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Purpose: The article strives for a more deeper understanding of the concept of a university-based entrepreneurial ecosystem and how it can support start-ups and contribute to the regional development. The empirical purpose of the study is to diagnose the key actors and drivers, initiatives and examples of good practice of a university-based start-up ecosystem with a strong leadership of the founders center. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on a management science literature review, covering various approaches to the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems, using the following methods: exploration, interpretation, comparing, and analysing critical factors. The empirical research applies the method of in-depth semi-structured direct interview with experts in the field of support services to potential founders and start-ups with academic origin, the case study method, participatory observation, and reflection. The explorative qualitative study uses both descriptive and explanatory techniques. Findings: The research findings provide insight in the real nature of the university-based startup ecosystem presenting its key stakeholders which provide a conducive environment for potential founders and start-ups. The study highlights examples of good practice implemented in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. Research limitations/implications: Research limitations of this study resulting from the analysis of a purposefully-selected case of a local university-based entrepreneurial ecosystem only do not allow formulating general conclusions. Nevertheless, it illustrates a real business practice and thus contribute to the discussion on the dilemmas associated with increasing the efficiency and sustainability of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Future research line will concern the assessment of the interdependencies among the key stakeholders of the start-up ecosystem to look for more effective cooperation. Practical implications: The examples of good practice reflected in the study prove the great commitment of the Viadrina Founders Center and its significant contribution to the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the State of Brandenburg in Germany. These good practices can be an inspiration for other business incubators and local ecosystem actors. Originality/value: The originality of the conducted exploratory research lies in presenting the real business practice and challenges of the development of a university-based entrepreneurial ecosystem, and thus inspire for further analysis and extended research on problems associated with increasing the sustainability of local start-up ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An influential stream of research notes the importance of the culture and attractiveness of a place in creating a supportive environment where competition, creativity, and entrepreneurship can flourish. However, what specific kind of culture is attractive and actually needed remains both unknown and controversial. While several scholars have stressed the general importance of diversity and a vibrant cultural life, this paper attempts to introduce a new and complementary perspective that puts the role of subcultural scenes at the center of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Social and economic innovations have always been pushed forward by the pioneering subgroup of "creative destructors" that share values and beliefs that are different from the establishment. Thus, we believe that, instead of culture as a whole, it might be more promising to take a closer look at subcultures and their influence on urban creative and entrepreneurial scenes. We test this hypothesis by deploying exploratory factor analysis to compare the impact of different measures of subcultural amenities compared with the traditional measures used to reflect "mainstream" culture on start-up rates in the 69 largest cities in Germany. Our findings confirm the main hypothesis posited in this paper that the co-presence of subcultural amenities is positively associated with entrepreneurship. By contrast, mainstream culture has no significant impact on local start-up rates. These findings make an important contribution to the recent controversy within the regional study literature and provide insights and guidance for thought leaders in policy and urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotions are present in all learning processes, including those in entrepreneurship education. In this paper, we investigate which kinds of emotions exist in entrepreneurship education at university and in which contexts they occur, and show how the concept of liminal spaces – spaces of transformation in which students encounter high degrees of uncertainty, while their potential for learning is maximised – can be used in order to understand the role of negative emotions for entrepreneurship education. Providing examples from courses on entrepreneurship for Engineering and Business Administration students at a German university, we are able to confirm findings of existing literature on the type and sources of emotions. Moreover, our findings suggest that reflection of students on emotional processes that involve the endurance of uncertainty contribute significantly to the achievement of learning outcomes and that – within the limits of existing learning cultures and guidelines for assessment – teachers can facilitate such processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth entrepreneurship is an increasingly prominent aspect of entrepreneurship support policies, but there is surprisingly little relevant research-based empirical evidence. This research gap is particularly noticeable when it comes to the personal and contextual factors that steer young people's decision to start a business. Using statistically representative survey data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor for Germany, we apply logit regressions to determine the influence of 10 independent