“Entrepreneurship Education in IT-Degree Programs: From Requirements to Reality” (General Joint Session at WMSCI 2019)

Professor Christian Greiner
Associate Dean Applied Research, Department of Business Administration, Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

Abstract:

Various scholars contributed extensively to the area of entrepreneurial education. Nevertheless our key findings in assessing successful entrepreneurs is that strategic partnerships are very important in the daily practice of entrepreneurial companies but these partnerships are almost completely ignored in entrepreneurship courses and business models. These courses and models seem to focus on standalone products and services. It appears that the question of partnerships and system thinking is not fully understood and supported by applied research. The authors argue that using a qualitative as well as a quantitative approach helps to verify a potential deficit in entrepreneurial education. In particular, the propositions were piloted in analyzing 86 business plans at bachelors and masters level in courses delivered by the authors. The initial conclusion shows that entrepreneurial education has to shift its own paradigm – from business planning to business modeling including partnerships with established firms. In addition, an empirical qualitative study on sixteen entrepreneurship textbooks in German and English was conducted. Finally, the authors propose an innovative teaching approach that is centered around a structured analysis of campaigns on crowdfunding platforms. Student learning includes cognitive/rational analysis as well as emotional/trust engagement, in particular with the invest/not invest question as the tangible outcome. This concept has been applied in academic teaching for six semesters with more than 150 business and non-business students.

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