Entrepreneurial Learning and the Success of Welsh Businesswomen
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Jun 12, 2020
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Abstract
This paper reports on a study of women entrepreneurs running MSMEs in South Wales, a region characterised as having a weak entrepreneurial culture compared to other parts of the UK (Fotopoulos and Storey 2017). One reason for this weakness is perceived to be a lack of entrepreneurship education and in this paper we investigate the hypothesis behind this -that more entrepreneurship education has a positive effect on business success. The investigation consisted of three parts; a set of 59 questions (n=150), followed by a series of face-to-face interviews (n=37), and finally some detailed discussions (n=5). The main finding is that the hypothesis that entrepreneurship education makes a positive contribution to the success of women entrepreneurs needs to be modified to reflect the fact that it is entrepreneurial learning through technologically enabled networks that has such an effect, as it no longer makes sense in the age of social media to separate education from asynchronous networked learning, or to separate the technology from the networking within that learning. The practical implication of this research is that enterprise education courses and programmes designed to support female entrepreneurs need to take better account of the way such women learn. The limitation of the research is that the sample is from a relatively technologically enabled population.
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References
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[39] Martin, F., and J. Ertzberger. 2013. “Here and Now Mobile Learning: An Experimental Study on the Use of Mobile Technology.” Computers & Education 68: 76-85.
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[41] Minniti, M. 2010. “Female Entrepreneurship and Economic Activity.” European Journal of Development Research 22(3): 294-312.
[42] Mitchelmore, S., J. Rowley, and E. Shiu. 2014. “Competencies associate with growth of women-led SMEs.” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 21(4) 588-601.
[43] Mohamad, N., H. Lim, H. Yusof, and J Soon. 2015. “Estimating the effect of entrepreneur education on graduates’ intention to be entrepreneurs.” Education + Training 57(8): 874-890.
[44] Northey, G., R. Govind, T. Bucic, M. Chylinski, R. Dolan, and P. van Esch. 2018. “The Effect of ‘here and now’ learning on student engagement and academic achievement.” British Journal of Educational Technology 49(2): 321-333.
[45] Ogidi, A. E. 2014. “Women entrepreneurship and poverty reduction.” Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, 1(1): 1–8.
[46] Plaschka, G. R., and H. P. Welsch. 1990. “Emerging Structures in Entrepreneurship Education: Curricular Design and Strategies.” Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice 14(3): 55-72.
[47] Psacharopoulos, G., and H. A. Patrinos. 2018. “Returns to Investment in Education A Decennial Review of the Global Literature.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 8402.
[48] Rideout, E. C., and D. O. Gray. 2013. “Does Entrepreneurship Education Really Work? A Review and Methodological Critique of the Empirical Literature on the Effects of University-Based Entrepreneurship Education.” Journal of Small Business Management 51(3): 329–351.
[49] Ringle, C. M., S. Wende, and J. M. Becker. 2015. SmartPLS 3. Bönningstedt: SmartPLS.
[50] Rose, A. 2019. The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship London: H.M. Treasury.
[51] Sarri, K. K. 2011. “Mentoring female entrepreneurs: a mentors’ training intervention evaluation.” Journal of European Industrial Training 35(7) 721-741.
[52] Scherer, R. F., J. S. Adams, S. S. Carley, and F. A. Wiebe. 1989. “Role Model Performance Effects on Development of Entrepreneurial Career Preference.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 13(3): 53-73.
[53] Sharafizad, J., and A. Coetzer. 2017. “Women business owners’ start-up motivations and network structure.” Journal of Management & Organization 23(2), 206-223.
[54] Valerio, A., B. Parton, and A. Robb. 2014. Entrepreneurship Education and Training Programs around the World: Dimensions for Success. Washington, DC: World Bank
[2] Alshamaila, Y., S. Papagiannidis, and F. Li. 2013. “Cloud Computing Adoption by SMEs in North East England.” Journal of Enterprise Information Management 26(3): 250-275.
[3] Andringa, W., R. Nieuwenhuis, and M. van Gerven. 2015. “Women’s working hours. The interplay between gender role attitudes, motherhood and public childcare support in 23 European countries.” International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 35(9): 582-599.
