bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A design science research approach to website benchmarking
Authors: Cassidy Leonie , Hamilton John 
Published: June 2016

Purpose– Literature-identified website benchmarking (WB) approaches are generally time consuming, survey based, with little agreement on what and how to measure website components. The purpose of this paper is to establish a theoretical approach to WB. A comprehensive design science research methodology (DSRM) artifact facilitates the evaluation of the website against the universal set of benchmark components. This knowledge allows managers to gauge/reposition their websites.Design/methodology/approach– DSRM establishes a website analysis method (WAM) artifact. Across six activities (problem identification, solution objective, artifact design/development, artifact demonstration, artifact evaluation, results communication), the WAM artifact solves the DSRM-identified WB problem.Findings– The WAM artifact uses 230 differentiated components, allowing managers to understand in-depth and at-level WB. Typological website components deliver interpretable WB scores. Website comparisons are made at domain (aesthetic, marketing, technical) and/or functional levels.Research limitations/implications– New/emergent components (and occasionally new functions) are included (and redundant components removed) as upgrades to the DSRM WAM artifact’s three domains and 28 functions. Such modifications help keep latest benchmarking comparisons (and/or website upgrades) optimized.Practical implications– This DSRM study employs a dichotomous present/absent component approach, allowing the WAM artifact’s measures to be software programmed, and merged at three different levels, delivering a useful WB tool for corporates.Originality/value– DSRM identifies the benchmarking problem. Rough-cut set-theory and mutual-exclusivity of components allow the causal-summing of typological website components into an objective WAM artifact WB solution. This new, comprehensive, objective-measurement approach to WB thus offers comparative, competitive, and website behavioral implications for corporates.
The development of entrepreneurship at school: the Spanish experience
Authors: Barba-Sánchez Virginia , Atienza-Sahuquillo Carlos 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to encourage entrepreneurship and creativity among primary school pupils than they acquire entrepreneurial skills through running a business.

Design/methodology/approach
– A pilot experience has been structured into three large phases: analysis of the starting situation; production of the materials and their application in the classroom; and final evaluation. In order to evaluate this experience, the primary school pupils (8-12-years-old) were interviewed and a questionnaire completed.

Findings
– The overall results have been satisfactory and indicated a positive participant reaction to the project that has improved entrepreneurial competencies and the future potential for business start-up.

Research limitations/implications
– The research respondents were drawn from one region of Spain, and the pilot experience has been carried out in the Rural Schools Grouped Together (in Spanish: “Colegio Rural Agrupado”).

Practical implications
– Recommendations are offered which could help the entrepreneurship education stakeholders increase the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education programmes and actions aimed at promoting firm creation in this area.

Social implications
– As this pilot experience aim to increase entrepreneurship as a start-up activity, the improving of entrepreneurial skills serve these pupils so that, in a few years’ time, they can opt to generate wealth and employment endogenously in the towns they come from and so be able to retain the local population.

Originality/value
– The paper contributes to knowledge by adding to a limited literature examining the impact of entrepreneurship education within the 8-12 primary school age sector.
Commitment to an entrepreneurship training programme for self-employed entrepreneurs, and learning from participation
Authors: Nieminen Lenita , Hytti Ulla 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore how self-employed entrepreneurs commit themselves to an entrepreneurship training programme and how such commitment relates to their perceptions of learning.

Design/methodology/approach
– The data were collected through qualitative, inductive methods by interviewing and observing six entrepreneurs who took part in an entrepreneurship training programme.

Findings
– The study reveals that entrepreneurial activities and a strong attachment to entrepreneurship may detach entrepreneurs from an entrepreneurship community. Generally, participants appreciated the social aspect of learning, peer support, and confidence-building provided by the programme and the learning community. Nevertheless, the participation was a double-edged sword: it allowed those who were not active in entrepreneurship to explore entrepreneurship, but for those who were active in entrepreneurship and in professional communities, their participation represented a potential liability and a threat to their image as a credible entrepreneur.

