Beyond Business Creation: How Entrepreneurship Education Shapes Entrepreneurial Mindsets among University Students in Indonesia

Yeldy Dwi Genadi; Adrianda Anwar; Zamroni Alpian Muhtarom

doi:10.59535/932ygb82

Authors

Yeldy Dwi Genadi Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Mataram, Indonesia Author
Adrianda Anwar Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Mataram, Indonesia Author
Zamroni Alpian Muhtarom Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Mataram, Indonesia Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59535/932ygb82

Keywords:

Entrepreneurship Education, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Experiential Learning, Higher Education

Abstract

Entrepreneurship education is increasingly expected to prepare university graduates for uncertain labor markets, yet much of the literature still evaluates its effectiveness through entrepreneurial intention rather than through deeper changes in how students think, interpret problems, and create value. This study aimed to explain how entrepreneurship education shapes entrepreneurial mindsets among university students in Indonesia. A qualitative interpretive design was used, drawing on semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students who had completed entrepreneurship courses involving project-based assignments, business simulations, mentoring, pitching, and reflection. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis and interpreted through Experiential Learning Theory. Five interrelated themes emerged: opportunity recognition through experiential tasks, confidence development through practice-based learning, failure as a trigger for resilience, social interaction as a catalyst for entrepreneurial thinking, and reflective learning as the mechanism of mindset transformation. The findings show that entrepreneurship education does not merely transmit business knowledge or increase startup intention; it gradually reframes how students perceive problems, uncertainty, feedback, and failure. The study contributes by positioning entrepreneurial mindset as an experiential, socially mediated, and reflective learning outcome, particularly in the context of higher education in an emerging economy. These findings suggest that universities should design entrepreneurship education as an integrated learning journey that combines authentic tasks, safe failure, mentoring, teamwork, and structured reflection.

References

[1] D. B. Audretsch, "From the entrepreneurial university to the university for the entrepreneurial society," Journal of Technology Transfer, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 313-321, 2014, doi: 10.1007/s10961-012-9288-1.

[2] T. J. Bae, S. Qian, C. Miao, and J. O. Fiet, "The relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions: A meta-analytic review," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 217-254, 2014, doi: 10.1111/etap.12095.

[3] B. C. Martin, J. J. McNally, and M. J. Kay, "Examining the formation of human capital in entrepreneurship: A meta-analysis of entrepreneurship education outcomes," Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 211-224, 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2012.03.002.

[4] G. Nabi, F. Linan, A. Fayolle, N. Krueger, and A. Walmsley, "The impact of entrepreneurship education in higher education: A systematic review and research agenda," Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 277-299, 2017, doi: 10.5465/amle.2015.0026.

[5] A. Fayolle and B. Gailly, "The impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial attitudes and intention: Hysteresis and persistence," Journal of Business Research, vol. 68, no. 5, pp. 1106-1113, 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.11.030.

[6] J. Cui, J. Sun, and R. Bell, "The impact of entrepreneurship education on the entrepreneurial mindset of college students in China: The mediating role of inspiration and the role of educational attributes," International Journal of Management Education, vol. 19, no. 1, art. 100296, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.ijme.2019.04.001.

[7] E. R. Rideout and D. O. Gray, "Does entrepreneurship education really work? A review and methodological critique of the empirical literature on the effects of university-based entrepreneurship education," Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 329-351, 2013, doi: 10.1111/jsbm.12021.

[8] L. Pittaway and J. Cope, "Entrepreneurship education: A systematic review of the evidence," International Small Business Journal, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 479-510, 2007, doi: 10.1177/0266242607080656.

[9] H. M. Neck and A. C. Corbett, "The scholarship of teaching and learning entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 8-41, 2018, doi: 10.1177/2515127417737286.

[10] M. Lackeus, "Comparing the impact of three different experiential approaches to entrepreneurship in education," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 937-971, 2020, doi: 10.1108/IJEBR-04-2018-0236.

[11] D. F. Kuratko, G. Fisher, and D. B. Audretsch, "Unraveling the entrepreneurial mindset," Small Business Economics, vol. 57, pp. 1681-1691, 2021, doi: 10.1007/s11187-020-00372-6.

[12] R. D. Ireland, M. A. Hitt, and D. G. Sirmon, "A model of strategic entrepreneurship: The construct and its dimensions," Academy of Management Review, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 433-446, 2003, doi: 10.5465/amr.2003.10196729.

[13] J. M. Haynie, D. A. Shepherd, E. Mosakowski, and P. C. Earley, "A situated metacognitive model of the entrepreneurial mindset," Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 217-229, 2010, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2008.10.001.

[14] J. S. McMullen and D. A. Shepherd, "Entrepreneurial action and the role of uncertainty in the theory of the entrepreneur," Academy of Management Review, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 132-152, 2006, doi: 10.5465/amr.2006.19379628.

[15] I. Ajzen, "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 179-211, 1991, doi: 10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T.

[16] N. F. Krueger, M. D. Reilly, and A. L. Carsrud, "Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions," Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 15, no. 5-6, pp. 411-432, 2000, doi: 10.1016/S0883-9026(98)00033-0.

[17] F. Linan and Y. W. Chen, "Development and cross-cultural application of a specific instrument to measure entrepreneurial intentions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 593-617, 2009, doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2009.00318.x.