[4] Atkinson, C. 2001. “With a little help from my friends! Networking and mentoring among entrepreneuses for personal, business and professional development.” Working Paper Series, Paper 18, Welsh Enterprise Institute, University of Glamorgan Business School.
[5] Bartlett, A. F. 1988. Profile of the Entrepreneurs or Machiavellian Management. Southampton: Ashford Press Publishing.
[6] Beddoe, D. 2000. Out of the Shadows: A History of Women in Twentieth-Century Wales University of Wales Press, Cardiff.
[7] Berglund, H. 2015. “Between cognition and discourse: phenomenology and the study of entrepreneurship.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research 21(3): 472-488.
[8] Bhardwaj, B. (2014). “Impact of education and training on performance of women entrepreneurs: A study in emerging market context.” Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies. 6(1): 38-52.
[9] Boeren, E. 2011. “Gender differences in formal, non-formal and informal adult learning.” Studies in Continuing Education 33(3): 333-346.
[10] Bridge, S., K. O’Neill, and F. Martin. 2009. Understanding Enterprise. Entrepreneurship and Small Business. 3rd edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
[11] Brush, C. G. 2000 “Women Entrepreneurs: the Way Forward.” In: Birley S and Muzyka DF (eds.) Mastering Entrepreneurship. The Complete MBA Companion in Entrepreneurship. GB: Pearson Education Ltd. 14-19.
[12] Brush, C. G., and S. Y. Cooper. 2012 “Female entrepreneurship and economic development: An international perspective.” Entrepreneurship and Regional Development 24: 1-6.
[13] Bullough, A., M. S. de Luque, D. Abdelzaher, and W. Heim. 2015. “Developing Women Leaders through Entrepreneurship Education and Training.” Academy of Management Perspectives 29(2): 250-270.
[14] Bygrave, W. D., and C. W. Hofer. 1991. “Theorizing About Entrepreneurship.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 16(2): 13-23.
[15] Cerratto-Pargman, T., J. Nouri, M. Milrad. 2018. “Taking an Instrumental Genesis Lens: New Insight into Mobile Collaborative Learning.” British Journal of Educational Technology 49(2): 219-234.
[16] Clark, A. 2015. Toothbrush in which the bristles are made using graphene. UK Intellectual Property Office Patent App. no. GB1506548.5
[17] Clark, R. C., and R. E. Mayer. 2008. E-Learning and the Science of Instruction. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
[18] Coduras-Martínez, A., J. Levie, D. J. Kelley, R. J. Sæmundsson, and T. Schøtt. 2010, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Special Report: A Global Perspective on Entrepreneurship Education and Training. London.
[19] Cooke P, and K. Morgan. 1998. The Associational Economy: Firms, Regions and Innovation. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
[20] Czerkawski, B. C. 2016. “Blending formal and informal learning networks for online learning.” International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 17(3): 138-156.
[21] Dalborg. C., Y. von Friederichs, and J. Wincent. 2012. “Beyond the numbers: qualitative growth in women’s businesses.” International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship 4(3) 289-315.
[22] Davis, P. J. 2012. “The global training deficit: the scarcity of formal and informal professional development opportunities for women entrepreneurs.” Industrial and Commercial Training 44(1) 19-25.
[23] Dixon, N. 2017. “Learning together and working apart: routines for organisational learning in virtual teams.” The Learning Organisation (24)3: 2-22.
[24] Douglas, L. M. 2014. “Entrepreneurship Education on Women Entrepreneurs at Pre-Primary and Primary Level in Kenya.” Research on Humanities and Social Sciences. 4(22): 77-83.
[25] EHRC. 2018. “Is Wales Fairer? The state of equality and human rights 2018.” Equality and Human Rights Commission, UK.
[26] Ettl, K., and F. Welter. 2010 “Gender, context and entrepreneurial learning.” International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship 2(2): 108-129.
[27] Fatoki, O. (2014). “Factors motivating young South African women to become entrepreneurs.” Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 5: 184-190.
[28] Fayolle, A. 2013. “Personal views on the future of entrepreneurship education.” Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 25(7): 692-701.
[29] Fee, K. 2009. Delivering E-learning. London: Kogan Page Ltd.
[30] Forson, C. 2013. “Contextualizing migrant black business women's work-life balance experiences.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 19: 460- 477.
