-employment and the endogeneity of ed- ucation. This is illustrated using a stylized model of signaling. The relationship between self-employment and the returns to education is tested using data from the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation. This rich panel dataset makes it possible to control for many business-specific characteristics, like business equity, that have been previously unaccounted for in the literature. Ordinary least squares regressions find the correlation between education and earnings to be weaker for entrepreneurs. To control for selection, I utilize a Heckman selection model using spousal health insurance and housing equity as instruments. It shows that selection biases downward the correlation between education and income for entrepreneurs. Finally, a fixed effects model is employed to control for any time invariant unobserved heterogeneity. This approach indicates that education is as valu- able, if not more valuable, to entrepreneurs as it is to employees. This does not support the signaling hypothesis. The finding is robust to different measures of entrepreneurial earnings. The second essay explores whether unemployed workers make successful transitions into self-employment. It is well established that unemployed workers are more likely to transition into self-employment than individuals coming from paid employment. A growing body of literature suggests that these formerly unemployed entrants tend to exit self-employment earlier than typical entrants. It is tempting to attribute this result to differences in ability between the two groups. However, using an adapted version of Frank (1988)’s Intertemporal Model of Industrial Exit, I show that this is not the case. In this model, entrants to self- employment receive noisy information about their true entrepreneurial ability from their earnings in the market. I show that low ability entrants to entrepreneurship should be no more likely to exit self-employment than high ability entrants to self-employment. This is because although low ability entrants will earn less as entrepreneurs, their outside wage in paid employment will also be proportionately lower. Survival in self-employment, therefore, is a function of how initial expectations match reality. This leads me to suggest that the high exit rates out of self-employment for the formerly unemployed may be because this group systematically overestimates their entrepreneurial ability at entry. This hypothesis is justified by evidence from the psychology literature that low ability individuals tend to overestimate their performance. Duration analysis on data from the 1996 and 2001 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation confirms that the formerly unemployed are more likely to exit self-employment. I also find preliminary evidence consistent with the hypothesis that the unemployed overestimate their likelihood of success in self-employment. These findings should give policymakers pause before incentivicing the unemployed to enter self-employment.

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Peric, Kristina, Maja Bergstrand, and Sofia Dahl. "THE CHALLENGES OF FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS OPERATING IN THE MIDDLE EAST : Group 33." Thesis, Jönköping University, Internationella Handelshögskolan, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-48732.

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Background The Middle East is a region that consists of 17 countries: Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Cyprus, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia (Pariona, 2020). Due to the persistent presence of old social and cultural structures, inequality remains a problem within the region. Every day, females in the region are faced with discrimination in various forms - something which becomes evident in the existing statistics, which show that only 28 percent of all females in the MENA region are economically active (Hattab, 2012). However, it has been possible to identify improvements within the development of society as well as in the work to counteract inequality. Hence, it becomes increasingly important to gain a greater understanding of the region as a whole as well as gain knowledge regarding the existing challenges that female entrepreneurs experience. Purpose The purpose of this research is to gain an understanding of the different challenges that female entrepreneurs face when launching, managing, and developing a business in the Middle East region. Method This research is a qualitative study in which an abductive approach has been used. Therefore, the conclusions will be drawn from the empirical findings in combination with the results in the existing literature. Furthermore, in order to obtain high-quality and truthful data, a case-study with a semi-structured interview technique was used. All six interviews were later analysed by all researchers individually as well as jointly in order to ensure that no important information was lost. Conclusion Based on the empirical findings in combination with the existing literature, three contextual factors were identified as the main challenges of female entrepreneurs when operating in the Middle East region. The following contextual challenges were identified: 1) Lack of Finance, 2) Lack of Support, and 3) Discrimination.

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Bell, James, and Jelmer Stellingwerf. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship : The Motivations and Challenges of Sustainable Entrepreneurs in the Renewable Energy Industry." Thesis, Högskolan i Jönköping, Internationella Handelshögskolan, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-18608.

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Sustainability and sustainable development is slowly gathering momentum in public discourse, and greater attention and reverence in academic research. While there still appears to be no consensus defining sustainability, which has lead to hampered discussion, this should not impede nor hinder a greater call for dialogue of how to ultimately change the world, and for the global economy to consider what type of individual will address environmental and social issues simultaneously. We consider ‘traditional’ entrepreneurship still necessary and vital to the continuing development of disruptive innovation and market change, however, a new breed of entrepreneur must now achieve greater focus. A sustainable shift in societies development is required to guarantee a capacity to endure. Sustainable development is critical to not only the environments long-term well-being, but also a necessity to curve the ultimate slow demise of the human race. Economic responsibly toward the environment and society is imperative. Sustainable development meets at the confluence of three constituent parts - environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and socio-political sustainability, the foundations to an emerging new field of entrepreneurship - Sustainable Entrepreneurship.Sustainable Entrepreneurs enact a holistic approach to a venture start-up that embeds environmental, economic and social sustainability dimensions. Sustainable Entrepreneurs have received insufficient attention by the media, policy makers and have failed to grab the attention of academics to test theory in an exploratory cross-case analysis approach. Previous research has mainly been conceptual and theoretical. Literature is lacking practical insights into how entrepreneurs conduct sustainable entrepreneurial initiatives and whether such definitions hold true. A cross-case analysis of five entrepreneurs operating in the renewable energy industry is conducted, evaluating theory against real life. We fill this gap by conducting exploratory research in Sustainable Entrepreneurship, identifying the entrepreneurs motivations to start-up their unique venture, challenges faced throughout the venture development process and their impact within their defined market. It is evident throughout the five case studies all our entrepreneurs have encountered some sort of antecedent exposure to an environmental concern; leading to our belief that prior exposure to a sustainability related market failure has resulted in these entrepreneurs to pursue their business initiative. Leading from this analysis, it is evident Sustainable Entrepreneurs are highly motivated to solve environmental and/ or social related problems (sustainability-related market failures). Customer perceptions and unawareness for alternative sustainable products remain a considerable challenge. It is proposed that patents, cooperating with educational institutions, establishment of an international network and organisational culture, are all important practices that assist in the business development.

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Berg, Evelina, Erika Söderberg, and Bella Cehic. "SHE entrepreneurs : The challenges of female Swedish entrepreneurs in international business." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för marknadsföring (MF), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-105535.

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Entrepreneurship is the key to a functioning society and global economy. To be entrepreneurial means not only to see and discover opportunities, but also to develop and refine these opportunities. There is evidence saying that entrepreneurship is not equal for men and women. Sweden is considered a strong and stable country with values that promote gender equality, but even in this country there are societal structures and phenomena that sometimes hinders female entrepreneurs from reaching the same success as male entrepreneurs. The aim of this thesis is therefore to explore Swedish female entrepreneurs and the challenges they face when conducting international business. Furthermore the thesis will try to explore what challenges they face in foreign market entry due to their gender as well as try to provide future female entrepreneurs with information on how to avoid or handle the challenges they might face due to their gender. There is a gap in literature regarding this subject. The reviewed literature presents the international business environment and internationalization as well as entrepreneurship and the opportunities thereof. It also presents the occurrence of gender inequality in business. The conceptual framework is to illustrate how all parts are connected to the subject and to each other like a circular cycle. To ensure thorough research a qualitative method with an abductive approach is used. Both primary and secondary data have been used. The empirical data was collected through interviews with five Swedish international female entrepreneurs from different industries. The analysis was made by cross examination of the empirical data and the literature. Female entrepreneurs face challenges in international business but can often choose to use it as an advantage. There are social structures that need to change for the business environment to become more equal both in Sweden and internationally.