variables on the likelihood of starting a business. We distinguish between 18–24-year-olds and 25–64-year-olds as well as between founders and non-founders. Self-efficacy in entrepreneurial skills, fear of failure and gender are the strongest influencing variables for the person-related factors and knowledge of other founders for the contextual factors. For younger people, the formal level of education and the perception of local entrepreneurial opportunities do not play a role in the decision to start a business, whereas they are very important for older people. Our results suggest that start-up promotion policies should explicitly address the empirically proven factors of youth entrepreneurship instead of a 'one size fits all' policy for new businesses, regardless of the age of the founders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Entrepreneurship is not only seen as an important factor for economic growth and welfare but also as a vehicle of societal development and change, both at the regional, national and international level. Thus, entrepreneurship education at schools plays an increasingly important role, linking policy, businesses, education and science. However, research on entrepreneurship education programmes, especially on mini-companies which rely on an experiential learning setting, is still a young field and shared frameworks concerning entrepreneurial competences and longitudinal research designs are missing. This paper addresses to this research gap by analysing whether students who participate in a mini-company develop entrepreneurial competences. Design/methodology/approach: The study is conducted in a quasi-experimental design, building upon a validated and psychometrically sound research instrument that is based on a newly designed entrepreneurial competence framework. In total, 100 pupils from grammar schools in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, participated in the experimental and control group at both time points. Findings: The results show that students expand their entrepreneurial competences on an economic level. In comparison, they show only limited developments on the personal and team level. The findings have important implications for the further development of entrepreneurship education programmes as well as on the interaction between schools and (regional) entrepreneurs, business partners and enterprises. Originality/value: This study examines pupils' development of entrepreneurial competences in a quasi-experimental design. It highlights that participating pupils develop economic competences when participating in mini-companies in comparison to pupils participating in regular economics classes. This study sheds further light on the effects of mini-companies, and thus contributes to the discussion of entrepreneurship education at schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: Entrepreneurship and migration are top priorities on many national and international agendas. As a result, entrepreneurship is one of the most popular strategies immigrants use to avoid unemployment in a host country. However, studies lack to discuss causal relationships among key barriers to immigrant entrepreneurs. Purpose of the article: This study attempts to fill the knowledge gap and investigate the causal relationship between the primary obstacles faced by Asian immigrant entrepreneurs in Germany. Methods: A predesigned questionnaire was used in face-to-face interviews with Asian business owners in Germany for the study, and the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method of data analysis was used. Findings & value added: The findings reveal that lack of sufficient financial resources to establish a business, high market competition, and a lack of knowledge of the local language of the host country are the most significant barriers, among others, which may severely hamper Asian immigrant business performance and have a considerable impact on their entrepreneurial decision. At the same time, lack of professional knowledge & skills, problems with rules & regulations, and cultural differences are among the least essential obstacles for Asian immigrant entrepreneurs. The findings show that unfamiliarity with the local language, problems with rules and regulations, cultural differences, and lack of international business experience are associated with the causer category. However, lack of enough capital to establish a venture, lack of professional knowledge and skills, difficulty in access to financial resources, and high market competition relate to the receiver category. This research generates value for policymakers, particularly those participating in migration studies. One of the study's novelties is using the DEMATEL framework for decision-making on barriers to immigrant entrepreneurship in the European context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State universities are increasingly being transformed from institutions with traditional teaching and research responsibilities to have a third, societal role in sustainable regional and economic development. In doing so, universities support knowledge spillovers to improve sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems that benefit economic revitalization or further development of regions. At the same time they promote stakeholder involvement in crucial governance processes at the regional level. Based on a comparative case study design building on three cases in Germany, our research analyses these interdependencies focussing on university-linked support programmes for sustainable entrepreneurship and the effects on sustainable regional development. Our findings provide a nuanced view clarifying the different roles universities have, how knowledge spillovers are created, and what outputs, outcomes, and effects are realized at the regional level and beyond. Specifically, we demonstrate that depending on the regional context, different configurations, pathways, and intervention points of universities may equally improve sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]