BRINGING AN ACADEMIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP MINDSET TO STUDENTS: EXPLORING HOW IT CAN STRENGTHEN THE SUCCESS OF ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS.

• Author: Powell, Kimberly K.

INTRODUCTION

The term "academic entrepreneurship" has been utilized before, but in the context of academicians, not the students directly. Daniels and Hofer (1993), Samson and Gurdon (1993), and Radosevich (1995) have defined this term to differentiate academicians who have engaged in forming companies from those who have not. Later studies conducted by Jones-Evans and Klofsten (2000), D'Este and Perkmann (2011), DeSilva, Uyarra, and Oakey (2012), and De Silva (2016) have expanded upon this definition. Academic entrepreneurship has also been studied from a financial impact (Wright, Birley, & Mosey, 2004).

The interest in entrepreneurship thrives among younger groups. Sixty-two percent of millennials, those born from 1978 to 1994, have considered starting their own business at some point (Belch, 2018; Economic Innovation Group, 2016). However, entrepreneurship is lower among the millennial generation than compared to earlier generations (Wilmoth, 2016). Generation Z, those born since 1995, yields opportunities for business schools (Belch, 2018). This group is 55% more likely to have a desire to start a business, as compared to its Millennial counterparts (Gherini, 2018).

Also, there is the corporate entrepreneur or intrapreneur factor because some students may want to engage in entrepreneurial creativity and innovation within large, established organizations. Organizations such as Apple, Google, and Zappos are well-known for fostering an entrepreneurial spirit (Neck, Neck, and Murray, 2018). Organizations need a strategic plan for professionalizing and institutionalizing innovation across the company and corporate entrepreneurs facilitate this effort by exploring strategic possibilities and opportunities for fostering innovation (Corbett, 2018; Neck et. al, 2018).

There has been ongoing debate that many relevant learning experiences students have outside of the classroom--internships, professional development, and business case competitions, often do not contribute to the credits included in the price of a degree (Selingo, 2016). With the need for greater innovation and creativity, there is a misalignment of the skills of college graduates verses industry needs (King, 2015). Greater disconnect can exist for students who aspire to be entrepreneurs or corporate entrepreneurs. So what should business schools do? They have options because the knowledge and skills of a successful entrepreneur can be taught (Schramm, 2012). "The entrepreneurial method requires consistent practice so that knowledge and expertise can be continuously developed and applied to future endeavors" (Neck et. al, 2018, p. 10). One option that business schools and other academic units should consider is integration of an academic entrepreneurship model.

Business schools that strive to create graduates who are prepared for entrepreneurial activities but struggle on where exactly to start should consider cultivating and fostering an entrepreneurial environment from an academic context. This environment transcends beyond the classroom. It transforms the business school into a place of opportunity for students, while helping students to mitigate, manage, and cope with risks.

By revamping the academic environment into an entrepreneurial environment, students learn transferrable strategies and skills for identifying opportunities while being able to successfully cope with the risks. Academic entrepreneurship cannot only strengthen the success of aspiring entrepreneurs, but it can also optimize the success of corporate entrepreneurs while maximizing students' academic experiences.

The authors of this research explore how academic entrepreneurship can be integrated into the business curriculum to create more entrepreneurial minded students, hence students who become academic entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship can be taught. It is a method that involves practice (Neck et. al, 2018). From this perspective, they define academic entrepreneurship as the process of creating and/or engaging in new academic opportunities, endeavors, and possibilities while assuming the risks of those opportunities and possibilities. Academic entrepreneurs create and/or engage in these new academic possibilities, endeavors, and opportunities for themselves so they can grow academically and professionally despite uncertain conditions and risks that may exist. Possibilities, endeavors, and opportunities do not come without risks that students address during their academic matriculation. This study explores academic entrepreneurship from both a theoretical and practical perspective.

Academic Entrepreneurship: Framework

Endeavors and Opportunities

In entrepreneurship, opportunities and endeavors can be actively searched for or arise at random (Neck, et. al, 2018). One example of an academic endeavor can include participation in study abroad opportunities. A short-term study abroad program is more appealing to students in that it dispels financial myths and minimizes sticker shock (Bruce, 2015). Aside from the travel and cultural experiences, there are opportunities in which they can seize as students for a future business venture--growth of international professional networks and possible expansion into international markets. Developing networks is a key identification method for entrepreneurs who are looking to build opportunities (Neck et. al, 2018).

Another academic endeavor for students is participation in business case competitions. Business case competitions can yield multiple opportunities and endeavors. Aside from the prize money, which can be utilized as an investment, business case competitions can build students' self-efficacy in solving complex business problems, increase students' networking and communication skills, allow them to secure internships (which can also increase a student's skillset and network), and build students' knowledge breath in business (from finance to marketing) and industry-specific areas (healthcare to technology). Some business case competitions are international, which allows exposure to different cultures and greater adaptability in fluid situations (Weybrecht, 2016). Business case competitions can help aspiring entrepreneurs sharpen their skills in identifying viable solutions for unmet markets.

For some aspiring entrepreneurs, it can be advantageous for students to gain work experience in an organization prior to venturing out on their own. Internships can be invaluable in this effort. In a study conducted by Dommeyer, Gross, and Ackerman (2016), 97% of the marketing interns (279 total) indicated that they found their internship to be a learning experience.

Key components of their learning experience included...