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Appelhans, Steffen, and Tobias Svensson. "Entrepreneurial Outsourcing : Motivators, Benefits, Risks and Challenges." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-388877.

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Our economy is going global. Open borders and the internet have created endless possibilities for companies to source products and services internationally. This phenomenon, outsourcing, is widely studied among large companies, usually referring to them offshoring parts of their operations to increase business and cost efficiency. However, thanks to platforms like Fiverr and UpWork, outsourcing has become accessible to anyone and plays a significant role also in startups. Using semi- structured interviews to draw on the experiences of nine entrepreneurs, we find that startups use outsourcing with different motivations than larger companies. Rather than cost reductions, compensating for skills that startups lack internally is the main reason for entrepreneurs to outsource. Increasing flexibility to react to the dynamic environment startups navigate in and the possibility to grow and scale quickly are also frequently mentioned drivers for outsourcing. Opposing the potential of outsourcing, most entrepreneurs see little to no risk associated with the process. Aside from the potential lack of quality of the deliverables, startups primarily fear the loss of intellectual property that could harm their competitive advantage. As this thesis shows that outsourcing within startups is fundamentally different from the traditional outsourcing of established firms, it recognizes entrepreneurial outsourcing as an individual field of research and defines it as “the concept of flexibly adjusting a startup’s access tocompetence, resources, and capacity according to rapid internal or external changes by sourcing products or services from external providers”.

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O'Connor, Allan. "Enterprise, education and economic development an exploration of entrepreneurship's economic function in the Australian government's education policy /." Swinburne Research Bank, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/56956.

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Thesis (PhD) - Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology - 2009.
Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Business and Enterprise, Swinburne University of Technology, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 190-211)

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Bristol-Faulhammer, Michaela. "How Does Start-Up Assistance Capture the Challenges, Barriers, and Successes for Refugee Entrepreneurs in Austria." Thesis, Saybrook University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10607833.

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In countries around the world, refugees have started to create economic identity through entrepreneurial activities. In doing so, they boost new business formation, innovation, and job creation. Acknowledging this potential, the Austrian Federal Government passed a comprehensive program in 2015 to support start-up businesses. This program targets Austrian and foreign-born entrepreneurs alike. Recent estimates are that between 3,000 and 14,700 refugees could begin businesses in Austria. Beyond the examination of the success factors and barriers of refugee entrepreneurs, this case study sought to explore how the start-up programs capture the needs of refugee entrepreneurs.

The target population consisted of 12 recognized refugees who were about to start, or have started, a business within the past 5 years in Austria. Using online surveys and narrative interviews, the aim of this study was to yield insight into the successes and barriers refugee entrepreneurs encountered in becoming business owners in Austria. Further, a survey with five service providers of start-up programs aimed to support documentation of the offered services and how their activities mitigate the barriers to meet entrepreneur’s needs to become successful.

Findings show that the biggest barriers for refugee entrepreneurs lie within the institutional environment (e.g., tax and social security regulations), lack of human capital (e.g., lack of German language skills), and access to resources (e.g., access to financial capital). The presence or absence of German language skills is a particularly significant factor. Combined with business administration skills, it offered a great advantage. Other success factors included knowing one’s start-up reasons and having favorable market conditions.

From the clients’ viewpoint, start-up service providers appear to offer appropriate services for refugee entrepreneurs. Nonetheless, data suggest that agencies could improve delivery of service on the program level and in regard to coordination among and beyond service providers. Some reasons why refugee entrepreneurs’ needs are not fully met include lack of cultural contextualization of knowledge or demands that exceed supply. Based on expressed barriers and needs, this study provides recommendations for how start-up service providers could improve their services on both the program and the systems level.

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Shala, Drilon, Simon Kidane, and Wan Roe Ong. "Immigrant Entrepreneurship : A case study of Immigrant Entrepreneurs' challenges in the Jönköping Municipality." Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS, EMM (Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Management), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-11314.

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Background & Problem discussion: Recently, there has been an increased interest in topics such as immigrant entrepreneurship. Considering that most of the research until now is done in America with American examples, it would be beneficial if such results are verified or refuted in other countries as well, such as Sweden (Brundin, Bögenhold and Sundin, 2001). Overall, businesses ran by immigrant entrepreneurs are creating job opportunities and encouraging Europe’s economy, even though exposed to limited immigration policies and unpleasant public opinion (Halkias et al., 2007). Immigrant entrepreneurs are not a new phenomenon in Sweden and according to Hammarstedt (2004) immigrant self-employment compared to native small-businesses has increased throughout the years, and therefore an important role in the integration of immigrants was made possible by the self-employment sector as a source of employment.

Rather than that, most of the research done in this topic by many researchers has been focused in factors triggering immigrant entrepreneurs to start a business, but less researchers were focused in understanding the challenges they face and strategies they adopt in order to survive.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify challenges that immigrant entrepreneurs face while starting and running their businesses and analyze how they are interrelated and how do immigrant entrepreneurs cope with them in the setting of a medium-sized town in Sweden. Jönköping as a medium sized town in Sweden is our context.

Theoretical framework: The literature used in this study covers studies conducted in different context such as: American, European and Swedish. The conducted studies involve case studies in different context done with immigrant entrepreneurs are mainly about the challenges they face and the strategies they adopt as solutions to those challenges. Such theory helped us identify common challenges among immigrant entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, considering that the existing literature does not explicitly discuss the role of the context (metropolitan, large city, medium-sized town, small (rural town), local community etc), we have to inquire especially into that and use our own data to build a supplementary theory.

Method: The method used in this study is a qualitative approach but also with some minor elements of a quantitative approach (the use of the questionnaire during the interviews asked from the respondents to rank the challenges and therefore helped to find out the most significant challenge among them). Considering that generally our study followed a qualitative approach, we have conducted ‘face-to-face’ interviews. There were eight semi-structured interviews. All of the interviews were tape recorded.

Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that challenges faced by our respondents were: start-up finance, finance for growth, access to markets, lack of language skills, lack of marketing/sales skills, lack of management skills, access to technology, lack of education, lack of visitors to Jönköping, maintaining customers, Swede’s negative views on immigrant businesses, awareness of food among customers, and competition. However, the four most significant challenges among them were: access to markets, start-up finance, lack of language skills and finance for growth.

Besides that the findings show that the strategies that are adopted by immigrant entrepreneurs that we interviewed include the following: use of personal savings, use of personal networks, bank loan, enter low market barriers, scanning the market beforehand, asking help from their customers about language barriers or taking a language course before starting, among others.

The findings showed that the context is important to a great extent but besides context, in order for the immigrant venture to occur it matters to a great extent, who the individual entrepreneur is and what business idea he/she develops. In addition, they are key factors contributing not only to the immigrant venture occurrence, but also to the success of the business.

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Kupolokun, Oluwakemi. "For-profit social entrepreneurship : a study of resources, challenges, and competencies in UK." Thesis, Goldsmiths College (University of London), 2015. http://research.gold.ac.uk/11394/.

