Journal article 134 views 24 downloads
A disaggregated view of soft skills: Entrepreneurship education systems of Africa
Journal of Small Business Management, Pages: 1 - 33
Swansea University Author:
Paul Jones
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© 2024 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/00472778.2024.2356596
Abstract
Much of the literature on entrepreneurship education describes the teaching concept as a whole, which means that additional work must be done to tease out its individual components. Accordingly, this study focuses on soft skills—a core component of entrepreneurship education that represents entrepre...
Published in: | Journal of Small Business Management |
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ISSN: | 0047-2778 1540-627X |
Published: |
Informa UK Limited
2024
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Online Access: |
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URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66473 |
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Abstract: |
Much of the literature on entrepreneurship education describes the teaching concept as a whole, which means that additional work must be done to tease out its individual components. Accordingly, this study focuses on soft skills—a core component of entrepreneurship education that represents entrepreneurial behaviors, attitudes, and attributes. It examines the mechanisms underlying soft skills and entrepreneurial readiness by drawing on a mediated model of entrepreneurship education and 300 observations on aspiring South African entrepreneurs. Regression tests reveal that while soft skills determine the entrepreneurial readiness of these entrepreneurs, their impact on their ability to start, innovate, finance, and grow new ventures is mediated by the entrepreneurial processes that define their entrepreneurial journeys. This has academic, policy, and social implications as it increases the importance of developing contextual insights into the facets of soft skills in an African country to inspire policy reforms that support African entrepreneurship. |
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Keywords: |
Entrepreneurship education; soft skills; novice South African entrepreneurs; entrepreneurial readiness; Africa |
College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
Funders: |
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada) |
Start Page: |
1 |
End Page: |
33 |