Tatiana Somià and Mariangela Vecchiarini
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have led to significant transformations across industries and society, including the field of education. The integration of AI in…
Abstract
Purpose
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have led to significant transformations across industries and society, including the field of education. The integration of AI in educational settings has the potential to improve students' learning experience and support their individual competencies when paired with non-AI methods. Despite the growing importance of AI in modern education, there remains a noticeable research gap regarding its use in entrepreneurship education and the effects of Chatbots on students' entrepreneurial competencies. To address this gap, an exploratory study was conducted on undergraduate students who were tasked with using ChatGPT to improve their business model canvas.
Design/methodology/approach
The chosen methodology aligned with the research purpose, aiming to explore the relationship between Generative AI and competencies. Due to the novel nature of the research problem, an exploratory study was conducted using a mixed methods approach. A survey with open- and closed-ended questions was designed, and statistical and text analyses were performed to interpret data and test identified propositions.
Findings
The findings of this study indicate that ChatGPT can enhance the types of students' entrepreneurial competencies considered in this study: spotting opportunities, creativity, vision, valuing ideas and ethical and sustainable thinking. The results show that ChatGPT can be particularly helpful to improve the ability of students of valuing ideas.
Originality/value
Overall, this study highlights the potential of adopting ChatGPT in experiential learning methodologies for enhancing students' entrepreneurial competencies and improving their learning outcomes.
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Alessio Trentin, Tatiana Somià, Enrico Sandrin and Cipriano Forza
The development of mass-customization capability (MCC) is crucial for a growing number of manufacturing firms nowadays and presents great challenges, especially in the area of…
Abstract
Purpose
The development of mass-customization capability (MCC) is crucial for a growing number of manufacturing firms nowadays and presents great challenges, especially in the area of operations management. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into which individual competencies (ICs) of an operations manager (OM) are important to the MCC of the manufacturing organization the OM works for.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple-case study was designed, involving eight machinery manufacturers in one European country, to collect data on their MCC and on the ICs of their OMs. Empirical case data were triangulated with analytical conceptual arguments grounded in the existing literature.
Findings
The study provides empirical evidence of, and logical explanations for, the fact that OMs working in high-MCC manufacturing organizations use the ICs of negotiation, information seeking, efficiency orientation, analytical thinking and pattern recognition significantly more often than OMs employed by low-MCC organizations.
Research limitations/implications
Future research could replicate this study in other industries and countries, as well as for other managerial roles.
Practical implications
The study provides indications for OM selection and training in companies that are pursuing a mass-customization strategy.
Originality/value
While the literature on technological and organization-level enablers of MCC has grown considerably, the understanding of its individual-level enablers is still limited and concerns mostly the workforce. This is the first study that relies not on practitioners’ opinions, but on data regarding manufacturers’ MCC and their managers’ ICs to shed light on which managerial competencies are important to a manufacturer’s MCC.
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Luke Pittaway, Paul Benedict, Krystal Geyer and Tatiana Somià
This chapter provides an overview of entrepreneurship clubs. It charts the development of these organisations, as a form of extracurricular activity. It introduces different forms…
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of entrepreneurship clubs. It charts the development of these organisations, as a form of extracurricular activity. It introduces different forms of entrepreneurship clubs, such as Junior Achievement (JA) and Enactus, and explains how they grew from 1919 to the present. It also illustrates the differences between self-organised clubs, organised programs using clubs as a learning method, structured societies and nationally organised cooperative societies. The second part introduces research on student clubs in entrepreneurship education. It explores the benefits of clubs. It shows that clubs assist student learning, enable the acquisition of practical skills and improve college attendance, employment opportunities and career attainment. We argue that entrepreneurship clubs have improved student learning outcomes in entrepreneurship and simulated entrepreneurial learning, while impacting student self-efficacy and intentionality as well as improving employability and social learning. The final part of the chapter provides advice and tips for educators advising student-run entrepreneurship clubs. Ultimately, the chapter explains how student clubs have developed, why they are important for student learning and how advisors can support them.
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Arnaldo Camuffo, Fabrizio Gerli, Silvia Borgo and Tatiana Somià
This study aims to explore how the amount and the nature of learning accrued during an MBA – measured in terms of competency development – impact on career advancement and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how the amount and the nature of learning accrued during an MBA – measured in terms of competency development – impact on career advancement and compensation.