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Social Entrepreneurship has received increasing attention over the years. However, little is known about the different business models of social enterprises and how they can be run effectively to realise their full potential (Prabhu, 1999; Nicholls, 2006). Moreover, empirical research has largely focused on non-profit social value creation while the for-profit context of social entrepreneurship has received less attention (Dees, 1998). Therefore, research within the for-profit context can contribute strongly to the advancement of the field, whereby exploring the challenges for-profit social enterprises face is an important research task which will, among other things, shed more light on how they overcome resource constraints. To address these research opportunities, this thesis analyses twelve social enterprises in the UK through original semi-structured interviews, observations, and archival research. It adopts a resource-based lens and employs an interpretivist approach to gain new insights. With close reference to extant SE literature as well as entrepreneurial capital and bricolage theory, the research identifies three specific challenges experienced by social enterprises operating within the for-profit context. These challenges - that spring from a 'double bottom line' configuration - are: (1) successfully positioning a for-profit social enterprise along the enterprise spectrum; (2) maintaining a balanced focus on contrasting objectives; (3) and countering pressures to compromise on objectives. The present study also critically extends the theory of social bricolage as the findings show that creativity, social skills, resilience and adaptability comprise key competencies that enable bricolage activity by for-profit social enterprises. The surveyed social enterprises have extensively leveraged these competencies while navigating resource scarce environments. The identification of such particular competencies is one significant theoretical contribution the thesis makes to both bricolage theory and the broader social entrepreneurship literature. The study furthermore makes a general contribution to the study of for-profit social entrepreneurship, an outstanding gap in the field.

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Recamonde, Mendonza Fernanda. "Social entrepreneurship, microcredit and development challenges: a case study analysis of Banco Pérola." reponame:Repositório Institucional do FGV, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10438/16046.

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The term 'social entrepreneurship' has been attracting growing interest from different sectors in the past years, driven by the possibility of employing business techniques to tackle recurrent social and environmental issues. At the forefront of this global phenomenon is microcredit, seen by many as an effective anti-poverty tool and having the Grameen Bank as its flagship program. While the prospects of social entrepreneurship seem promising, the newness of the concept and its somewhat confusing definition make conditions difficult to analyze this contemporary phenomenon. Therefore, the objective of this study was to discuss the challenges faced by social entrepreneurs and alternatives of development for social businesses through a case study on a Brazilian microcredit institution and inclusive business, Banco Pérola. The case addresses a growing need for case studies designed for teaching in the field of social entrepreneurship. It was focused mainly on understanding the development challenges within Banco Pérola, and built based on interviews carried out with top management, credit officer and clients of the institution, as well as on secondary data collected. An analysis of the case study was performed under a Teaching Notes. As illustrated by the Banco Pérola case, the main difficulties encountered by social entrepreneurs relate to the systematization of processes and creation of operational routines, including for performance evaluation (impact assessment tools); to the capture and management of both financial and human capital; to scaling up the business model and to the need of forging closer and more personal relationships with customers as against in traditional banking practices. In spite of certain limitations, such as the fact that the case might soon become outdated due to the fast-changing environment surrounding Banco Pérola, or the fact that not all relevant stakeholders (e.g. partners) were selected for interviews, the research objective has been achieved and the study can be seen as a contribution to spreading the concept of social entrepreneurship.
O termo 'empreendedorismo social' tem sido objeto de atenção crescente da parte de diversos setores nos últimos anos, motivada pela possibilidade de empregar técnicas de negócio para solucionar problemas sociais e ambientais recorrentes. À frente deste movimento global está o microcrédito, visto por muitos como um eficiente instrumento contra a pobreza e tendo o Grameen Bank como o seu carro-chefe. Embora a perspectiva para o empreendedorismo social seja promissora, a novidade do conceito e sua definição relativamente confusa tornam difíceis as condições para analisar este fenômeno contemporâneo. Logo, este estudo teve como objetivo discutir desafios enfrentados por empreendedores sociais bem como alternativas de crescimento para negócios sociais através de um estudo de caso sobre o Banco Pérola, instituição brasileira de microcrédito e negócio de impacto. O estudo de caso responde à crescente necessidade de casos de ensino no campo de empreendedorismo social. Ele teve como principal foco a compreensão dos desafios de desenvolvimento do Banco Pérola e foi construído com base em entrevistas conduzidas com a alta gerência, agente de crédito e clientes da instituição, bem como em dados secundários coletados. Uma análise do estudo de caso foi elaborada sob o Teaching Notes. Como ilustrado pelo caso do Banco Pérola, as principais dificuldades encontradas por empreendedores sociais relacionam-se à sistematização de processos e criação de rotinas operacionais, incluindo para avaliação de performance (instrumentos de avaliação de impacto); à captura e gestão de recursos financeiros e humanos; à expansão do modelo de negócio e à necessidade de estabelecer relacionamentos mais próximos e mais pessoais com clientes quando comparado à segmentos bancários tradicionais. Apesar de certas limitações, como o fato de que o caso possa, em breve, se desatualizar devido ao contexto de rápidas mudanças em que o Banco Pérola evolui ou, ainda, de que nem todas as partes relevantes tenham sido selecionadas para entrevistas (e.g. parceiros), o objetivo de pesquisa foi alcançado e o estudo pode ser considerado como uma contribuição para a propagação do conceito de empreendedorismo social.

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Cook, Vania Saretta. "Entrepreneurship education at a FET college." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1008071.

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The previous economic structure in South Africa was well served by the FET College institutions in that they provided a resource pool for large companies and organisations. This however, developed a student mindset of becoming an employee instead of the employer of an organisation. With an economy in transition, privately owned companies or organisations now account for an increasing proportion of economic development. Hence, FET Colleges need to redefine their role in the economy and society, specifically in the type of entrepreneurship courses they offer. This study examines the provision of entrepreneurship education at a FET College in the Eastern Cape with special reference to the levels of provision, support mechanisms, course objectives, contents, teaching and assessment methods to ascertain whether they are appropriately developed to prepare students for entrepreneurship as a career option. This study followed a qualitative research paradigm, implementing a case study approach during the research. In order to analyse the above, the New Venture Creation and Entrepreneurship and Business Management students were selected for this study. Data were collected by handing out questionnaires to a sample of 200 students to assess entrepreneurship courses and pedagogies. The results of this study, indicate that entrepreneurship education at a specific FET College is not enabling the students with sufficient knowledge and skills to start their own business. The results indicate a low level of entrepreneurship education and a weak standing of entrepreneurship courses, which tend to only be part of the Finance course offered within the Business Studies Department at a FET College. Contributing factors to this low level of entrepreneurship education have been identified by lack of support mechanisms by management, the theoretical orientation of entrepreneurship curriculum, teaching methods and assessment of tasks. Based on these findings, it is strongly suggested that this FET College should: (1) develop specialised entrepreneurship programmes for all students; (2) receive special funding for entrepreneurship education; (3) integrate experiential learning in the curriculum; and (4) give special consideration to training entrepreneurship educators.

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Farzin, Farnaz. "Investigating entrepreneurship education in an emerging economy : evidence of technology entrepreneurship in Iran." Thesis, Glasgow Caledonian University, 2017. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.743913.

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Tai-Hing, Paul. "Research into entrepreneurship and small business in South Africa: current status and future challenges." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1015981.

