Hearing From Student Entrepreneurs: Needs & Perspectives on University Entrepreneurship Resources

Open Access
- Author:
- Girlando, Leonardo
- Area of Honors:
- Finance
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Jeanette K Miller, Thesis Supervisor
Brian Spangler Davis, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Entrepreneurship
Startups
Ecosystem
students
undergraduate - Abstract:
- The idea of infusing entrepreneurship into education has spurred much enthusiasm in the last few decades. Entrepreneurs have been the driving energy of innovation, technological development, economic growth, and job creation (Maresch, et al., 2016). In today's knowledge economy and era of rapid technological development, the influence of entrepreneurial education has become critical to fostering the entrepreneurial actions necessary for economic growth. In order to build sustainable entrepreneurial communities on campus, universities should hear from student entrepreneurs and understand their needs and perspectives. This research provides a practical data analysis of the needs and perspectives of 200 subjects, including current students and alumni from 15 universities across the US. Additionally, this study transmits stories from four subjects connected to The Pennsylvania State University at different stages of venture. Results indicate that universities should proactively aim to track student entrepreneurs' engagement with university resources, as well as provide guidance on the resources they would need at the various stages of their ventures so students can maximize their engagement with resources on campus. Furthermore, transparently sharing an updated standardized data set on entrepreneurship actions and intentions among ecosystem stakeholders would unlock a much-needed and efficient collaboration while creating a sense of belongingness within the community. Ultimately, proper visibility into a university's entrepreneurial ecosystem would generate positive students' perceptions of the university’s entrepreneurial climate, helping unclog opportunity identification and translating entrepreneurial intentions into observable entrepreneurial behavior (Geissler, et al., 2012).