The End of Entrepreneurship: A Holistic Paradigm for Teaching and Learning About,for and through Enterprise

Abstract

This paper builds a case that broadens the purpose of entrepreneurship education beyond the walls of the business school to include diverse fields of study at the tertiary level. Entrepreneurship, as a discipline, transcends traditional business school programmes that constrict its holistic nature. It has long been recognized that entrepreneurs are much more than small business owners/managers or self-employed people. They are more aptly described as agents of change and disruption and, more importantly, entrepreneurs can be found in every sector of society. The emerging science of complexity holds a great deal of promise as a theoretical framework for the entrepreneurial journey. The field of entrepreneurship is holistic and interdisciplinary in nature. Entrepreneurship requires a much broader sweep than what the business school curriculum alone can offer. The ‘end’ of entrepreneurship calls for a whole new field of study to unfold and emerge.

Keywords

entrepreneurship education entrepreneurship curriculum complexity sciences creativity process disruptive innovation Enterprise Diamond

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Amabile

T.M.

(1997), ‘Entrepreneurial creativity through motivational synergy’, Journal of Creative Behaviour – Creative Education Foundation, Vol 31, No 1, pp 18–26.

Carland

J.W.

Hoy

Bolton

W.R.

(1984), ‘Differentiating entrepreneurs from small business owners: A conceptualization’, Academy of Management Review, Vol 9, pp 335–339.

Csikszentmihalyi

(1990), Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Harper and Row, New York.

EC (2003), Entrepreneurship in Europe, Green Paper, Commission of the European Communities, Brussels.

Florida

(2005), The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent, Harper Business, New York.

Friedman

T.L.

(2005), ‘It's a flat world, after all’, The New York Times Magazine, 3 April, www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/magazine/03dominance.html.

Gibb

(2006), ‘Entrepreneurship: Unique solutions for unique environments: Is it possible to achieve this with the existing paradigm?’, paper presented at World Conference of the International Council for Small Business World Conference, Melbourne, 18–21 June.

Herrmann

(1994), The Creative Brain, 5th edition, Quebecor, Kingsport, TN.

IEE (1995), Profit 100 Study, Institute for Enterprise Education, St Catharines, Ontario.

10.

IEE (2002), Finding Your Niche in Niagara: Bridging the Gap Between Youth and the Workplace, Institute for Enterprise Education, St Catharines, Ontario.

11.

Kelly

(1997), ‘The new rules of the new economy’, Wired Magazine, September, p 194.

12.

Kelly

Allison

M.A.

(1998), The Complexity Advantage, McGraw Hill, New York.

13.

Kuhn

T.S.

(1962), The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, and London.

14.

Kurtzman

(1998), ‘An interview with W. Brian Arthur’, Strategy + Business, Vol 11, 2nd Quarter, p 95.

15.

LEED (2003), Trentino Local Entrepreneurship Review, Local Economic and Employment Development Programme of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in collaboration with the Trentino Chamber of Commerce, Trentino.

16.

Miller

W.C.

(1999), Flash of Brilliance: Inspiring Creativity Where You Work, Perseus, New York.

17.

Mitton

D.G.

(1989), ‘The compleat entrepreneur’, Entrepreneurship – Theory and Practice, Vol 13, No 3, pp 9–19.

18.

OECD (1989), ‘Towards an enterprising culture: A challenge for education and training’, CERI Monograph No 4, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris.

19.

Postman

(1995), The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

20.

Quartz

S.R.

Sejnowski

T.J.

(2002), Liars, Lovers and Heroes, Harper Collins, New York.

21.

Shaver

Scott

L.R.

(1991), ‘Person, process, choice: The psychology of new venture creation’, Entrepreneurship – Theory and Practice, Vol 16, No 2, pp 23–45.

22.

Timmons

(1989), The Entrepreneurial Mind, Prima, Boston, MA.

23.

Washington Centre for Complexity and Public Policy (2003), The Use of Complexity Science: A Survey of Federal Departments and Agencies, Private Foundations, Universities, and Independent Education and Research Centres, Washington Centre for Complexity and Public Policy, Washington, DC.