21929: Enabling Nascent Entrepreneurial Role Models in Regional Ecosystems

Successful and innovative founders are a key asset to an entrepreneurial ecosystem's capacity building and performance, especially through enabling entrepreneurial offspring entrepreneurial learning. How higher entrepreneurship education stakeholders (HEEs) engage with entrepreneurial role models (ERMO), especially within the nascent entrepreneurship stage, has barely been explored. To bridge this gap, this research assesses the role and influence of international HEEs from different domains and regions in managing ERMO in the context of ecosystems’ entrepreneurial capacity building. A mixed-methods research approach including semi-structured interviews and field trip observations of HEE institutional stakeholders (teachers and managers) is carried out, supported by a visual ego-centered qualitative network analysis (ENA), visualizing nascent ERMOs support structures focussing on the effectiveness of ERMO related activities. A reflexive thematic approach (RTA) is used for joint data analysis. Related to the management of ERMO the following themes were identified: (1) long-term engagement, (2) ecosystem embeddedness and literacy, and (3) cross-faculty cooperation. By investigating HEEs’ engagement with ERMO, we contribute to the literature by linking research on entrepreneurial role models with the discussion on entrepreneurship ecosystem capacity building. As the current state of research is not fully complete, further research on the effectiveness of ERMO-related programs needs to be carried out.

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