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This research seeks to advance knowledge of the current state of entrepreneurship and small businesses in South Africa, and reports on a review of 32 articles and 244 research abstracts in the field. The studies as a whole indicate that entrepreneurs in South Africa require more knowledge in the fields of: Networking in business, Internationalisation of business, Entrepreneurship training. Since the 1990s, research in entrepreneurship has grown in terms of the number of articles published and conference papers presented. In many countries entrepreneurship has also become part of the political agenda as it is perceived as a possible solution to high unemployment rates. In addition, interest in entrepreneurship has heightened during the 2000s, especially in business schools. Much of this interest is driven by student demand for courses in entrepreneurship, either because of genuine interest in the subject, or because students see entrepreneurship education as a useful hedge given uncertain corporate careers. Most of the entrepreneurship research abstracts reviewed for this study focused on race, gender and ethical issues in South Africa. These three research topics focused on: Attitudes and experiences of black women: differ from other racial groups in business with the results indicating that black women were competent and highly-motivated, but lacked communication skills and Western business orientation. Many black women also desired equality although their male counterparts opposed this. Black women also lacked role models and career guidance. Different population groups participate in the economy: reflect regional, income, expenditure, skill, occupational and labour differences, including labour supply and demand. Ethics concerns: include whether it should be taught in the human resources management curricula taught in universities. From the findings it appeared that entrepreneurship research in South Africa is fairly similar to international research contexts. As entrepreneurship and small businesses are diverse and multi-disciplinary, the studies reviewed indicated a wide range of different models, theories, frameworks, and combinations of these. However, the theoretical richness of the studies reviewed was, in many cases, relatively low, and only a few of the studies could be regarded as highly-theoretical. In addition, the presentation of the various theories and models applied was very often inadequately reported. It is also important to note that altogether between 7 and 11 percent of the studies were without any well-argued theoretical framework. Thus, researchers in the field should discuss the theoretical frameworks applied in their empirical analyses, to ensure this will improve the theoretical understanding of the phenomenon. Although this study made use of the mixed-method approach to conduct the research, it is also important to note that, in 12 percent of cases, methodological issues were poorly described. Most of the studies often did not describe the data collection response rate provide sample demographic and firm size details as well as identify the target industry. These details were often missing or loosely defined. The reasons for the selection of a certain research approach were also poorly explained, making many of the research studies deficient or limited methodologically. These omissions present a challenge, not only to authors in the field, but also to reviewers and editors in academic journals, as this impacts on the scientific rigor of published papers. On the basis of published papers reviewed, it seems that, personally-administered data collection works best in South Africa. From the research studies undertaken in South Africa, it is evident that much has been researched in the areas of gender (specifically the role of women in business), entrepreneurship training and ethics in business. It is evident that during the 1980s, no research was conducted in South Africa in the areas of family businesses and entrepreneurship training, while international research focuses on these topics. During the 1990s, no research focused on networking in small businesses, and. during the 2000s, there was a lack of research on internationalisation of businesses as only six articles were published from 2000 until 2011 on these topics. This highlights a need for internationalisation research especially as it is well-documented that the South African economy cannot survive if it does not take cognisance of its international competitors. On the basis of the articles and abstracts reviewed, the current state of knowledge concerning entrepreneurship and small businesses in South Africa was assessed, especially the need for the internationalisation of South African small businesses. Moreover, research studies could also focus on the obstacles encountered in the internationalisation process of South African small businesses.

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Siemens, Lynne Marie. "Rural businesses on Vancouver Island : challenges and opportunities." Thesis, University of Hertfordshire, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2299/1840.

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Many rural areas are undergoing structural changes as jobs in forestry, fishing, mining, agricultural and other natural resource-based industries decline. These communities, often based around these industries, are generally small and located some distance from urban areas. They are faced with decreasing population as residents and their families leave for jobs elsewhere. As a result, the communities and residents are looking for alternative ways to create employment and sustain themselves. Given the nature of these rural locations, many small businesses based there face challenges that are not generally experienced by enterprises in urban areas. Some communities are not accessible by paved road while others are not accessible by road at all, relying instead on water and air transportation. The business people in these areas often operate without standard business infrastructure, which can include telephone lines, broadband Internet, banking services and other items, and can have difficulty accessing supplies, customers, employees and other required materials. However, there has been relatively little research on the challenges facing rural businesses and the specific methods by which these owners mitigate these challenges. Understanding and addressing the challenges faced by these businesses becomes important in order to support and encourage economic growth and development in these rural communities. Building on this context, this research looks to answer the following questions: • Why do people start businesses in rural locations? • What type of businesses do they start? • What challenges do these rural businesses face? • How do owners respond to these challenges? Vancouver Island and the surrounding smaller islands in British Columbia, Canada serve as the research site. Given the exploratory nature of this research, an inductive approach has been selected with the use of case studies, interviews and grounded theory analysis. Purposeful sampling is used with the sample businesses meeting specific criteria, based on location, business size and definition of success. These businesses are interviewed at their locations to allow the researcher to experience the challenges associated with accessing the particular rural community. The interview topics are focused on the above research questions. There are several common characteristics among the sample owners and their businesses. The owners tend to be in-migrants who moved to the rural area for lifestyle reasons. They have started their business to provide an income, take advantage of a business opportunity, or both. Family members, particularly spouses, are actively involved in the business. In many cases, participants supplement their business income with other income sources to ensure business viability. Success is measured generally by personal and lifestyle goals, rather than financial criteria. The businesses face common challenges in terms of a limited local population base which impacts on market size and labour pool, rural location and access to urban centres, gaps in business and social services infrastructure and heavy time demands. The owners respond to these challenges in a variety of ways which includes the involvement of family, core business diversification, alternative income sources, long hours invested in the business and involvement with the community. To meet these challenges and devise their responses, the owners draw upon four key resources – their own skills and attitudes, their family, business and community. The resulting conceptual framework draws together these key resources and suggests that all four must be present to ensure success within a rural context. Each resource is comprised of several components which contribute to business success. The framework also integrates several resource-based theories, which consider the key resources either separately or in pairs, to create a holistic model. The conclusions focus on several key areas. This research contributes to the knowledge base on rural small businesses by creating a framework that draws directly from the experience of these owners and their objectives and motivations for their businesses. It reflects their internal focus and a concentration of the four resources that they access easily from within their domain. This research also suggests some possible roles for government which focus on its role in shaping the larger environment, particularly at the infrastructure level and human capital development. Finally, future research directions are recommended. This study considers a relatively unexplored topic and suggests ways for rural small businesses to address the challenges which they face. With this knowledge, individuals, businesses, communities and other interested organizations can work to achieve their economic development goals.

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Jacobsen, Petter Jacob. "A Case Study: action based Entrepreneurship Education." Thesis, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for industriell økonomi og teknologiledelse, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-15059.

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This paper contributes by providing suggestions on how to analyze business ideas forexploitation in an entrepreneurial education context, and how the institution can provide support activities to enhance the chance of successful exploitation. Active learning has become the preferred choice of teaching entrepreneurship and external ideas are used to provide the students with business opportunities to exploit. An instrumentaø case study on the Norwegian University of Science and Technology – School of Entrepreneurship, however, finds challenges on collaborating with these external partners. By reviewing theory, ways to improve the analysis of business opportunities are found and presented. Additionally a structured idea search process and mentors are suggested as a mean of gaining access to sufficient business ideas and the experience and network necessary for a successful evaluation and exploitation process.

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Hofmuth, Matthias [Verfasser]. "Selected Essays on Entrepreneurship Education / Matthias Hofmuth." München : Verlag Dr. Hut, 2015. http://d-nb.info/1069020486/34.

