Entrepreneurial competencies and management schools

Abstract

Business Schools are considered a place where students learn how to run, sustain, and grow a business. Several management schools have started offering various entrepreneurship courses as well, along with traditional courses like finance, marketing, and operations. However, it is yet not established if and how such courses help students in becoming better entrepreneurs. If entrepreneurial competencies can be learned and acquired by observation and experience or whether they can be better developed through management education. There is limited empirical evidence available to support the fact that the education in management schools imparts required skills and competencies for aspiring entrepreneurs to bridge the gap between their existing and required capacities or to create an interest in students for entrepreneurship. However, some argue that not just the curriculum but the overall environment of a management school that includes study materials, classes, extra-curricular activities, business simulation, and competitions help a student gain required competencies through peer and faculty interactions. The network of peers an aspiring entrepreneur is able to build during his time at a management school also reaps fruitful gains in an entrepreneur’s journey. As per research conducted [S.Zulfiqar, B. Sarwar, 2018], practical knowledge is the key to change the attitude of individuals, which leads to a change in individuals’ behaviour. According to Donckels (1991), business and entrepreneurial teaching create awareness of entrepreneurship, and practical exercises like business simulation games encourage and motivate students to build entrepreneurial attitude.