Author/Authors :
Baggen, Yvette Department of Education - Utrecht University - Utrecht, Netherlands , Mainert, Jakob University of Luxembourg - Luxembourg City, Luxembourg , Kretzschmar, André University of Tubingen - Tubingen, Germany , Lans, Thomas Wageningen University - Wageningen, Netherlands , Biemans, Harm J. A Wageningen University - Wageningen, Netherlands , Niepel, Christoph University of Luxembourg - Luxembourg City, Luxembourg , Greiff, Samuel University of Luxembourg - Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Abstract :
In opening up the black box of what entrepreneurship education (EE) should be about, this study focuses on the exploration
of relationships between two constructs: opportunity identification (OI) and complex problem-solving (CPS). OI, as a domainspecific capability, is at the core of entrepreneurship research, whereas CPS is a more domain-general skill. On a conceptual level,
there are reasons to believe that CPS skills can help individuals to identify potential opportunities in dynamic and nontransparent
environments. Therefore, we empirically investigated whether CPS relates to OI among 113 masters students. Data is analyzed using
multiple regressions. The results show that CPS predicts the number of concrete ideas that students generate, suggesting that having
CPS skills supports the generation of detailed, potential business ideas of good quality. The results of the current study suggest that
training CPS, as a more domain-general skill, could be a valuable part of what should be taught in EE.