Research limitations/implications
– More research is needed on the social aspect related to training programmes particularly focusing on potential adverse outcomes, such as over-embeddedness in the community.

Practical implications
– Training programme organizers could benefit from understanding the social aspects of learning in emphasizing the role of peer support but also of the potential dark sides of socializing.

Originality/value
– The study offers insight into the relationship between commitment and learning in micro firms, and it contributes to a deeper understanding of the way community and social relationships facilitate or impede learning by self-employed entrepreneurs. There is a risk that the social aspect of peer support and the community replaces entrepreneurs’ need to “go out there” and expose themselves to learning from experience.
Assessing the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship in vocational students using the European qualification framework
Authors: Morselli Daniele , Ajello Annamaria 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to find a framework for the assessment of the learning outcomes of entrepreneurship education as a cross-curricular subject. The problem is twofold: the first difficulty is the relationship to the general issues regarding competence and its assessment; the second difficulty is the assessment of competencies in cross-curricular education in diverse contexts such as school and work.

Design/methodology/approach
– The European key competence for lifelong learning of the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship and the European qualification framework (EQF) are convenient to benchmark the outcomes of enterprise education. In order to assess and develop competence in vocational students, educators should design real life problem solving situations, which are new for the students and closely related to their vocations.

Findings
– The study describes an assessment process of the learning outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills and competence. While the authors tested knowledge by giving the students open-ended questions, the authors assessed the skills and competence with a practical problem concerning the students’ vocational discipline to be solved in groups.

Research limitations/implications
– The paper calls for a better alignment between work experience, teaching for competence and assessment of key competences – such as the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship – taught as a cross curricular subject.

Originality/value
– The assessment makes use of a theoretically grounded definition of competence, and considers varied forms of evaluation of entrepreneurship education. Educators can use it across Europe as it refers to a common background, the European key competences and the EQF, and it promotes the students’ transitions to work and mobility. It is rigorous, and, at the same time, adaptable to the context. It is meaningful for the various stakeholders at various levels: students, employers, schools, workplaces and institutions.
Awakening students’ entrepreneurial selves: case music in basic education
Authors: Hietanen Lenita , Ruismäki Heikki 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
– Entrepreneurship education is recommended for implementation throughout the entire educational path. However, there have been challenges in implementing entrepreneurship education for many kinds of students, especially in non-business education. The purpose of this paper is to ask how 15-year-old students in Finnish basic education are able to find their “entrepreneurial selves” by looking at their musical activities through an “entrepreneurial lens”.

Design/methodology/approach
– This case study examines an intervention carried out among music students in basic education. The music teacher interpreted the enterprise approach as guiding the students to experiment with different styles in singing and playing instruments, to seek various opportunities to sing and play both individually and as a group, and to reflect upon their activities. To awaken their entrepreneurial selves, the students were guided to assess their musical activity using 12 enterprise concepts.

Findings
– The study shows that students in basic education can be encouraged to reflect on their music studies by comparing their musical activities with small-sized entrepreneurs’ attributes and activities. For example, the students pointed out the ability to take initiative and cooperate. One principle in organising the music learning environment was to allow the students to make choices based on their own interests. The alternatives given led students to discover opportunities and to make decisions to experiment. Their reflective practices enabled them to make new decisions and finally own and lead their music learning paths.

Practical implications
– This investigation shows that encouraging students to reflect on their study practices through an entrepreneurial lens may awaken them to their entrepreneurial selves regardless of the subject and context. Despite examining only music studies in basic education, the findings may prompt teachers and educators in other non-business educational contexts and subjects to apply the ideas shared in the current paper.

Originality/value
– Music as a subject and basic education as an educational level have not been examined in depth as enterprise learning environments. Only a few previous studies have focused mainly on non-business students’ enterprise activities without training in business skills.
New horizons in entrepreneurship education: from teacher-led to student-centered learning
Authors: Robinson Sarah , Neergaard Helle , Tanggaard Lene , Krueger Norris F. 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion about the complexity and heterogeneity of entrepreneurship education. In order to achieve this objective, this paper combines educational psychology with perspectives from entrepreneurship education research to make explicit educators tacit assumptions in order to understand how these assumptions guide teaching.

