Introduction
1. Entrepreneurs shift economic resources into areas that yield higher productivity and returns. This definition was offered by Jean-Baptiste Say at the beginning of the nineteenth century and, despite the debates that have evolved ever since, it is, in its quintessence, still valid today. Shifting economic resources requires information as well as the will and power to employ this information in decision making. Very often becoming an entrepreneur is the result of a personal decision making process in which one assesses opportunities and their costs (being employed, being unemployed, being one‟s own boss) and risk-reward relationships (what is at stake). Values, beliefs and behaviours, embedded in the culture of a country and a place, influence this decision as do the individual‟s knowledge, skills, competences and experience. This paper examines how entrepreneurship values, beliefs and behaviours as well as knowledge, skills, competences and experiences are developed by universities amongst their graduates.
2. The debate on whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught and learned is well-known, and does not need to be unfolded in this note, which aims to provide practical advice to policy makers on how to stimulate entrepreneurship in a time of post-crisis recovery. We start from the assumption that „everyone who can face up to decision making can learn to be an entrepreneur and to behave entrepreneurially‟ and that entrepreneurship is „behaviour rather than personality trait‟ (Peter F. Drucker 1993, 26; 34). Entrepreneurship can therefore be promoted by appropriate teaching. To complement entrepreneurship education, certain targeted start-up and early growth support needs to be provided, such as finance and training. Universities are key actors in both areas, and there is a clear role for public policy and local governance in supporting them in these tasks.
3. The note focuses our attention on a number of key questions: „what‟ skills are most important in successfully starting and growing a business, „where and how‟ they are developed and „who‟ it is all for. It confirms that target groups for policy intervention are diverse and have a number of specificities in terms of attitudes and motivations for entrepreneurship as well as experience. Hence, to be successful, policy intervention requires tailoring of both design and delivery.
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