Abstract
IEES investigates the phenomenon of student entrepreneurship (SE, entrepreneurial activity undertaken by university students) and focuses on its diffusion and impact in Italy across its different manifestations and on how higher education institutions (HEIs) ecosystems influence such manifestations. By students, the project refers to university students and recent graduates (within 5 Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca MUR - BANDO 2022 years after graduation; Colombo & Piva, 2020) and by entrepreneurship to the identification and exploitation of new business opportunities through venture creation or within existing organizations (Shane & Venkatamaran, 2000). Acquiring entrepreneurial skills to undertake entrepreneurial activities represents a key enabler of innovation and socio-economic development. Since students’ role in this respect is growing, HEIs around the world are prioritizing SE (Fyen et al., 2019). However, despite the growing amount of resources allocated by HEIs to stimulate SE, both scholars and policy makers indicate that the diffusion and impact of SE remain to be assessed. Studying SE in Italy is particularly relevant because the majority of students, who are looking for job opportunities in existing firms or their parents’ business (Hahn et al., 2018), could promote entrepreneurship in several types of organizations, not only through venture creation. Moreover, SE could favor higher inclusiveness for students from heterogeneous regional contexts (Annex 1, A1). Yet, while the vibrant research stream on SE has documented the role of HEIs in fostering venture creation of students and recent graduates (Colombo & Piva, 2020), we need to better understand how different manifestations of SE are diffused considering different forms (not just venture creation but also intrapreneurship in SMEs and corporations as well as succession in family firms, Hahn et al. 2021) and motivations (necessity vs. opportunity driven entrepreneurship, Fini et al., 2016); we also need more knowledge about the distinctive impact of SE across its different manifestations, given the lively debate on whether and how SE really matters (Eesley & Lee, 2021). Moreover, scholars call for a better understanding of the SE determinants (Bergmann et al., 2016). In particular, since students’ careers are largely influenced by the university context in which they are embedded (Wright et al., 2019), it is crucial to know how SE manifestations are shaped by HEIs ecosystems. These gaps lead to the following research questions, addressed through a multilevel approach: RQ1: What is the diffusion and impact of SE manifestations? RQ2: How do HEI ecosystems characteristics drive different manifestations of SE? IEES expects to contribute to entrepreneurship theory and SE literature and to provide valuable insights for policy makers, university managers and students. The project builds upon the scientific excellence of the consortium, demonstrated by recognized international research on SE and HEI ecosystems.
Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Riccardo Fini
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Scienze Aziendali
Coordinatore:
Università degli Studi di Bergamo(Italy)
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 58.412,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
28/09/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