Design/methodology/approach
– Using ethnographic analysis, the paper reports data from the continuous development and implementation of a single course over a period of ten years bringing in the educator’s and the students perspectives on their achievements and course content.

Findings
– The authors find that it is sometimes advantageous to invoke and combine different learning theories and approaches in order to promote entrepreneurial awareness and mindset. It is also necessary to move away from entrepreneurship education as being teacher led to being more student-centred and focused on experiential and existential lifelong learning practices.

Practical implications
– Practically, the authors make suggestions for the design and delivery of a course that demonstrates how four diverse learning theories can be combined to consolidate entrepreneurial learning in students invoking experiential and curiosity-based learning strategies.

Originality/value
– There are very few examples of concrete course designs that have been researched longitudinally in-depth using ethnographic methods. Moreover, most courses focus on the post-foundation period, whereas this paper presents a course that is a primer to the entrepreneurial process and exclusively centred on the pre-foundation phase. Rather than building on a single perspective, it combines a range of theories and approaches to create interplay and progression.
Influence of early exposure to family business experience on developing entrepreneurs
Authors: Tarling Cath , Jones Paul , Murphy Lyndon 
Published: June 2016

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to consider the influences of family business and exposure to family business ideas upon students and graduates during their transition from higher education (HE) towards career identification of entrepreneurship. It explores influences, values and experiences actively impacting on business start-up following exposure to family business or business ideas.Design/methodology/approach– A grounded theory approach was adopted to investigate the wider student/graduate transition between HE and business start-up support provision. The aim of the interviews undertaken was to investigate those influences actively impacting on business start-up provision and reflect upon the complexities within the student journey through transition towards business start-up. The researchers investigated stories, experiences and insights of nascent and practicing entrepreneurs acquiring rich qualitative evidence.Findings– This study evaluates the influences impacting upon practicing entrepreneurs following exposure to family business and awareness of business ideas arising from immediate or extended family prior to undertaking a business start-up. The findings inform discussions about family role models and contribute to the development of enterprise education pedagogy. It is found that individuals attachment to business and family business values are strongly formed concepts that motivate and steer entrepreneurial direction.Practical implications– This paper contributes to development of enterprise and entrepreneurship educator pedagogy and explores use of entrepreneurial role models and positive learning experiences gained through personal exposure to family business and ideas.Originality/value– This study contributes to a fuller understanding of the potential for positive influence through exposure to familial businesses, growing up around businesses and awareness of business ideas arising from immediate or extended family. Integration of learning opportunities with development of pedagogy will be of interest to the enterprise education community.
Entrepreneurship education by design
Authors: Lahn Leif Christian , Erikson Truls 
Published: June 2016

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to outline a theoretical platform for a design-based approach to entrepreneurship education grounded in the ideas of the Russian psychologist and linguist Lev S. Vygotsky by reconceptualising the development of entrepreneurial expertise as artefact-mediated activity. This model is elaborated into some core pedagogical principles and contrasted with other approaches to entrepreneurial education. It also describes the piloting of this design perspective in a Master of Science programme in entrepreneurship. Students working as interns in high-tech start-up companies reflected on their practice and learned to learn using a number of artefacts as “scaffolds”.Design/methodology/approach– The empirical base of this paper is an instrumental case study of the pilot programme where the material is subject to documentary and narrative analysis. The master’s theses of the students participating in the new start-up programme were compared with those of students in the regular programme using thematic analysis.Findings– The authors call for a more systematic examination of the model derived from Vygotsky in the field of entrepreneurship education. The exploratory study indicates that the emphasis on artefact-mediated action may strengthen systematic self-reflection and learning to learn among master’s students in practice-based programmes. However, Vygotsky’s focus on “distributed agency” should be complemented by a more personalized mentoring scheme.Originality/value– This is a pioneering study examining the pedagogy of artefact mediation in entrepreneurship education.
Entrepreneurship education programs in Malaysian polytechnics
Authors: Othman Norasmah , Nasrudin Norfadhilah 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate students’ views on the on-the-campus entrepreneurship programs in Malaysian polytechnics. Participation in the entrepreneurship programs is able to stimulate an interest in entrepreneurship, and improve the knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial experience of its students.

