Extracurricular enterprise and entrepreneurship activities in HE; understanding entrepreneurial competencies and capabilities

Abstract

This chapter examines the role extracurricular activities have in developing Higher Education (HE) student’s entrepreneurial competencies and capabilities. Specifically, this chapter examines; what type of students participate in extracurricular activities; why students choose to participate; what extracurricular activities offer in terms of entrepreneurial competency development and what extracurricular activities offer in terms of perceived entrepreneurial capability.

An electronic survey (e-survey) collected pre and post data from two groups; Group A, students participating in extracurricular enterprise and entrepreneurship activities (n=119); and Group B, a control group of students engaged in non-enterprise related extracurricular activities (n=72). Findings indicated that students in both groups were motivated to engage with extracurricular activities to enhance their skills, fulfil personal interests and enhance their employability. Utilising Morris, Webb, Fu and Singhal’s (2013) entrepreneurial competencies list as a model, there were found to be increases in all but one competency (creativity) for Group A, yet for the control group, most competencies decreased with the exception of perseverance, effectual reasoning, and tolerance of ambiguity. Independent sample T-tests demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the final ratings of entrepreneurial capability between Group A and Group B, however, the degree of improvement for perceived entrepreneurial capability, pre to post, for those participating in enterprise activities was substantially higher than the control group. Finally, the identity of students participating in extracurricular enterprise and entrepreneurship activities was revealed to be more likely female, studying a programme within the Faculty of Business, and in the second or final stages of their programme.

This chapter demonstrates the value that extracurricular enterprise and entrepreneurship activities provide in a competency context for students and tasks enterprise and entrepreneurship educators with considering how to develop and signpost specific entrepreneurial competencies and capabilities through such activities.