Introduction : From Fundamentals to Advances in Crowdfunding Research and Practice

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Putting “entrepreneurial finance education” on the map

Macht, SA ORCiD: 0000-0002-8099-4871Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to bring attention to “entrepreneurial finance education”, an aspect of entrepreneurship education that is widely taught but neglected by the educational literature. It does so by exploring how social capital, a key resource for entrepreneurs, can be incorporated into entrepreneurial finance education. Design/methodology/approach – By drawing upon social capital literature in the context of funding sources for entrepreneurs, the paper highlights the significance of bonding and bridging social capital for entrepreneurial finance. Findings – The review of relevant literature confirms the importance of social capital for entrepreneurial finance. The existence of bonding social capital, which refers to a trusting relationship between entrepreneurs and financiers, allows entrepreneurs to access their financiers’ resources (e.g. contacts, knowledge, reputation, further funds) through bridging social capital. Practical implications – Students of entrepreneurial finance need to understand the role that both facets of social capital play in the context of fundraising. This paper proposes ways of incorporating social capital into various approaches to entrepreneurial finance education. This allows educators to include relevant topics and research into their syllabi, while enabling students to study a crucial, yet under-represented, topic in entrepreneurial finance education. Originality/value – Given that entrepreneurial finance education has to date been neglected in the educational literature, this paper begins to address a huge void. It clarifies potential contents of entrepreneurial finance education, demonstrates the importance of including social capital in the education of entrepreneurial finance students and suggests practical ways of achieving this

“Authentic alignment”: a new framework of entrepreneurship education

Macht, SA ORCiD: 0000-0002-8099-4871Purpose – This paper seeks to address an underdeveloped aspect of entrepreneurship education (EE), which is still criticised for not explicitly linking educational practice with established educational theory. As such, the purpose of this paper is to propose a novel educational framework – Authentic Alignment - that the authors evolved based on their own EE practice, as well as two major educational theories. Design/methodology/approach – A review of a range of conceptual educational frameworks in EE revealed a gap in the current literature, referring to the fact that practice is not sufficiently linked to sound educational theory. The paper combines a range of educational theories – predominantly Constructive Alignment (CA) and Authenticity – to develop a novel conceptual framework, termed "Authentic Alignment". The discussion of Authentic Alignment draws upon EE literature, as well as student feedback and the reflections and experiences of the practitioners and academics involved in delivering a higher education unit underpinned by Authentic Alignment. Findings – It is argued that Authentic Alignment coherently and explicitly links educational practice to major established educational theories and as such presents a valuable approach to education through entrepreneurship as it aligns authentic approaches to instruction, learning and assessment that strike a balance between resembling and being relevant for real entrepreneurial activity. Practical implications – The paper invites educators to draw upon Authentic Alignment for their own entrepreneurship units/programmes by customising the specific approaches to their own requirements, while retaining the underlying principle of constructively aligned authentic education. Originality/value – By explicitly linking EE to CA and Authenticity, this paper introduces a novel educational framework that provides a valuable structure for education through entrepreneurship. The customisability of Authentic Alignment, however, suggests a wider applicability and is thus valuable also for education about and for entrepreneurship.Associated Grant:Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for BMAF (Business, Management, Accountancy and Finance) Teaching Research and Development Grant 2009/2010 (United Kingdom)

Financing the operations of social innovation projects through Crowdfunding

Chapman, GR ORCiD: 0000-0002-6832-7320; Macht, SA ORCiD: 0000-0002-8099-4871The aim of this paper is to review the potential use of the emerging generation of Hybrid Cargo Airships (HCAs) to provide logistic support for those engaged in combating bush fires – a form of natural disaster that impacts many thousands of people across Australia on an annual basis