Design/methodology/approach
– This study adopted a survey method designed in the form of an objective-oriented program evaluation. Questionnaires were used to identify the students’ level of assessments of the instructional dimensions. This study explored the differences in evaluation based on gender, specializations, and courses attended.

Findings
– The results showed moderately high level of evaluation. The analysis of gender differences shows that gender did not affect students’ views on the instructional dimension. However, students’ specialization and courses attended are associated with significant differences in the level of evaluation.

Research limitations/implications
– This research is limited to only five Malaysian polytechnics. The study was looking into the instructional dimension of the entrepreneurship programs. Further research should include the assessment of the institutional side of the programs.

Practical implications
– The evaluation results provide important recommendations to improve some practical aspects of the entrepreneurial activities. The polytechnics’ departments can focus on the actual content as well as on the learning experience to implement conducive, positive, and supportive practices that could lead to a maximum participation rate among students.

Social implications
– Increase the number of students involved in entrepreneurship.

Originality/value
– There have been no discussions or evaluation of the entrepreneurship programs conducted in Malaysian polytechnics in terms of objective-oriented evaluation. This paper attempts to fill the current gap.
Marketized employment services
Authors: Gallet Wilma 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges confronting Christian-based organisations operating in the employment services quasi-market in Australia. It focuses on the tensions that arise for these organisations as they endeavour to deliver services that reflect their distinctive mission and values, while remaining competitive in an environment characterised by the typical market values of commercialism, competition and compliance.

Design/methodology/approach
– The data on which this paper is based has been derived from 48 semi-structured interviews with church leaders, senior managers and frontline staff in four Christian-based organisations.

Findings
– The paper demonstrates that the Christian-based organisations under consideration are constrained in their ability to deliver a distinctive and holistic mission. The pressure to survive has resulted in these organisations emulating the business practices of others considered to be more successful in the field.

Research limitations/implications
– This paper draws attention to the commercialisation that has occurred within Christian-based organisations delivering privatised employment services. As markets are formed in other welfare areas, further research opportunities will present to examine how Christian-based organisations respond to the pressures that arise in these fields.

Practical implications
– The findings from this study raise significant questions for Christian-based organisations. The particular dilemma being whether they should accept government funding in circumstances where their mission is likely to be compromised.

Originality/value
– This paper serves to highlight, that despite their intentions to deliver a distinctive mission, Christian-based organisations are indistinguishable from other organisations delivering privatised employment services.
Improving recommender systems’ performance on cold-start users and controversial items by a new similarity model
Authors: Mansoury Masoud , Shajari Mehdi 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
This paper aims to improve the recommendations performance for cold-start users and controversial items. Collaborative filtering (CF) generates recommendations on the basis of similarity between users. It uses the opinions of similar users to generate the recommendation for an active user. As a similarity model or a neighbor selection function is the key element for effectiveness of CF, many variations of CF are proposed. However, these methods are not very effective, especially for users who provide few ratings (i.e. cold-start users).

Design/methodology/approach
A new user similarity model is proposed that focuses on improving recommendations performance for cold-start users and controversial items. To show the validity of the authors’ similarity model, they conducted some experiments and showed the effectiveness of this model in calculating similarity values between users even when only few ratings are available. In addition, the authors applied their user similarity model to a recommender system and analyzed its results.

Findings
Experiments on two real-world data sets are implemented and compared with some other CF techniques. The results show that the authors’ approach outperforms previous CF techniques in coverage metric while preserves accuracy for cold-start users and controversial items.

Originality/value
In the proposed approach, the conditions in which CF is unable to generate accurate recommendations are addressed. These conditions affect CF performance adversely, especially in the cold-start users’ condition. The authors show that their similarity model overcomes CF weaknesses effectively and improve its performance even in the cold users’ condition.