The making of innovative entrepreneurs in business schools: lessons from a resource constrained environment

Nurturing innovation has become a central rather than peripheral focus of entrepreneur- ship education in most Business Schools in North America and elsewhere. Yet the link between pedagogy and innovative entrepreneurship is under explored. Using a case study approach this study explores experiential pedagogy - teaching practices consistent with ex- periential learning theory- in a Business School in a developing country. The finding shows that use experiential pedagogical methods used in compulsory entrepreneurship education stimulates innovation learning outcomes. Specifically, student business start-up and use of practitioners in class strongly inspire students attitude and affinity for innovative en- trepreneurship. Also, curriculum and pedagogy are contextualized to achieve maximum impact in a developing country. The contributions to entrepreneurship education theory and implications for practice are discussed

Evaluating sustainable energy potentials through carbon emission assessment of small and medium-sized enterprises in the global south: a case in Wula, CRS Nigeria

There is increasing focus on sustainable energy in developing countries as part of their transition to low carbon economy. Approximately, 40% of the world’s population, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, do not have access to modern energy. Developing countries including Nigeria are facing energy poverty. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a role in achieving the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Absence of sustainable energy is hindering the growth of SMEs in the Global South with impacts on society. In Nigeria, inaccessibility and regular outages of power from the national grid compels SMEs to rely on fossil-fuel based energy which exacerbate pollution and carbon footprint having environmental, social and economic consequences. This project evaluates the potential of sustainable energy in SMEs for minimizing carbon footprint and accelerating the energy transition in a local community of Wula, Nigeria. This exploratory investigation conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 SMEs to obtain data on energy consumption including energy type, quantity consumed and annual cost to estimate carbon footprint and identify sustainable energy needs. The study found that there is significant potential for sustainable energy in the local community and joined-up approach in interventions cannot only address environmental issues but social issues in the local community. The analysis indicates that SMEs spend $13,563.4 annually on fossil fuel-based energy and consume 33,215 litres of petrol/annum; and an estimated carbon footprint of 76,891.0642 KgCO2e (equivalent of 76.89106 tCO2e) per annum. The project helps to understand state of the problem and plans to reduce CO2 emissions and sustain SMEs by installing sustainable energy systems based on the community needs and contribute towards the SDGs. This could open new markets and business opportunities for the poor in the rural area, hence lift families out of poverty and transform lives as a contribution towards SDGs

Putting pedagogy where intention to innovate lies: evaluating compulsory entrepreneurship education

The growing interest in entrepreneurship education has caused a debate about pedagogy can support intention to innovate. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), we examine the links between experiential pedagogy and students' intention to innovate and entrepreneurial intent. Using structural equation modeling on a survey of 361 students of compulsory entrepreneurship education across public and private universities, we find that: (a) regardless university type out-of-class experiences and engaged faculty generate positive behavioral control and attitude towards entrepreneurship; (b) out-of-class experiences significantly increases intentions to innovate; (c) behavioral control mediates the relationship between out-of-class experiences and changes in intention to innovate. (d) university type – public or private – has no direct significant effect on the students intention to innovate. The results contribute to theories of entrepreneurship education and intentions to innovate in higher education

Experiential pedagogy and its link to innovative entrepreneurship: evaluating compulsory entrepreneurship education in Nigeria

As yet, knowledge of how entrepreneurship education influences innovative entrepreneurs is limited. Examination of extant knowledge on innovative entrepreneurship reveals two specific critical aspects. First, the effect of contextual factors on the innovative intentions is fragmented and evidence from a resource constraint environment is sparse. Besides resource constraint, contextual factors of interest here include whether an entrepreneurship course is compulsory, or whether a university is public or private. Second, the role of experiential pedagogy in the development of innovative capabilities is not fully understood. Even if we accept as valid the utility of experiential pedagogy regarding innovation capabilities, what constitutes experiential pedagogy is not commonly agreed upon. The main objective of this thesis, therefore, is to explore experiential pedagogy and its links to innovative entrepreneurship in a resource constrained environment. Three articles have been developed to address this objective. Article 1, examines the links between experiential pedagogy and innovative entrepreneurship. This article is based on a qualitative research approach and uses a single case-study of a private university. The findings are a set of propositions stating that experiential pedagogical methods will raise innovative aspirations and that the stronger the experiential pedagogy, the stronger the impact on innovative aspirations. The propositions in Article 1 are the basis for the hypotheses in Article 2. Article 2 uses a quantitative research approach and a pretest-posttest research design to examine the impact of compulsory entrepreneurship courses and the effects of experiential pedagogy —constructed as out-of-class experiences and engaged-faculty — on innovative intentions and entrepreneurial intentions across public and private universities. The results indicate that (a) out-of-class experience significantly increases intentions to innovate; (b) behavioral control mediates the relationship between out-of-class experiences and changes in intention to innovate; (c) university type – public or private – has no direct significant effect on the students' intention to innovate. Building on the findings of Articles 1 and 2, Article 3 presents a pedagogy typology that is grounded on experiential learning theory. This thesis makes two novel theoretical contributions: a) it contributes to entrepreneurship education theory by providing evidence of the decisive role of experiential pedagogy in the development of innovative intentions which is a precursor to innovative entrepreneurship. Specifically, it contributes to the field of innovative entrepreneurship with the knowledge that perceived behavioral control is an important precursor of innovative intention which is a predictor of innovative entrepreneurship; b) by proposing a novel pedagogy typology, the thesis contributes to the understanding of the nuanced effects of pedagogy in entrepreneurship education. Finally, the thesis has practical implications for policymakers and entrepreneurship educators