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Entrepreneurial clusters are viewed by academics, practitioners and policy makers as effective economic tools, associated with new business opportunities and innovation potential. Currently, the advancing cluster discussion is concerned with exploring the interplay and interdependence between cluster members, with collaboration increasingly taking centre stage. Despite this, however, the actual nature of collaboration is not fully understood. This study aims to explore collaboration, examining the underlying aspects of cooperative exchange, relationship-building and trust, and networking and knowledge sharing.

The methodological design is qualitative, utilising a series of semi-structured interviews with a cohort of cluster members, operating in an urban cooperative.

A shared purpose, underpinned by commonly supported value systems, is crucial in the formation of trust-based relationships. Competitive rivalry did not negatively influence motivation for collaboration. Instead, it is superseded by trust-based relationships, which facilitate information flow, acting as an enabler for collaboration. Collaboration, in pursuit of mutually beneficial goals, without fear of opportunism, is enacted through the formation of a number of, and different relationships, dependent on individual goals and/or stage of business development. Informal, rather than formal, relationships are built on respect and unspoken agreements, rather than on written formal contracts. Many “untraded” interdependencies lead to a stable networked cluster environment.

This empirical study contributes to and advances entrepreneurial cluster literature providing a deeper understanding for academics and policy makers of the interplay between cooperative exchange, relationship-building and trust and networking and knowledge sharing.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a practice‐based entrepreneurship education programme which enhances collaboration between educational institutions and the small business community as a means of producing a more employable, well rounded and skilled graduates.

A case description of the business consulting programme operated at the University of Limerick.

The findings highlight how a practice‐based learning module brings real business learning into the classroom and simultaneously attends to the needs of different internal and external stakeholders by producing a more flexible and employable professional graduate. Furthermore, it creates a more meaningful relationship between education institutions (knowledge producers) and industry (knowledge users).

Educators need to evaluate the benefits of practice‐based learning programmes from the external stakeholder perspective as a basis of identifying more innovative practice‐based learning options.

The paper draws attention to the need for, and suggestions on how educational institutions can be more outward focussed and responsive to the needs of industry when designing educational programmes.

Although the climate for entrepreneurship in Ireland is positive, with female entrepreneurs making significant economic contributions, a significant weakness of female‐owned businesses remaining small is continuously reported. Achieving growth is central to how a business is run and should be viewed from a business‐owner perspective rather than a scholarly perspective, whereby the concept of growth is portrayed so frequently in a fragmented manner. Moreover, academic research on entrepreneurial firm growth has centred on growth from a non‐gender specific perspective. The purpose of this paper is to investigate, in a meaningful, practical and relevant manner, the process of growth (i.e. defining growth, growth intention, objectives, planning, and strategy) and the measurement of growth in female‐owned businesses.

A quantitative research method has been adopted, i.e. an online survey, to investigate all critical issues pertaining to growth amongst female entrepreneurs operating a business for more than five years.

Based on the findings of the study, results indicate the process of growth in female‐owned businesses differs from that which is frequently reported. Differences exist between characteristics of female entrepreneurs, which in turn impacts not only how they run their business but more importantly how they pursue growth. Furthermore, research demonstrates significant differences in female‐owned businesses with regard to all facets that encompass growth – definition, intention, objectives, planning, strategies employed and the measurement of growth applied.

The paper seeks to fill the gap of limited information pertaining to the profile of growth‐oriented female entrepreneurs from a practical approach. The findings and suggestions for further research will serve to progress research still in its infancy, not only in Ireland but on an international scale, thus being of critical importance to academia, government support agencies, practitioners, policy makers and female entrepreneurs alike in developing relevant and practical supports to assist in promoting growth‐oriented businesses.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the creation of realistic, engaging entrepreneurial competencies in second-level students in the Republic of Ireland through the Student Enterprise Awards (SEA) programme. The focus of the paper will be on the interaction of teachers with the programme.

A mixed-methods approach was adopted, with an e-mail questionnaire fully completed by 101 of the population 300, resulting in a 34 per cent response rate, which was regarded as acceptable. The qualitative approach was 29 semi-structured interviews with teachers and nine principals/head teachers.

The findings suggest that there was strong endorsement by the teachers of the benefits accruing to students in all three areas of knowledge, skills and attitudes. This clearly reinforces the strength of the SEA programme which will become increasingly important for students who are facing uncertain career paths. The programme will help engender students with increased self-confidence, better communication and presentation skills. Better skilled students make them more employable. This programme was primarily delivered by teachers and completed by students who did it on a voluntary basis and have no official recognition of participation.

The research has identified a notable lack of enterprise-related teacher training in the current education system in the Republic of Ireland. Such training is necessary to ensure effective teaching of entrepreneurship and could bring consistency to the quality of enterprise education received by students in different schools. Students enjoy participating on the programme and see lifelong benefits from doing it, therefore it would be beneficial to incorporate it as a mandatory subject in the curriculum.

Integrating the theoretical principles underpinning entrepreneurship education, which were presented in the paper, with the empirical teacher findings leads to a number of recommendations that can be adopted by the teacher, principal/head teacher and school board.

This study aims at measuring the results of the use of an improved and innovative teaching method, specifically designed for supporting the development of students’ entrepreneurship competence, through students’ self-assessment before and after the teaching.

The teaching methods design was based on the effectuation approach and considering the comprehensive entrepreneurship competence model as theoretical grounding. The teaching methods experimentation took place in three countries (Estonia, Italy and Poland), collecting pre–post self-assessment surveys from 404 students of entrepreneurship courses. The results of the experimental groups were compared, in each country, with those of control groups not exposed to the same teaching.

Students participating in classes using innovative teaching methods declared an increase in entrepreneurship competencies, with statistically significant differences, contrasting the results in the control group. The positive changes in self-assessment were observed for 13 of 14 subcompetencies investigated. The increase in the level of the self-assessment of entrepreneurship subcompetencies was significantly greater among bachelor’s degree students.

The strengths of the study include a diverse research sample and a uniform structure of teaching design applied in three different countries, while specific comparative studies on entrepreneurship education and its effect on learners are limited. Moreover, this study used a pre–post design and involved a control group, while most of the existing research on the effect of entrepreneurship teaching are based on different methods. Finally, while most studies measure the impact of entrepreneurship education by focusing on entrepreneurial intentions, this study focused on the development of students’ entrepreneurship competences.