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Qoto, Nomonde Monica. "Assessing entrepreneurship education programmes in secondary schools." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019726.

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The emergence of an entrepreneurial spirit is the most significant economic development in the twenty-first century. Entrepreneurship education was introduced in Grades 10-12 as part of the optional subject Business Studies. There are problems across the country encountered by educators in imparting entrepreneurship skills and knowledge to learners. The integration of entrepreneurial programmes into the education system in secondary schools is a prerequisite to develop the necessary skills to start and run a business successfully. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that entrepreneurship education is included in the curriculum as a separate subject so as to develop the entrepreneurship skills at secondary school level. The formal employment sector is no longer able to provide jobs for the increasing number of unemployed people. Fewer jobs are available for the economically active population of the South African economy especially the school leavers. The primary objective of this study is to assess the current entrepreneurship education programmes offered at secondary schools in Grade 10-12 levels in Motherwell. The purpose is to learn from global trends and to improve the current entrepreneurship education programmes. A literature review was done to establish global trends and also South African trends concerning entrepreneurship education programmes. A mixed research approach and cluster sampling was used to select the twelve Motherwell senior secondary schools in the Motherwell township of Port Elizabeth. The findings of the study were that strategic skills, operational skills, competitions, labour entrepreneurial skills, management skills, creativity and innovation were taught to a limited extent by educators. The practical exposure of learners was deficient because of the limited involvement of local businesses and organisations. Learners were also not encouraged to operate simulated businesses. The study recommends that the Outcome Based Education, National Curriculum Statement and Curriculum Policy Statement which have been introduced by the Department of Education be followed but adjustments must be made to the iii teaching methods to follow the interactive approach required by entrepreneurship. Policy makers should incorporate comprehensive entrepreneurship education programmes from primary school to secondary school to vocational and university and adult education centres. Finally, entrepreneurship education should be offered as an optional separate subject to all learners and involvement of local businesses and organisations should be encouraged.

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Avenant, Leonie. "Entrepreneurship leadership and creativity." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/51743.

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Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2000.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this masters thesis the nature and theory of entrepreneurship, leadership and creativity are discussed. The primary objectives were to identify the entrepreneur. The secondary objectives were to evaluate that when he corporates his leadership skills and creativity if he can be a winner. Entrepreneurs create and manage change. Action-orientation is the essence of entrepreneurship. In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives an in-depth literature study was carried out. It was followed by informal interviews with different entrepreneurs, managers and leaders of big and small businesses. Young entrepreneurs were also interviewed. During this study it was found that leadership and creativity are necessary for entrepreneurship, in order to prosper in an increasingly competitive world. Development of entrepreneurship, leadership and creativity becomes an important strategic objective of schools and other organisations. There is a need for training young people and adults efficiently. This situation poses definite challenges. On the part of educators it requires innovative and unique approaches to develop these abilities. Entrepreneurs are leaders. Being a leader is a prerequisite to entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur must be a leader to attract, retain and get the most out of financiers, suppliers, customers, consultants, professionals and contractors. He must be a leader to get the best out of himself. Some entrepreneurs lead in such a way that their leadership is easy to observe and to understand, while others' ways are less visible or comprehensible; but they are all leaders. One thinks that leaders are born with leadership talent. Some small elements of leadership may come with birth (Shefsky, 1994: 168), but those elements tend to determine the quality of the leadership, not the existence of leadership talent. People can be educated how to be leaders. This can also be taught at school. Entrepreneurial leadership develops by keeping perspective so that dreams can become reality, knowing why one must lead, identifying targets and staying focussed. Like other forms of leadership, entrepreneurial leadership entails a blend of what is ethically correct and what is financially successful. The entrepreneurial leader must be prepared for the stimulation and the responsibility of the position. Creativity in entrepreneurship is challenging and stimulating. Intuition is the enabling factor in creativity. Once the entrepreneurial leader creates, he tears apart his good ideas. He will analyse how long his idea will take to develop, what the risk is and what the market is. He will estimate both sides of success, spectacular and worst case scenarios. His mind will be open for creativity to truth. He will be inquisitive, he will question everything and try to figure out how in the world everything can be done better.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie verhandeling word die aard en teorie van entrepreneurskap, leierskap en kreatiwiteit bespreek. Die primêre doelwitte was om te bepaal of die entrepreneur suksesvol kan wees as hy leierskap en kreatiwiteit koppel aan entrepreneurskap. Die entrepreneur skep verandering en hy bestuur verandering. Die wese van die entrepreneur is daarin om daadwerkilk op te tree. Om bogenoemde doelwitte te verwesenlik, is en diepgaande Iieteratuurstudie gedoen, asook onderhoude gevoer met verskeie entrepreneurs, bestuurders en leiers van groot en klein sakeondernemings. Daar is ook onderhoude met skoolgaande en jong entrepreneurs gevoer. Tydens die studie is bevind dat leierskap en kreatiwiteit noodsaaklik is vir entrepreneurskap ten einde voorspoedig te wees en vooruit te gaan in en Wêreld wat toenemend mededingend raak. Ontwikkeling van entrepreneurskap, leierskap en kreatiwiteit raak al hoe meer die strategiese doelwitte van skole en ander organisasies. Daar is en behoefte daaraan om jong mense en volwassenes effektief op te lei. Hierdie situasie skep werklik uitdagings. Aan die kant van die opvoeders vereis dit unieke verandering deur nuwighede in te voer en unieke benaderings te ontwikkel, ten einde hierdie vermoëns te ontwikkel. Entrepreneurs is leiers. Om en leier te wees, is en vereiste vir entrepreneurskap. en Entrepreneur moet en leier wees ten om die finansiers, verskaffers, kliënte, konsultante, beroepslui en kontrakteurs aan te trek, hulle te behou en die meeste uit hulle te haal. Hy moet 'n leier wees om die beste uit homself te kry. Sommige entrepreneurs lei op so 'n manier dat hulle leierskap maklik waarneembaar en verstaanbaar is. Ander se leierskap is weer minder sigbaar of verstaanbaar, maar hulle is almal leiers. Daar word algemeen aanvaar dat leiers gebore word met leierskaptalent. Sommige beginsels van leierskap is reeds by geboorte aanwesig (Shefsky, 1994: 168), maar hierdie beginsels is geneig om die bestaan van leierskap te bepaal, maar nie die bestaan van leierskap talent nie. Mense kan opgelei word on leiers te wees. Leierskap kan ook in die skool aangeleer word. Ondernemende leiers ontwikkel deur perspektief te behou sodat hulle drome werklikheid word, deur te wete te kom hoekom hulle moet lei, deur doelwitte te stel en gefokus te bly. Soos enige vorm van entrepreneurskap tree hulle eties korrek op om finansieel suksesvol te wees. Kreatiwiteit en entrepreneurskap skep 'n uitdaging en is stimulerend. Intuïsie is die bydraende faktor tot kreatiwiteit. Sodra die voornemende leier skep, haal hy sy idee uitmekaar uit. Hy analiseer hoe lank dit sal duur voor sy idee ontwikkel, wat die risiko is en waaroor die mark geleenthede gaan. Hy maak 'n waardebepaling van moontlike suksesse of mislukkings. Hy is ingestelop kreatiwiteit, is ondersoekend en weetgierig. Hy doen alles in sy vemoë om 'n belangrike rol te speel om die wêreld 'n beter plek te maak. Klem is gelê op die eienskappe, vaardighede, rolle en funksies van die voornemende leier en watter rol leierskap en kreatiwiteit in entrepreneurskap speel.

