A study of a university-led entrepreneurship education programme for small business owner/managers

Abstract

The small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector is crucial to regional and national economies [Thorpe, R., J. Cope, M. Ram, and M. Pedler. 2009. Leadership development in small-and medium-sized enterprises: The case for action learning. Action Learning: Research and Practice 6, no. 3: 201–8; Jones, O., A. Macpherson, and R. Thorpe. 2010. Learning in owner-managed small firms: Mediating artefacts and strategic space. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development 22, no. 7/8: 649–73]. In recognition of this, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been supported through government policy to provide training programmes for SMEs aimed at developing a higher level of skills that will support growth [Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration. 2003. Final Report, KM Treasury, London. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk; HM Treasury. 2006. The Leitch Review of Skills: Prosperity for all in the global economy – World class skills. London: HM Treasury; DIUS (Department for Business Innovation Universities and Skills). 2007. Implementing ‘The race to the top’: Lord Sainsbury's review of government's science and innovation policies. TSO; DIUS (Department for Business Innovation Universities and Skills). 2008. Higher education at work: High skills, high value. http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/corporate/migratedD/ec_group/HLSS4_08 (accessed February 7, 2011); Zhang, J., and E. Hamilton. 2010. Entrepreneurship education for owner-managers: The process of trust building for an effective learning community. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship 23, no. 3: 249–70]. This study considers the relationship between entrepreneurship education and SME owner/managers by examining a programme delivered by a HEI for growth-oriented small business owner/managers. It addresses the questions: What factors do participants believe enhance the effectiveness of HEI and SME engagement? And what impact, if any, do participants perceive such engagement has upon them as an individual operating within an SME and their business operations? Qualitative techniques are used to explore the situations of five SME owner/managers at three points during a 5-year period. Findings show that entrepreneurship education delivered a range of benefits to SMEs and the region. Through engaging, owner/managers interacted with others. This extension of their network supported business growth and development. This study demonstrates that enterprise education can deliver positive benefits to SME owner/managers and the wider region in which they are located.

Keywords:

• entrepreneurship education
• HEI/SME engagement
• network

Acknowledgements

We thank the editors and reviewers for their help and support throughout the review process. We also acknowledge the contribution of Dr Jason Cope to this study. Jason encouraged us to put forward a paper for this issue, but more broadly his pioneering work in understanding entrepreneurial learning underpinned the design of the LEAD programme and was essential to its development.

Notes

Notes

1. LEAD was funded by the NWDA, and the programme is currently being rolled out across the North West of England via a network of 12 delivery partners. This roll out will see the total number of LEAD alumni exceed 1500 by 2013. In addition, LEAD Wales is to be launched by Swansea University, and will see over 600 SME owners from that country benefit from the programme by 2015. Lancaster University is assisting these new providers to develop and deliver their programmes, and the impact of LEAD is now evident on a significant scale.

2. ESRC Business Placement Fellow entitled ‘Entrepreneur-in-Residence’ RES-186-27-0003.

3. Growth-oriented businesses are selected to join the LEAD programme on a range of qualitative and quantitative criteria. These include number of employees but also growth aspirations of the individual owner/manager who has to be the main decision maker (Peters 2011).