Design/methodology/approach
Applying nonparametric statistical analysis on data from behavioral event interviews and survey questionnaires to a sample of 44 Italian MBA graduates, the study investigates: the type and extent of competency development during the MBA programme and the relationship between this competency development and post‐MBA career and compensation.
Findings
The findings support the hypothesis that the degree of competency development during the MBA programme enhances career advancement, and that some competencies, like planning, result orientation, networking, organizational awareness, system thinking and use of technology, do so particularly, which is consistent with literature on career competencies. No relationship is found, instead, between competency development during the MBA and compensation.
Originality/value
Most of the outstanding research supports the hypothesis that the MBA enhances career advancement, but the evidence about how the skills and competencies associated with an MBA study impact on career outcomes is polarized and remains somewhat sketchy. Several scholars have examined the career outcomes for MBA graduates, but no specific study has addressed the issue of assessing whether and to what extent the competencies developed during the MBA programme impact on career outcomes. The study investigates this issue and tries to explore the relationship between competencies development and career advancement.
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This chapter considers the role of entrepreneurship theory in the development of ideation techniques for entrepreneurship education. It begins by considering how metatheories…
Abstract
This chapter considers the role of entrepreneurship theory in the development of ideation techniques for entrepreneurship education. It begins by considering how metatheories impact theory construction in entrepreneurship research and discusses the role of ontology, epistemology, axiology, as well as the role of assumptions about human nature and social change. The chapter presents four different paradigms of thought that apply different philosophies and illustrates how these different paradigms conceptualize entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial opportunity differently. The four paradigms include the equilibrium paradigm, the disequilibrium paradigm, the disruptive innovation paradigm, and the social constructionism paradigm. Within each paradigm, the nature of entrepreneurial opportunity is discussed, and the chapter provides examples to show how different ideation techniques can be generated from these different conceptualizations. Forms of ideation technique are presented and explained, as they relate to each paradigm, and the chapter concludes by explaining the value of these techniques for ideation, opportunity discovery, and creation, in the entrepreneurial process.
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Annachiara Scapolan, Fabrizio Montanari, Sara Bonesso, Fabrizio Gerli and Lorenzo Mizzau
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the behavioural competencies of directors and managers working for cultural organizations and their relationship with organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the behavioural competencies of directors and managers working for cultural organizations and their relationship with organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts an ESC competency modelling process and the technique of the Behavioural Event Interview as the primary source of data collection. In particular, the authors interviewed 14 directors and managers of six performing arts organizations operating in Emilia-Romagna, a region located in Northern Italy.
Findings
Findings show that directors and managers of cultural organizations are characterized by a specific set of social and emotional (e.g. persuasion and empathy), whereas cognitive competencies, such as quantitative analysis, are less frequent. Findings highlight also that a balanced portfolio of behavioural competencies emerges as importantly correlated with high organizational performance.
Practical implications
Findings offer relevant managerial implications for the design and implementation of a coherent set of human resource management practices, which allow cultural organizations to reach above-average performance.
Originality/value
This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between managerial competencies and the performance of cultural organizations, taking into account specific kinds of competencies – namely, behavioural competencies – which have been neglected by the previous literature.
Objectivo
Este estudio pretende investigar las competencias comportamentales de los directores y managers que trabajan en las organizaciones culturales, y la relación entre estas competencias y la el desempeño organizacional.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Este estudio usa el proceso ESC competency modelling y la técnica de la Behavioral Event Interview. Sobre todo, entrevistamos 14 directores y managers de seis organizaciones de espectáculos en vivo que operan en Emilia-Romagna, una región del Norte de Italia.
Hallazgos
Encontramos que los directores y managers de las organizaciones culturales muestran un conjunto especifico de competencias sociales y emocionales (persuasión, empatía, etc.), mientras que las competencias cognitivas son menos frecuentes. Hallazgos muestran también que un portfolio balanceado de competencias comportamentales está correlacionado con alto desempeño organizacional.
Implicaciones prácticas
Los Hallazgos ofrecen relevantes implicaciones administrativas por el diseño y la implementación de un sistema coherente de prácticas de recursos humanos, que permite a las organizaciones culturales conseguir un alto rendimiento organizacional.
Originalidad y valor
Este articulo contribuye a una mejor comprensión de la relación entre las competencias de los managers y el desempeño de las organizaciones culturales, sobre todo considerando competencias específicas (las competencias comportamentales) que los estudios pasados han descuidado.