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Brown, Michael John Moorcroft. "Entrepreneur education assessment in secondary schools." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/29416.

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The purpose of this research report is to investigate how Entrepreneurship is being taught in the classroom of secondary schools and to see if there is a vast difference between how it is taught across the income spectrum of the students.The research used a qualitative methodological approach. Questionnaires were sent out to respondents selected by the researcher (convenient sample). Then there was a follow-up in-depth interview with all the respondents. The respondents are all teachers who currently teach entrepreneurship at secondary schools and were divided into three groups depending on the school they teach at. There is the private school, the Model C School and the public school.The research revealed that there are vast differences in the way entrepreneurship is taught between the schools. Private schools have a large component of ‘beyond the classroom’. These include company visits, guest lecturers on entrepreneurial exercises. Model C Schools were very limited with the ‘odd’ guest lecturer and ‘fund raising’ poject. Public schools have no practical component to entrepreneurship what so ever. All the previous research suggests that a practical component to teaching entrepreneurship is vital. This research high-light’s that entrepreneurial education is seriously lacking at secondary school level in that a practical component seems to be missing.This research report looked at different schools to see if there was possibly a model that could be replicated across secondary schools that could bring in a practical element to teaching entrepreneurship. A model was found called, ‘R10 in ten days’. Students are placed in pairs and given R10 on a Wednesday. The following Friday they return the R10 and profit. They pay 20% to the school and keep the rest. This is a model that can be implemented in every school. Furthermore it creates a culture of ‘entrepreneurship’. Parents, relatives and friends get involved. A culture that encourages entrepreneurs is far more successful than one that doesn’t.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
unrestricted

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Russ, Ricardo. "SCALING CHALLENGES IN DIGITAL VENTURES." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för informatik, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-150563.

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The number of startups is on the rise, specifically digital startups with products entirely based on software. These companies are facing a resilient challenge when it comes to increasing their user base, revenue or market share. This process is called scaling, which is an essential part for every startup in order to establish themselves in the market. While there are several generic models focusing on scaling a business, there seems to be a lack of scientific research focusing on the challenges during the process of scaling. This paper describes a qualitative study focusing on purely digital companies which have scaled or are trying to scale. Resulting in finding several distinct challenges and barriers related to scaling digital companies, by comparing and contrasting growth literature with the data generated by this study. Besides these challenges, our findings suggest that B2B and B2C companies are facing different challenges during their scaling processes.

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Cornell, Brent T. "Open Innovation Strategies for Overcoming Competitive Challenges Facing Small and Mid-Sized Enterprises." Thesis, University of Maryland University College, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3567900.

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The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) can leverage open innovation to increase their economic viability and success in this modern, globalized post-industrial society marked by constant change and intense competition. To date, most open innovation research has focused exclusively on large companies, while neglecting the specific competitive challenges and strategies of SMEs. This dissertation evaluates the open innovation landscape from the vantage point of SMEs because these firms play a significant role in economies around the globe. Innovation is a crucial driver in their ability to survive, compete, and prosper. The dissertation author created three new models to explore the research topic. The first, the Holistic Model of Innovation, is useful to more fully understand the entire innovation landscape (both closed and open innovation as well as product and non-product innovations). This dissertation also presents the author’s SME Competitive Challenges Model , which identifies the main size-related competitive hurdles that SMEs face (i.e., challenges related to a lack of resources, limited dynamic capabilities, and excessive risk exposure). Additionally, the author presents his SME Open Innovation Strategies Model, which evaluates various open innovation strategies for overcoming these competitive challenges. This dissertation presents a series of propositions based on these new conceptual models and tests them by conducting a systematic review, several meta-syntheses, a case study, and multiple statistical meta-analyses with data from 34,676 SMEs across dozens of industries in 27 countries.

Keywords: Small and Mid-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Small Business Strategy, Global Open Innovation, Closed Innovation, Size-Related Competitive Challenges

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Silvola, A. (Anni). "What kind of challenges teacher students experience in collaborative learning and how they solve the challenges?" Master's thesis, University of Oulu, 2017. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-201706022439.

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Teacher education is a powerful channel for changing pedagogical culture to respond better for the needs that fast development of technology, changes in the working life, and new understanding about learning, have brought for the education. To be able to teach 21st century skills and collaborative learning, and change their pedagogical thinking, teacher students need to experience the new pedagogical culture themselves as students and to understand the mechanisms of collaborative learning. Collaborative learning is defined as coordinated activity, where small groups of students solve problems and construct knowledge together. To be successful in collaborative learning, students must coordinate and regulate their learning process. Challenges may interrupt group learning, but they also work as an important mechanism to activate regulation of learning. Socially Shared Regulation of Learning (SSRL), is a group-level form of regulation, which happens in the context of collaboration. The aim of this study is to analyze, what kind of challenges teacher students face in their collaborative learning, how much challenges different groups have and to describe as an example, how the case group solves their challenges during the selected session. Data of this study has been collected as part of the PREP21-project, preparing teachers students for 21st century learning practices, ways of thinking and ways of working. This study is a qualitative video data analysis about the challenges in small groups of teacher students in collaborative learning during five weeks’ course of environmental science. Results of this study shows, that students face most often challenges in understanding of the content and challenges to maintain their interest. Students had also challenges in interaction and organizing work and external challenges where technology and external interruptions affected for groups work. The groups who had mostly challenges in understanding and interaction, did not have so many challenges in participation, and the group who had many external challenges and challenges participation, did not have so many challenges in understanding. The comparison of challenges amounts and challenge types between the groups pointed out how challenge amounts and types varied a lot in some groups, while in other groups same challenge types occurred in several situations. The case group was chosen based on the high amount of challenges and the challenge types occurring in the case example. Group managed to solve their challenges and several examples were found and described about SSRL. As a conclusion, it seems that teacher students could be supported in solving the challenges in participation and external challenges to optimize the challenges to support shared knowledge construction better. To be able to design and support collaborative learning process, teacher students need practical level understanding about what kind of challenges interrupt learning and what kind of challenges promote learning. Understanding about the regulation helps educators to recognize where and when groups need support and what kind of task-design promotes regulation in collaboration
Opettajankoulutuksella on merkittävä rooli koulujen pedagogisen kulttuurin kehittämisessä. Teknologian nopea kehitys, työelämän muutokset ja oppimistieteellinen ymmärrys oppimisen prosesseista ovat asettaneet koulutuksen kehittämiselle uusia haasteita. Jotta opettajaopiskelijat olisivat valmiita opettamaan 2000-luvun oppimistaitoja ja muuttamaan pedagogista ajatteluaan, he tarvitsevat myös itse kokemuksia yhteisöllisestä oppimisesta ja ymmärrystä yhteisöllisen oppimisen mekanismeista. Yhteisöllinen oppiminen määritellään koordinoituna toimintana, jossa pienryhmät ratkaisevat ongelmia ja rakentavat tietoa yhdessä. Onnistuakseen yhteisöllisessä oppimisessa, ryhmän tulee koordinoida ja säädellä oppimisprosessiaan. Haasteet voivat haitata ryhmän oppimista, mutta samalla ne voivat toimia keskeisenä strategisen oppimisen aktivoivana mekanismina. Oppimisen sosiaalisesti jaettu säätely on ryhmätasolla tapahtuvaa, opiskelijoiden itsensä hallinnoimaa oppimistoiminnan suunnittelua, tarkkailua ja arviointia, joka tapahtuu yhteisöllisen oppimisen kontekstissa. Tutkielman tavoitteena on analysoida, millaisia haasteita opettajaopiskelijat kohtaavat yhteisöllisessä oppimisessa ja kuinka paljon eri ryhmillä on haasteita, sekä antaa kuvaileva esimerkki siitä miten valittu ryhmä ratkaisee kohtaamansa haasteet. Aineisto on kerätty osana PREP21-projektia. Tutkielmassa on toteutettu laadullinen videoaineistoanalyysi haasteista, sekä kuvaileva case-esimerkki haasteiden ratkaisemisesta ryhmässä. Opiskelijoiden työskentelyä kuvattiin viiden viikon mittaisella ympäristö- ja luonnontiedon kurssilla. Tulosten mukaan opiskelijat kohtasivat eniten haasteita sisällön ymmärtämiseen ja kiinnostuksen ylläpitoon liittyen. Lisäksi opiskelijoilla oli haasteita vuorovaikutuksessa ja työn organisoimisessa, sekä työskentelyyn vaikuttaneita ulkoisia haasteita. Haasteiden määrän ja laadun vertailu eri ryhmien välillä toi esille, miten toisilla haastemäärät ja -tyypit vaihtelivat paljon tilanteiden välillä, mutta toisilla samat haasteet esiintyivät useissa tilanteissa. Esimerkiksi haasteiden ratkaisusta valittiin tilanne, jossa oli paljon haasteita ja haastetyypit tukivat mahdollisuutta jaetun säätelyn esiintymiselle. Ryhmä onnistui ratkaisemaan haasteet ja tilanteesta löytyi useita esimerkkejä säätelystä. Johtopäätöksenä opiskelijat tarvitsisivat tukea keskittymisen ylläpitoon, sisällön ymmärtämiseen ja teknologian käyttöön liittyvien haasteiden ratkaisussa, jotta esiintyvät haasteet tukisivat oppimista yhteisöllisen tiedonrakentelun kannalta. Jotta opettajat voisivat työssään toteuttaa yhteisöllistä oppimista, he tarvitsevat käytännön ymmärrystä erilaisista haasteista, jotka haittaavat ja edesauttavat oppimista sekä siitä, miten oppilaat ohjailevat oppimistaan ja milloin ryhmät tarvitsevat tukea

