Becoming an entrepreneur: A participant's perspective

Abstract

A single case study of a student was elaborated upon to illustrate the process of change through education. By choosing to study a graduate who had minimal background preparation and minimal interest in entrepreneurship before the education programme, the researchers have attempted to address some of the limits of change possible through entrepreneurship education. A structured interview was used to provide the initial ‘before and after’ account, after which extended and repeated probing was employed as the primary tool for exploring the personal development process involved. The case history was then used as a basis for developing a model of personal development required to make the transition from non-entrepreneur to entrepreneur. This case study was further intended to illustrate some of the relative merits of conducting in-depth case analysis over survey research in the domain of entrepreneurship education. Without in-depth case studies of individuals it is hard to know how much entrepreneurship programmes can change individuals. The possibility remains that entrepreneurship programmes just take potential entrepreneurs and give them a few more tools. Case studies of the change process can provide educators with a more complete understanding not only of what changes are possible within the confines of an education programme, but also of what programme interventions are more likely to produce the desired changes.