[31] Fotopoulos, G., and D. J. Storey. 2017. “Persistence and change in interregional differences in entrepreneurship: England and Wales, 1921-2011.” Environment and Planning 49(3): 670-702.
[32] Hair, J. F. Jr., R. E. Anderson, R. L. Tatham., and W. C. Black. 1995. Multivariate Data Analysis (3rd ed). New York: Macmillan.
[33] Henry. C., L. Foss, and H. Ahl, 2015. “Gender and entrepreneurship research: A review of methodological approaches.” International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship 34 (3): 217-241.
[34] Herron, L., H. J. Sapienza, and D. Smith-Cook. 1992. “Entrepreneurship Theory from an Interdisciplinary Perspective: Volume II.” Entrepreneurship theory and Practice 16(3): 5-13.
[35] Johnson, D. W., and R. T. Johnson. 2009. “An educational psychology success story: social interdependence theory and cooperative learning.” Educational Researcher 38: 365–379.
[36] Klapper, L. F., and S. C. Parker. 2010. “Gender and the Business Environment for New Firm Creation.” The World Bank Research Observer, Advance Access 1(1): 1-21.
[37] Knowles, M. 1980. The Modern Practice of Adult Education. From Pedagogy to Andragogy. Revised Edn. Chicago: Follett Publishing Company Ltd.
[38] Lipsey, R. G., and K. Lancaster. (1956). “The General Theory of Second Best.” Review of Economic Studies 24 (1): 11–32.
[39] Martin, F., and J. Ertzberger. 2013. “Here and Now Mobile Learning: An Experimental Study on the Use of Mobile Technology.” Computers & Education 68: 76-85.
[40] Maryam, I., A. Y. Mbasua, and U. G. Fatima. 2017. “Impact of entrepreneurship education and training on women entrepreneurs in Gombe state, Nigeria.” Gombe Journal of General Studies 1: 181-189.
[41] Minniti, M. 2010. “Female Entrepreneurship and Economic Activity.” European Journal of Development Research 22(3): 294-312.
[42] Mitchelmore, S., J. Rowley, and E. Shiu. 2014. “Competencies associate with growth of women-led SMEs.” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 21(4) 588-601.
[43] Mohamad, N., H. Lim, H. Yusof, and J Soon. 2015. “Estimating the effect of entrepreneur education on graduates’ intention to be entrepreneurs.” Education + Training 57(8): 874-890.
[44] Northey, G., R. Govind, T. Bucic, M. Chylinski, R. Dolan, and P. van Esch. 2018. “The Effect of ‘here and now’ learning on student engagement and academic achievement.” British Journal of Educational Technology 49(2): 321-333.
[45] Ogidi, A. E. 2014. “Women entrepreneurship and poverty reduction.” Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, 1(1): 1–8.
[46] Plaschka, G. R., and H. P. Welsch. 1990. “Emerging Structures in Entrepreneurship Education: Curricular Design and Strategies.” Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice 14(3): 55-72.
[47] Psacharopoulos, G., and H. A. Patrinos. 2018. “Returns to Investment in Education A Decennial Review of the Global Literature.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 8402.
[48] Rideout, E. C., and D. O. Gray. 2013. “Does Entrepreneurship Education Really Work? A Review and Methodological Critique of the Empirical Literature on the Effects of University-Based Entrepreneurship Education.” Journal of Small Business Management 51(3): 329–351.
[49] Ringle, C. M., S. Wende, and J. M. Becker. 2015. SmartPLS 3. Bönningstedt: SmartPLS.
[50] Rose, A. 2019. The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship London: H.M. Treasury.
[51] Sarri, K. K. 2011. “Mentoring female entrepreneurs: a mentors’ training intervention evaluation.” Journal of European Industrial Training 35(7) 721-741.
[52] Scherer, R. F., J. S. Adams, S. S. Carley, and F. A. Wiebe. 1989. “Role Model Performance Effects on Development of Entrepreneurial Career Preference.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 13(3): 53-73.
[53] Sharafizad, J., and A. Coetzer. 2017. “Women business owners’ start-up motivations and network structure.” Journal of Management & Organization 23(2), 206-223.
[54] Valerio, A., B. Parton, and A. Robb. 2014. Entrepreneurship Education and Training Programs around the World: Dimensions for Success. Washington, DC: World Bank