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Liukkonen, L. (Lotta). "Sexuality education in Finland:current perspectives and challenges." Bachelor's thesis, University of Oulu, 2019. http://jultika.oulu.fi/Record/nbnfioulu-201905181854.

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Abstract. This Bachelor’s thesis is about sexuality education in Finland and current topics relating to sexuality education and the challenges these topics present. Sexuality education, encompassed in health education, is an important subject, since the objective of it is to provide pupils with tools to take care of not only their own health but to function in society respecting each other. Sexuality education is a part of the Finnish curriculum, meaning that it will reach everyone still in compulsory education. Sexuality education is taught during all grades, integrated to different subjects depending on the age of the pupils. This Bachelor’s thesis presents the different stages of the development of sexuality education in Finland, and how sexuality education is executed. This literature review also discusses current topics in relation to sexuality (questions relating to gender, the diversity of sexualities, increasing cultural diversity, sexual misconduct and harassment, and the sexualization of society), and explores how they and the possible challenges they create are considered in sexuality education in Finland. Also, the importance of acknowledging these topics is discussed.Tiivistelmä. Tämä kandidaatintutkielma käsittelee seksuaalikasvatusta Suomessa, ajankohtaisia seksuaalikasvatuksen osa-alueita sekä niiden tuomia haasteita. Terveystieto sekä sen osa-alueena seksuaalikasvatus ovat tärkeitä oppiaineita, sillä niiden tavoitteena on tarjota oppilaille tiedot ja taidot huolehtia paitsi omasta terveydestään, myös toimia yhteiskunnassa muita kunnioittaen. Seksuaalikasvatus on osa Suomen perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelmaa, tavoittaen koko oppivelvollisen väestön. Seksuaalikasvatusta opetetaan eri luokilla eri aineisiin integroituna, luokka-asteesta riippuen. Tässä kandidaatintutkielmassa esitellään Suomen seksuaalikasvatuksen kehittymisen vaiheita, sekä sitä, kuinka seksuaalikasvatusta toteutetaan Suomessa. Tässä kirjallisuuskatsauksessa käsitellään myös ajankohtaisia seksuaalisuuteen liittyviä aiheita (sukupuoleen liittyvät kysymykset, seksuaalisuuden monimuotoisuus, lisääntyvä kulttuurien moninaisuus, seksuaalinen häirintä, sekä yhteiskunnan seksualisoituminen), ja tarkastellaan niiden myötä mahdollisesti aiheutuvia haasteita, sekä sitä, miten kyseiset aiheet otetaan seksuaalikasvatuksessa huomioon. Myös aiheiden käsittelyn tärkeyttä on pohdittu.

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Kleemann, Michael. "Insights in Entrepreneurship Education : Integrating Innovative Teaching Practices." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Företagsekonomi, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-21456.

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The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze reoccurring insights in Entrepreneurship Education (EE) literature, fill gaps in the scholarly discussion, and develop innovative teaching tools for entrepreneurship educators. The study is based on an in-depth review of the current EE literature drawing on insights from about 70 studies. The analysis finds a clear need for: EE on the university level; clear goals and objectives; clear program descriptions; a more practical orientation; and true alumni networks. Additionally it finds that EE should be interdisciplinary, student-centered, practical, as well as containing strong elements of reflection, support, and networking. These findings are a valuable resource for educators interested in innovative teaching practices and entrepreneurship program design in a university context. This paper develops three suggestions on the use of innovative teaching practices, namely a course on business models, an adapted form of business simulation with a focus on cross-disciplinary networking, and a comprehensive class in entrepreneurial venturing that takes the student through all steps of establishing and growing a business.

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Ismail, Mohd Zahari. "Developing entrepreneurship education : empirical findings from Malaysian polytechnics." Thesis, University of Hull, 2010. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:2682.

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This study identifies empirically the effectiveness of the entrepreneurship curriculum used in Malaysian polytechnics. This includes an evaluation of the syllabus, teaching methods and lecturer training programmes. The study investigates the relationship between entrepreneurship education and polytechnic students‟ entrepreneurial tendencies. The needs of this research arise due to problems of unemployment amongstgraduates and the inadequacy of research on entrepreneurship education. It also responds to the government's intention to achieve “Developed Nation” status in 2020.The research, one of the most comprehensive ever undertaken in this area, comprises interviews and focus groups with students, lecturers, senior managers in polytechnics and officials from the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education. In addition, the General Enterprising Tendency (version 2) Test (GETv2) was used with students to explore their entrepreneurial tendencies. Six hundred Malay-version questionnaires were randomlydistributed to selected classes during a regular lecture period in 2008. After screening, a total of 506 questionnaires were deemed completed and usable: a response rate of 84.3 percent. The study identifies that the entrepreneurship syllabus in polytechnics is not effective and students are not imbued with entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and attributes during their study. Teaching approaches appear to be inappropriate and polytechnic lecturers do not appear to have relevant entrepreneurial skills, knowledge or training. There are shortcomings in the way entrepreneurship education is organized and funded in highereducation and cooperation and networking within the agencies, whether domestic or international, is low. The role of culture perceived to be of particular importance. Cultural factors such as gender, values, religion, family back ground and ethnicity are crucial issues which influence students‟ tendency towards entrepreneurship. These findings provide the basis for a new model of entrepreneurship development for higher education in Malaysia.The contribution of the study is therefore to add to the body of knowledge on entrepreneurship education by providing empirical evidence from a Malaysian perspective.