[18] V. Souitaris, S. Zerbinati, and A. Al-Laham, "Do entrepreneurship programmes raise entrepreneurial intention of science and engineering students? The effect of learning, inspiration and resources," Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 566-591, 2007, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.05.002.

[19] A. Rauch and W. Hulsink, "Putting entrepreneurship education where the intention to act lies: An investigation into the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial behavior," Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 187-204, 2015, doi: 10.5465/amle.2012.0293.

[20] D. Politis, "The process of entrepreneurial learning: A conceptual framework," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 399-424, 2005, doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00091.x.

[21] D. Rae, "Entrepreneurial learning: A narrative-based conceptual model," Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 323-335, 2005, doi: 10.1108/14626000510612259.

[22] J. Cope, "Entrepreneurial learning from failure: An interpretative phenomenological analysis," Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 604-623, 2011, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2010.06.002.

[23] D. A. Shepherd, "Learning from business failure: Propositions of grief recovery for the self-employed," Academy of Management Review, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 318-328, 2003, doi: 10.5465/amr.2003.9416377.

[24] D. A. Shepherd, H. Patzelt, and M. Wolfe, "Moving forward from project failure: Negative emotions, affective commitment, and learning from the experience," Academy of Management Review, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 122-145, 2011, doi: 10.5465/amr.2011.55662551.

[25] A. Bandura, "Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change," Psychological Review, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 191-215, 1977, doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191.

[26] D. A. Kolb, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice Hall, 1984.

[27] A. Y. Kolb and D. A. Kolb, "Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education," Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 193-212, 2005, doi: 10.5465/amle.2005.17268566.

[28] M. H. Morris, J. W. Webb, J. Fu, and S. Singhal, "A competency-based perspective on entrepreneurship education: Conceptual and empirical insights," Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 352-369, 2013, doi: 10.1111/jsbm.12023.

[29] T. W. Y. Man, T. Lau, and K. F. Chan, "The competitiveness of small and medium enterprises: A conceptualization with focus on entrepreneurial competencies," Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 123-142, 2002, doi: 10.1016/S0883-9026(00)00058-6.

[30] J. C. Sanchez, "The impact of an entrepreneurship education program on entrepreneurial competencies and intention," Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 447-465, 2013, doi: 10.1111/jsbm.12025.

[31] E. A. Rasmussen and R. Sorheim, "Action-based entrepreneurship education," Technovation, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 185-194, 2006, doi: 10.1016/j.technovation.2005.06.012.

[32] M. M. Gielnik, M. Frese, A. Kahara-Kawuki, I. Katono, S. Kyejjusa, J. Munene, et al., "Action and action-regulation in entrepreneurship: Evaluating a student training for promoting entrepreneurship," Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 69-94, 2015, doi: 10.5465/amle.2012.0389.

[33] M. Ratten and P. Usmanij, "Entrepreneurship education: Time for a change in research direction?" International Journal of Management Education, vol. 19, no. 1, art. 100367, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.ijme.2020.100367.

[34] J. C. Hayton and G. Cacciotti, "Is there an entrepreneurial culture? A review of empirical research," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, vol. 25, no. 9-10, pp. 708-731, 2013, doi: 10.1080/08985626.2013.862962.

[35] V. Braun and V. Clarke, "Using thematic analysis in psychology," Qualitative Research in Psychology, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 77-101, 2006, doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.

[36] L. S. Nowell, J. M. Norris, D. E. White, and N. J. Moules, "Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria," International Journal of Qualitative Methods, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 1-13, 2017, doi: 10.1177/1609406917733847.

[37] S. J. Tracy, "Qualitative quality: Eight big-tent criteria for excellent qualitative research," Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 16, no. 10, pp. 837-851, 2010, doi: 10.1177/1077800410383121.

[38] D. A. Gioia, K. G. Corley, and A. L. Hamilton, "Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research: Notes on the Gioia methodology," Organizational Research Methods, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 15-31, 2013, doi: 10.1177/1094428112452151.

[39] C. H. Wang and L. Chugh, "Entrepreneurial learning: Past research and future challenges," International Journal of Management Reviews, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 24-61, 2014, doi: 10.1111/ijmr.12007.

[40] A. H. Van de Ven, "Engaged scholarship: A guide for organizational and social research," Academy of Management Review, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 1377-1382, 2007, doi: 10.5465/amr.2007.26586042.

[41] A. Walter and J. H. Block, "Outcomes of entrepreneurship education: An institutional perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 216-233, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2015.10.003.

[42] D. Hahn, T. Minola, L. Bosio, and L. Cassia, "The impact of entrepreneurship education on university students' entrepreneurial skills: A family embeddedness perspective," Small Business Economics, vol. 55, pp. 257-282, 2020, doi: 10.1007/s11187-019-00143-y.

[43] G. Boldureanu, A. M. Ionescu, A. M. Bercu, M. V. Bedrule-Grigoruta, and D. Boldureanu, "Entrepreneurship education through successful entrepreneurial models in higher education institutions," Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 3, art. 1267, 2020, doi: 10.3390/su12031267.

[44] P. A. Kyrö, "The conceptual contribution of education to research on entrepreneurship education," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, vol. 27, no. 9-10, pp. 599-618, 2015, doi: 10.1080/08985626.2015.1085726.

[45] T. Lans, V. Blok, and R. Wesselink, "Learning apart and together: Towards an integrated competence framework for sustainable entrepreneurship in higher education," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 62, pp. 37-47, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.03.036.