Complex Problems in Entrepreneurship Education: Examining Complex Problem-Solving in the Application of Opportunity Identification

In opening up the black box of what entrepreneurship education (EE) should be about, this study focuses on the exploration of relationships between two constructs: opportunity identification (OI) and complex problem-solving (CPS). OI, as a domain-specific capability, is at the core of entrepreneursh...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yvette Baggen, Jakob Mainert, André Kretzschmar, Thomas Lans, Harm J. A. Biemans, Christoph Niepel, Samuel Greiff
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2017-01-01
Series:Education Research International
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/1768690
Description
Summary:In opening up the black box of what entrepreneurship education (EE) should be about, this study focuses on the exploration of relationships between two constructs: opportunity identification (OI) and complex problem-solving (CPS). OI, as a domain-specific capability, is at the core of entrepreneurship research, whereas CPS is a more domain-general skill. On a conceptual level, there are reasons to believe that CPS skills can help individuals to identify potential opportunities in dynamic and nontransparent environments. Therefore, we empirically investigated whether CPS relates to OI among 113 masters students. Data is analyzed using multiple regressions. The results show that CPS predicts the number of concrete ideas that students generate, suggesting that having CPS skills supports the generation of detailed, potential business ideas of good quality. The results of the current study suggest that training CPS, as a more domain-general skill, could be a valuable part of what should be taught in EE.
ISSN:2090-4002
2090-4010