Full curriculum-based venture creation programmes: current knowledge and research challenges

Abstract

PurposeFull curriculum-based Venture Creation Programmes (VCPs) are a relatively new and potentially underutilised form of degree programme in which students explore the on-going creation of a new venture as a primary aspect of their formal study. The highly experiential nature of VCPs has the potential to meet the calls of researchers and policymakers for students to actively participate in and control their own learning for enterprise and entrepreneurship. However, research into VCP's remains limited which constrains their development. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to review the literature surrounding VCPs in order to investigate the current research and explore areas for further study to support the development of these courses.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted in order to find and explore literature around VCPs, defined here as credit-bearing whole programmes of study, focused on learning for entrepreneurship, with the creation of a real-life business venture as an integral part of the learning experience, on which completion of the programme is dependent. First, academic literature published in peer-reviewed journals was collected through a systematic search. In parallel with this, academic colleagues working in this space were contacted for recommendations of literature and for information on work in progress. This led to additional emerging work being discovered that is primarily being presented at conferences. A further general Internet search was conducted to find non-academic information, reports and literature relating to VCP practice.FindingsFour themes were explored covering the entire student journey (1) application and recruitment; (2) teaching, learning and assessment; (3) development of entrepreneurial identity; and (4) entrepreneurial outcomes. The literature presented in the paper suggests that VCPs can meet calls to provide an innovative curriculum based on experiential learning principles. VCPs can provide a positive learning experience in addition to leading to actual business start-up during the degree or after graduation.Originality/valueThis paper presents a comprehensive review of literature focusing on VCPs. Recommendations are made for further research. A key question remains: if full VCPs have the potential to enhance learning, produce positive business outcomes, and address policy calls, why are there so few known VCPs at universities around the world?

Moderators of the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial action

“…The results obtained in the research suggest that the didactic methodologies used in formal training, despite being designed according to the principles of active learning, partially contribute to diminishing the perception of psychological distance to entrepreneurship. Teaching methods in compulsory EE do not emphasize the acquisition of real market knowledge or attempt to inspire and increase the perception about available resources and interesting partners (Smith et al, 2022;Debarliev et al, 2020). They are not developed with the purpose of helping student entrepreneurs deal with the perception of psychological distance, and the results suggest that they have no influence on enhancing entrepreneurial actions even through more abstract entrepreneurial actions.…”

“…use experiential techniques in real-life environments on real problems; connect the subject matter to student needs, goals, and aspirations; and treat courses as learning experiences not learning silos" (p. 14). Voluntary EE thereby combines different teaching methods, such as teamwork, real-world learning, problem-solving and social collaboration (Smith et al, 2022;Lack eus, 2020;Bauman and Lucy, 2021). In addition, voluntary EE promotes a social learning culture that encourages students to share what they know and to learn from their peers (Pocek et al, 2022).…”

“…They are not developed with the purpose of helping student entrepreneurs deal with the perception of psychological distance, and the results suggest that they have no influence on enhancing entrepreneurial actions even through more abstract entrepreneurial actions. The need "to reflect upon our (educational) practices (in compulsory EE) and take a more critical stance, breaking away from the far too common taken for granted position" (Fayolle, 2013 p. 693) also emerges from the research (Smith et al, 2022;Haneberg et al, 2022). To advance in this direction, academics and teachers have to come to terms with the tensions existing between formal academic requirements and experiential pedagogical approaches in the university context (Ratten and Usmanij, 2021).…”

“…To advance in this direction, academics and teachers have to come to terms with the tensions existing between formal academic requirements and experiential pedagogical approaches in the university context (Ratten and Usmanij, 2021). They also have to propose new ways of delivering incurricular experiential entrepreneurship education, such as full curriculum-based venture creation programmes (Smith et al, 2022;Haneberg et al, 2022).…”

“…Educators will then rigorously test their interventions, specifically in terms of change in students' entrepreneurial behaviour, in order to diminish the distance between theory and practice (Wu and Gu, 2017). The authors are aware of the potential challenges associated with this research regarding the concentration on single-institution studies that may lead to issues when it comes to meeting the academic rigour required for journal publication (Smith et al, 2022). In addition, adopting experimentation learning principles in compulsory interventions indicates a change in the teacher's capability to teach in this new situation and advises universities to develop an educational model that educates teaching staff to change from a conventional approach to an experiential approach (Koopman et al, 2013).…”