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Setzepfand, Lena, Ida Kristina Kühn, and Anja-Christina Hinrichs. "Quality Assurance in Vocational Orientation through Entrepreneurship Education." 名古屋大学大学院教育発達科学研究科技術・職業教育学研究室, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2237/20873.

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Schneider, Wilfried. "Entrepreneurship Education an Wirtschaftsschulenzwischen kreativen Spielereien undsinnvoller Planung." MANZ Verlag Schulbuch GmbH, 2016. http://epub.wu.ac.at/6046/1/Schneider_2016_MANZ_Entrepreneurship%2DEducation.pdf.

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Choli, Hatice. "Digital inclusion : the challenges." Thesis, University of Greenwich, 2010. http://gala.gre.ac.uk/6363/.

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This research investigated attitudes and behaviours of socially excluded individuals as they engage with further learning through digital technologies in individually orientated and free informal learning settings. The study specifically explored the impact of socio-personal attitudinal and behavioural factors that may impede participation. The research was concentrated in a South East London borough and based within a successful joint initiative between a local authority and third sector organisations. This unique partnership, of over 25 centres, provided access to the hardest to reach groups in the deprived communities of the borough. A number of case studies have been included that give a flavour of the poignant journeys of socially excluded individuals. Past research in this area has been mainly limited to the investigation of economic barriers. The principal focus of this study is Azjen’s social psychological Theory of Planned Behaviour (TpB) which was concerned with localised social determinants of the individual. Research data was collected through questionnaires based on TpB and the raw data derived from these were statistically analysed using inferential statistics, chi-square (x2) on SPSS. In addition, a number of interviews were also carried out to gain further insight into the broad perceptions of the individuals. Interview transcripts were analysed and two emergent themes identified: attitude and behaviour. The statistical analysis revealed that latent experiences and perception played a vital role in individuals’ life choices. These provide the foundation of the socio-personal factors that impact on socially excluded adults and influence their attitudes, behaviour and decision making process. In this study these have been shown to have an impact on attitudes towards any sort of learning/training including IT skills. The combination of poor experiences of school, no/low academic achievement, low self-esteem and confidence, along with a fear of failure has led to lives of worklessness or a continuous cycle of low skilled, low-waged employment, vulnerable to economic change. In addition, a minor analysis contributed through Bourdieu’s concepts established that the individual’s social class/group produced inherent issues of almost unconsciously accepted differentiation between the dominated and dominant classes.

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Gaude, Linn Linn. "Megacity Challenges: Safe Food and Education– : an exploration of challenges and possible ICT solutions." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för datavetenskap och kommunikation (CSC), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-150415.

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In 2012, 50 % of the world’s citizens lived in urban areas. By the year of 2050 that number is estimated to have increased to 70 % with the biggest growth of cities seen in Asia and Africa. Megacities, urban areas with an excess of 10 million inhabitants, are increasing in number and will bring new challenges as well as opportunities. One of humans’ basics needs of survival is food. Today more and more food scandals about dangerous additives or chemicals, fake food, and untruthful listing of ingredients are surfacing in the media. At the same time knowledge about food and where it comes from is decreasing. This report takes a closer look at today’s status of food safety in a megacity context, what this will meanfor all the stakeholders in the food chain, and if and how an ICT concept could be created for supporting the situation. Investigating this makes it possible to learn more about if, why, and in what context an ICT concept could serve a megacity’s inhabitants. The context of the megacity was defined as Beijing due to many food scandals and the fast-paced urbanization trend in China. Information and feedback have been collected during literature research, a survey answered by persons living in Beijing, and brainstorming and ideation sessions that resulted in two examples of possible concepts: FoodBook and FarmConnect. The concepts target problems in transparency, education and corruption for the food industry in Beijing from the consumer’s point of view. The FoodBook is about making safe choices while shopping and being able to get instant and relevant information. As a complement to everyday shopping, FarmConnect is about connecting the consumer with the farmer in an attempt of increasing trust and education. The concepts were discussed during interviews with students from Beijing, now studying in Stockholm, to learn more about potential user’s thoughts on the possibilities and problems with the created ICT solutions. The study has a qualitative approach focusing on the research and conceptualizing stages of the process and does not claim to present any statistically defensible data. The intention of it is merely to show tendencies and raise a discussion. Keywords: Megacity, ICT, Safe food, Education, Beijing, Socioeconomic maturity level

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Gouirand, Alexandra. "Bilinguals in America strengths and challenges /." Online pdf file accessible through the World Wide Web, 2009. http://archives.evergreen.edu/masterstheses/Accession89-10MIT/Gouirand_AMITthesis2009.pdf.

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Kramer, Karen Lee Van Brunt. "A qualitative study of an educational entrepreneurship program /." The Ohio State University, 1992. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487778663287062.

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Enow, Manyi. "IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP : Case studies of challenges faced by immigrant entrepreneurs in a large and small Swedish city." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Företagsekonomi, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-13459.

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Title: Immigrant Entrepreneurship - Case studies of challenges faced by immigrant entrepreneurs in a large and small Swedish city. Purpose: The purpose is to investigate if the challenges faced by immigrant entrepreneurs in Sweden differ between large and small cities. Method: Eight case studies, four in Jönköping and four in Stockholm of seven Asian and one Eastern Europe immigrant entrepreneurs in the restaurant business. Results: The typical Jönköping case and the typical Stockholm case are similar with respect to some challenges faced: a lack of finance, marketing and sales skills are key challenges, and language is not a strong challenge in either city. The typical cases are different with respect to whether or not working longer hours, high rent and administrative and regulatory requirement are challenges. Keywords: Challenges, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Immigrants, Jönköping and Stockholm

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Stander, Cornelia Johanna. "Exploring women entrepreneurship in selected areas in South Africa / Stander C.J." Thesis, North-West University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/7565.

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It is vital that a culture of entrepreneurship is developed in order to unleash the economic potential of all people in South Africa. However, because of the South African woman’s inherited gender role and historical imbalances, women entrepreneurs are faced with unique challenges and barriers when attempting to establish and grow their own businesses. Thus, this study investigated the unique challenges and barriers faced by women when conducting entrepreneurial activities. The literature study provided background information on entrepreneurship in general as well as information on the importance of entrepreneurship to the economy and constraints of entrepreneurship. The woman entrepreneur was explored in terms of her characteristics, motivation to become an entrepreneur and the unique challenges she had to face. The empirical study consisted of a questionnaire developed by the North– West University, specifically the Potchefstroom Business School situated on the Potchefstroom Campus. A total of 120 questionnaires were distributed and 87 were fully completed and collected, which resulted in a response rate of 72.5%. The data collected was statistically analysed using Statistica 10 (Statsoft, 2011). The data from questionnaires was coded and investigated and then transformed to useful outputs such as frequency tables. The frequency tables were used to draw conclusions and to make recommendations regarding the development of women entrepreneurs in South Africa.
Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

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